TIME TAKEN TO ACHIEVE ADOPTION FROM PERMANENT CARE

BARNARDOS FIND-A-FAMILY Barnardos Australia operates in New South Wales and the ACT. The great majority of the programs are family support programs. Find-a-Family offers an integrated service of adoption and permanent family care. Children enter the program after final orders are made in the Children’s Court, with PR to the Minister until age 18. Strong permanency planning focus, children under age 5 will almost always have a Care Plan “view to adoption”.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH This research aimed to understand how to achieve adoption in as timely a way as possible by examining the causes of such delays. Adoptions undertaken by Barnardos Find-a- Family NSW over 10 years, between 1/1/2002 and 31/12/2011. Work was undertaken in 2012 by Sydney University students, overseen by a reference group consisting of Barnardos senior management. A sample size of 53 children was included. Both quantitative and qualitative data was examined.

THE 3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1)How long does it take to achieve an adoption? 2)What issues affect the time taken for adoption of children and young people? 3)What practice implications do these findings have for achieving adoption in the most timely manner?

Variables Considered Age of child Court delays Contact frequency Birth Certificate issues Fathers unknown Behaviour Siblings Placement history Culture Gender Case Manager attitudes

So how long does adoption take? Comparing children of different ages

What issues, apart from age, affect the time taken to adoption?

NSW Consent Requirements Each parent of the child Anyone who has parental responsibility for the child The child if they are over 12 years of age.

Dispensation NSW Adoption Act 2000, Section 67, specifies 4 grounds on which a parent’s consent can be dispensed with: 1)The person cannot be found or identified 2)The person is not capable of considering the question of consent 3)There is serious cause for concern for the welfare of the child 4)An application has been made by authorised carers for the child and the child has established a stable relationship with those carers.

CONSENT STATUS

TIME SPENT AT COURT

Contact with Parents Does the level of contact impact on delays?

Contact with mothers 37 children had regular contact with their birth mothers; 12 had no contact. Children with contact had their adoption order made, on average, 116 days earlier than those who had no contact. Birth mothers who had no contact were more likely to give consent. Birth mothers who had contact were more likely to contest the adoption.

CONTACT WITH BIRTH FATHER

DOES A CHILD’S LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY IMPACT?

TIME TO ADOPTION BY CARE LEVEL

Are there differences in time frames for sibling groups?

TIME TO ADOPTION BY SIBLING STATUS

Placement History Do previous placements impact on delays?

Impact of previous placements 40% of children entered FAF from Barnardos; 60% entered via FaCS. 4 children had a planned move from short term to permanent care; only 2 children had a placement disruption within FAF. There was no significant difference in adoption time frames for these children.

Does culture or gender play a role?

CULTURAL FACTORS

TIME TO ADOPTION BY GENDER

Case Manager’s attitudes to adoption?

Responses (n=40) Security Stability Sense of family/belonging Normality - No more caseworkers Permanency Planning Same last name/Identity legal permanence Chance to reach full potential Attachment with carers Continuity Cost benefit for agency What is your understanding of the importance of adoption?

Responses (n=24) Working with birth parents Confusing/long process Rewarding Important for child Not as much Case Manager time dedicated as placement thought to be extra stable Carer challenges Relatively smooth process Costly – money wise What was your experience of the adoption process?

Responses (n=27) “Getting it right”; Gathering information, paperwork Time it takes Detail of process Impact on birth family No Concerns Balance between crisis work and adoption Removal of birth family from birth certificate Impact on adoptive family - pressures Making sure it is the right time for the child What is your biggest concern in undertaking adoption work?

Responses (n=22 ) More communication between parties about adoption and adoption process Need for transparency especially with birth parents Another specialised adoption team to do work More Adoption training Improvement of DoCS process/understanding of adoption What could be done to improve the adoption process?

Conclusion Summary of findings

Delays –the significant factors Age of child Court processes Searches for birth fathers Single children verse sibling groups Culture, gender and previous Barnardos’ placements did not have considerable impact on the process

Timely decision-making for permanency. Identify and locate birth fathers as soon as a child enters placement, regardless of the care plan. Greater emphasis on Case Manager training and professional development. Recommendations

Questions?