1. CVAA Practice Sharing Workshop 14 July 2016

2. How did we get here?
Centre for Adoption Support
North West Concurrent Planning Service
Bespoke Family Finding
How do we transfer the learning into a working model?

3. Bespoke Family Finding Service for Priority Children

4. Priority Children Definition ….
“Harder to place children are defined either by:
characteristics (i.e. White European children aged 4 years and over, children from BME communities, siblings in groups of 2 or more and children with specific additional needs); or
children who have been waiting for 12 months or more since their ADM decision”.
DFE/CVAA Draft Grant Offer Letter

5. Expansion bid from DfE…
What were our ideas?
Concept of a child specific model
Increase the number of adopters from untapped resources
The concept of a child specific model was borne out of the work undertaken by the Adoption Support arm of CFAS. Through the various referrals the partnership LA’s referred children for direct work in preparation for adoption. The children that were referred were older of white European background, with a previous adoption breakdown and multiple moves. The preparation work was tailor made for each child based on their interests and needs. The direct work supported the children referred to make sense of their individual histories and explore their emotions around these events and what the future may potentially hold. What we learnt from these pieces of work is that direct work is critical in supporting children to make a successful transition into an adoptive placement.
Various research studies suggest that there are untapped resources for adoption
Single male applicants
Over 50’s
People working in the NHS
The role of the relationship manager was to expand into these areas to raise the profile of adoption and recruit potential adopters who may be a possible family for a Priority Child.

6. The Service
A seamless recruitment, assessment, early matching and adoption support service
Innovative collaborative sub-regional LA/VAA Partnerships
Focus on Priority Children

7. The Challenge Developing partnerships with LA’s
Generating referrals for more priority children
Recruiting more carers for priority children
Managing more complex work
Working across a larger geographical area
Developing and sharing the necessary skills

8. Child Specific Model Child is referred to the Priority Children’s Team
Consultation Meeting with the LA (pre/post referral)
Contracts/Publicity Agreement

9. Child Specific Model
Gathering information about the child from the files, foster carer, social worker and any other significant person.
Observation of the child in their home environment.
Build a relationship with the child.
Direct work around transitions to commence on identification of a strong family.
There are two components to the Child Specific Model the child’s journey and the adopters journey. I will begin by talking you through the child’s journey

10. Child Specific Model
Recruitment Strategy – different levels of marketing
Informal Meetings – identify a family
Training
Registration Of Interest - Stage 1: Statutory Checks
Sharing and receiving information about child/family
LA visit the family
Bump Into Meeting (Chemistry)

11. Child Specific Model Stage 2: Formal Application Link in with a buddy
ASI and Assessment of Adopter’s capacity to meet the individual needs of the child
Identify any gaps in knowledge and skill base/offer additional child specific training
Suitability to Adopt – Adoption Panel

12. Qualities in Potential Adopters
Altruistic motivation
Life long commitment
Emotionally resilient
Fun, playful, good sense of humour
Think out of the box
Stickability

13. Child Specific Model Linking and Matching as per a general placement
Introductions (bespoke depending on the needs of the child)
Involved until point of Adoption Order
Adoption Support through CFAS
Encourage contact with the foster carer (indirect and direct)

14. Outcomes for children …
It is too early to predict the success rate of the model however we can consider the learning from the model in terms of best practice.
Emotional preparation of children for a transition.
Bump into Meetings.
Providing adopters with information about the child from the outset – no surprises.

15. Outcomes for children …
Identifying adoption support needs for the family.
Continuity of worker from the point of referral through to adoption order.
Bespoke training/assessment around the needs of the child allows better preparation for the adopter.

16. The Future…
Working in partnership with Regional Adoption Agencies to offer a service to Priority Children!
Develop working relationships – Block or Spot purchasing.

17. FUTURE FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN A DUAL APPROVAL SERVICE
A POSITIVE ROUTE TO PERMANENCE
FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN
Hilary Thomas

18. Why a dual approval service?
There is a significant number of children, aged 4 and over, who need permanence but for whom adoption has not been achieved by the “traditional” route.
A Future Families for Children (FFC) placement provides a child with the opportunity to be fostered for a period of time, with support given to both the child and their carer to enable the attachment/bonding process to develop, before progressing to adoption.

19. What is the added value?
We believe that the most significant “added value”, for the child and the carer – and therefore for the local authority - is the provision of a robust support package from the outset.
We also believe that if the carers are given very specific support and training to understand different ways of parenting the children who hurt, they will be able to make a firm and permanent commitment to them.
Caritas Care is long-established in providing both adoption and fostering services and has extensive experience in supporting children and families in permanent placements. The recent OFSTED inspection of the fostering service awarded “Outstanding” in relation to Outcomes for Children.
The children and their carers will have access to a range of specialist support services, both whilst foster carers and as adopters.

