Adoption – Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do I book a medical?
To book a medical you need to email Jo Smith on with the name of the child, their date of birth, their foster carers or other family members names and addresses for them to write to with the appointment date. You will need to give Jo an idea of the timescales of when you need this for the agency decision to be made and when you will be able to send through a draft copy of the child permanence report.
Alternatively you can phone Jo on 01225 731543
2. How do I order a birth certificate?
Birth certificates can be ordered by post, simply go to the following web address and print off the birth certificate application form.
http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/births-marriages-and-deaths/copies-certificates
Prices for the certificates vary from the time they are registered. The form will give you the up to date cost of a full or short birth certificate.
3. Who is the agency panel adviser?
The agency panel advisor is Sarah Acheson, she can be contacted via email, or 01225 395334. Sarah is also the deputy team manager in the Family Placement Team and can be found on the 2nd Floor North Block, Riverside, Keynsham.
4. Who is the agency decision maker?
The agency decision maker is Richard Baldwin. Sarah will coordinate with Richard time to be able to read through all the paperwork for the agency decision.
5. How do I get a copy of the legal bundle?
Find out from the CFAIT worker who their legal advisor is and contact them.
6. Where do I find the medical consent forms?
These can be found under the S: Drive Adoption BAAF Forms and are named medical consent form and form PH report on the health of the birth parents.
7. Who are After Adoption?
After Adoption provide counselling for birth parents and their families of children who are being placed for adoption. You can make a referral by phoning 08000 568578 or there will be a referral form available shortly that you can email. www.afteradoption-org.uk
8. What is SWAC?
SWAC is the South West Adoption Consortium. The consortium bring together adopters and children from all over the South West and can make links between adopters and children.
9. How do I refer to SWAC?
You need to refer to SWAC via Dil Roworth at Somerset County Council. You need to send her a profile (template in the s:drive adoption folders) and the child permanence report and any other relevant documents, via email at
10. How can I check the SWAC link book for adopters?
You need to go to the south west adoption consortium website www.swadoption.org.uk and click on the linkbook link. The username and password can be found in the adoption folder on the s:drive and changes regularly to ensure confidentiality.
11. What is an exchange day or an activity day?
The South West Adoption Consortium run four exchange days per year. These days are an opportunity to take profiles, photo and video to the range of adopters in the South West and have the opportunity to talk to adopters about children. These exchange days are very successful in making links and matches.
Activity days are currently run by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering. “Adoption activity days are events where approved adopters, or adopters in the assessment process who have a panel date within the next 3 months, have the opportunity to directly meet a range of children waiting to be adopted in a prepared, supported, safe and fun environment.
This is a themed day full of lots of fun activities such as face painting, climbing, craft and soft play. The children’s foster carers and social workers attend the event with the children to support them.
Outcomes
170 children have attended the first 4 events and we have identified families for 29 of these children. Children i.e. 17% of the children that have attended.
There have also been many ‘softer’ benefits:
· For adopters - the opportunity to meet real children, dispelling the myths about children in care, having the opportunity to think more widely about the resource they are offering, feeling more confident about what they have to offer as potential parents.
· For foster carers – being involved in the family finding process
· For Social workers – having the opportunity to spend quality time with their child, improving practice in preparation of children for adoption and writing profiles. For adopters social workers the opportunity to observe adopters with children.
· For children – for some finding a family for them to grow up in, having the opportunity to meet other children like them and meet families who are thinking of adopting.
12. How do I refer to the National Adoption Register?
This can be done online at www.adoptionregister.org.uk – follow the link social workers login and use the online service and complete the steps for the referral. The username and password can be obtained from Pippa Beasley, social worker in the Children in Care and Moving on Team.
13. How do I refer to Be My Parent?
This can be done online at www.bemyparent.org.uk. The username and password can be obtained from Pippa Beasley, social worker in the Children in Care and Moving on Team. Remember if you wish to refer you need to be ready one and a half months in advance. E.g if you wish to refer to October’s issue then you would need to refer before the middle of August.
14. What is a PAR?
A PAR is a prospective adopters report. You will be sent these via other adoption agencies or SWAC and they contain all the details you will need about prospective adopters and their families.
15. Where do I find all the adoption paperwork?
In the adoption BAAF folder on the S:Drive.
16. Where do I save all the adoption paperwork?
In the adoption folder on documentum.
17. How do I change the child’s placement address to AD Banes?
This is done by creating a new service package agreement. You need to then create a relationship with AD Banes and link the two together as you would for any change of placement .
18. Where does an Adoption Order application get sent?
Adopters can apply to any court, however if they are applying to Bristol the applications must be sent to Bristol Civil Justice Centre, 2 Redcliff Street, Bristol BS1 6GR.
19. Where does my Annex B get sent?
You need to send your Annex B along with a copy of the adoption medical report and an original birth certificate to the legal advisor for the case.
20. What specific documents do I need for the agency decision?
Part A’s through to G of the Child Permanence Report, the assessment of child’s support needs, the assessment of the birth parents support needs, a genogram and a copy of the Personal Education Plan or SEN statement if the child is of school age.
21. What specific documents do I need for matching?
All of the documents that were given for the agency decision, plus a linking meeting minutes, adoption placement report, adoption support plan and delegation of parental responsibility checklist. You will also need a copy of the prospective adopters PAR, including the medical and references, a copy of the minutes from the panel which they were approved and a copy of the letter sent from their agency decision maker confirming the approval.
22. What do I do if a father’s identity is not known?
All reasonable efforts must be made to identify the father. If the mother says that it is a named person their details must be contained on the child permanence report. If she is unsure then it is reasonable to include the putative fathers in the ability and willingness section of the report.
23. What is the purpose of observing contact?
Observing contact can help to give you a picture of the child’s needs and also to be able to understand why the parent is unable to care for the child. It’s also nice to be able to add in to your child permanence report something about the interaction between the parents and the child/ren.
24. What other documents do I need to ensure I have read?
Try to read all the files for the children and any information on the birth parents. If a previous child has been placed for adoption then try to read their files also to be able to gain a thorough background understanding of the birth parents lives. This can be helpful for children in the future to understand why their parents were unable to care for them.
25. What qualifications do I need to write a Child Permanence Report?
You need to be a social worker to write a child permanence report. Once you have had three years experience of adoption work you can then be the social worker qualified under the Restriction on the Preparation of Reports Regulations 2005 to prepare this report. Or you need to be supervised by somebody who has qualified under this restriction.
26. How do I record on documentum?
You will need to open a word document called running records and save this into the adoption folder, this can then be opened and edited and resaved. Any documents need to be clearly labelled with adoption in the title to ensure that they are saved in the correct place.
27. How do I open an adoption folder on documentum?
Go to the child’s P folder on documentum. Click on File, New and then New Adoption Folder. Adoption folders are restricted to the Children in Care and Moving on Team and the managers from the Family Placement Team.
28. What is a child permanence report?
A child permanence report has three main functions to convince the Adoption agency decision maker that adoption is in the best interests of the child for matching and to inform the child and their adoptive family of the child’s history before being adopted and of the child in the future.
29. What is the purpose of a life story book and a letter for later life?
Both of these give a child a greater understanding of the reasons that they came into care and also to give more information about their birth families at appropriate stages in a child’s life.