20. Who are these children?
Children whom the local authority would ideally want to place with an adoptive family but due to the child’s needs/behaviour or the lack of an appropriate match are likely to face spending the rest of their childhood and teenage years in care.
Many, if not all, of these children will have experienced several losses, moves and disruption as well as having suffered abuse, significant neglect and/or pre-natal exposure to alcohol or drugs.
They may well display behaviour which is experienced by carers/adopters/schools as challenging and disruptive.
Almost all of the children will be over 4 years old
They may be part of a sibling group
Some will have experienced an adoption, or SGO, placement disruption.

21. Future Families for Children Carers
The carers are approved as both foster carers and adopters.
They will receive a fostering allowance during the first year of the fostering phase of the placement; this will be gradually reduced as part of the preparation for them committing to adopting the child.
Foster carers will commit to undertaking the same role as any other foster carer, including fulfilling all the expectations in relation to training.
At the same time they will be given additional training and support to ensure that they are “on track” with the care plan for that child, which will be adoption.
Being FFC carers will give them the support and confidence to care for older children as permanent members of their families.

22. What are the criteria for Dual Approval Carers?
Experience of child care – but not necessarily as a parent
Patience, warmth, emotional maturity, “stickability” – and a sense of humour
Single, married or living in a partnership, gay or straight
A commitment to the plan for the child being adoption, following a period of fostering
Usually the child would be either the only or the youngest child in the household, with a gap of several years between this child and any other child living there
An understanding that the child is likely to have had traumatic early experiences, losses and rejections and may show their sadness and anger in many different ways

23. A willingness to learn more about child development and positive ways of parenting children who have had negative experiences
A commitment to ongoing training and to engaging with the support provided for themselves and their child
A commitment to working with the child’s local authority in a positive way
Ability to be at home full time for at least 3 months, and ideally longer, after the child is placed and then to be available pre-and post school, during school holidays and for meetings and training etc. (If in a partnership, one adult would need to commit to this)

24. Support Services
The following support services will be available to the child and their carer from the point of their placement:
Therapeutic life story work
Support from Education Officers, who are trained in special educational needs.
Training package on attachment for child’s school
Advice and support from a trauma therapist
Access to and support from a clinical psychologist
Regular carers’ groups to provide support
Play/activity events for the child with their carer

25. Membership of Fostering Network
The carer will receive regular supervisory visits from an experienced social worker.
They will have access to Caritas Care’s 24-hour fostering team support line.
Regular newsletters
Membership of Fostering Network
Post adoption access to the full range of adoption support services, via the Centre for Adoption Support (CFAS), including a range of training courses, access to specialist advice, support groups and resources, including:-
An extensive post approval training programme delivered across the region through CfAS, including therapeutic re-parenting,” Nurtured Heart” approach and associated workshops, life story work, explaining adoption, support network, training etc.
Adopters’ support groups incorporating informal peer support

26. Training for the carers
Participation in a 3 day adoption preparation group
Additional day’s foster care preparation
One day (or equivalent sessions) on child development, especially brain development, and strategies for parenting troubled children
Specialised training in the Solihull Approach – a therapeutic approach to parenting and re-parenting carried out in small groups
Ongoing foster care training, including the mandatory training to meet the Training, Support & Development standards
Access to the extensive pan-Lancashire Children’s Safeguarding Board courses.
Access to workshops and regional training events as relevant.

27. Liaison between placing agency and Local Authority
It will be crucial that there is good, open communication between all professionals involved to ensure that the most appropriate support is identified at any given time, and that the child and the carer are not “swamped” by too many different people being involved.
Work with the placing agency to draw up a comprehensive chronology of the child’s life, which will be used to assist the carer in understanding the child’s history prior to placement, will help them to make sense of the child’s behaviour subsequently and will contribute significantly to therapeutic lifestory work.

28. Finance
Dual approval placements will be secured on a spot-purchase basis, as with other fostering placements made with Caritas Care.
The weekly charge will be based on the agreed charges within the North West.
However, in recognition that this is intended to be an adoptive placement, the charges made to the local authority will begin to reduce after the child has been in placement for 12 months.
Once the placement has progressed and the match agreed by the Agency Decision Maker, the child will be placed under Adoption Agencies Regulations. The inter-agency adoption fee will be reduced once this becomes an adoptive placement, to take into account a percentage of the weekly payments made during the fostering period.
A separate Financial Information Sheet is available detailing these arrangements.

29. Care Planning Process
Following consultation with local authority colleagues, there will be three possible “routes” into an FFC Placement:
Child on care order/placement order with a plan for permanence;
A care plan for adoption would be presented to the final hearing, specifying that this would be achieved via a Dual Approval placement;
A child could be placed with an FFC carer when they first become Looked After, in situations where extensive work has taken place pre-proceedings within the PLO process, and where the likelihood of the child being cared for by family members is slight.
In all cases the child will be placed initially under Fostering Agency Regulations.

30. Care Planning Process
The process will vary according to the child’s legal status at the point of placement. The following is an abbreviated version of the process for children who are on a Placement Order when placed:
Between the 3rd and 4th reviews (ie between approximately 10 and 15 months), consideration will be given by the local authority as to whether proceeding to adoption with this specific carer would be the right decision for the child.
The child’s social worker will have carefully and thoroughly ascertained the child’s views.
At the same time there will be in-depth discussion with the carer to ensure that they are willing to proceed to adopt the child.
If so: the adoption care plan should be formally agreed at a Care Planning Meeting and subsequently confirmed by the IRO at a statutory review

31. The relevant processes would be followed leading to the Agency Decision Maker agreeing to the match.
At that stage the child would be formally placed with their FFC carer under Adoption Agencies Regulations; the carer’s status would then change to being that of the prospective adopter.
A statutory review will then be held within 20 working days
The prospective adopter will be able to lodge their application as soon as the child is formally placed for adoption, as the 10 week rule will be deemed to have been met.
NB If the carer is confident that they wish to proceed to adopt earlier in the placement, and the local authority is in agreement with this for the child, this will be supported.

32. Consultation Consultation has taken place with:
Focus Group of local authority managers and senior managers
Focus Group with Caritas Care foster carers and adopters
Manchester Courts Adoption Committee
CAFCASS – both Manchester and Lancashire based teams
Legal sub-group
Individual meetings with a range of managers across several N.W.. local authorities.
In addition a Steering Group, comprising of local authority adoption managers, legal representatives, a CAFCASS manager and Caritas Care managers, has met twice to date.

33. Potential Challenges
Recruiting sufficient carers with the skills and experience to undertake this task;
The lack of statutory leave for carers if the child is on a Placement Order when initially placed, and the concern for local authorities about score cards;
Identifying the most appropriate carer who lives near enough to the child’s local authority area to facilitate contact if this is on a very regular basis;
Contact itself may present issues, including frequency, confidentiality (eg placement address, surname of carer etc.);
The child may find it very difficult to settle into the placement and may be
Resistant to support and therapy due to their previous experiences;
The carer may struggle to meet the child’s needs when the behaviour is perceived as very challenging and may ask for the placement to end;

34. During the period when the child is placed under Fostering Regulations the birth parent may have made significant changes to their life and may seek rehabilitation of the child to their care, or a relative may contact the local authority requesting that they be assessed as the child’s potential carer.
The carer may decide that they are committed to the child but are not willing/confident enough to adopt and wish to continue as their foster carer. If so, the local authority would need to decide whether agreement would be made to enable the child to remain in this placement long-term, or find an alternative placement.
The child may not wish to be adopted.
Even if a local authority is supportive of placing a child with a Dual Approval carer there may be concern about the impact on its score cards.

35. Finally…….
Whilst recognising the potential pitfalls we remain convinced that Future Families for Children offers a really significant and much-needed service for that group of children who might otherwise never feel that they have a family to call their own as they grow up.
Our task is to ensure that we are able to make this work for the benefit of these vulnerable children and to offer the best possible support to their carers to ensure they are able to commit permanently to meeting the children’s needs.

36. The Issues

37. The Children How are they identified? Are there some who aren’t?
When in the planning process are the decisions made?
Different starting points for the child – is this an issue?

38. The Child Specific Service
Difficulties with non-supportive regulation and legislation
The PAR
The Panel
Non eligibility for adoption benefits

39. The Assessment Process
Training Issues
Only for this child?
How do we tempt them in?

40. Meeting the Child
Our experiences from other practice e.g. bump into meetings, activity days, adoption parties etc

41. Financial Questions
The disincentive of the models!

42. The Terminology The spectrum of fostering to adoption Concurrency
Early Permanence
Fostering to Adopt
Dual Approval

43. Post/Approval Support
The expectation
What have we learnt from the Centre for Adoption Support
What have we learnt from disruption
Should adoption support be available pre identification of a child
How do we assess the adults?
How is it marketable and attractive to LA’s?

44. The Legislative Pressure
The score card and how it is interpreted
The length of the family finding time
Pressure exerted by LA’s and IRO’s on getting people to put in application
These children aren’t adoptable

45. Contact Information
Adoption Matters Head Office:
14 Liverpool Road, Chester, CH2 1AE
Caritas Care Head Office:
218 Tulketh Road, Ashton On Ribble, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 1ES
Centre for Adoption Support:
Aiken Hall, Room WAH108, Padgate Campus, Crab Lane, Warrington, WA2 0DB
The North West Concurrent Planning Service:
Innovation Forum, 51 Frederick Road, Salford, Manchester, M6 6FP
Tel: