Adoption Panel Papers

• It is the responsibility of the individual social worker and their manager to ensure paperwork is of a required standard to submit for adoption panel, it should have both the signature of the social worker and their manager. Once submitted, the paperwork will only be presented to adoption panel if it is of a required standard. Social workers should pay particular attention to spelling and grammar, dates of birth etc. If it is not of a required standard, the professional advisor to the adoption panel, will alert social workers of this and to give them the opportunity to amend the paperwork. All amended paperwork must be resubmitted no later than 48 hours after they have been notified of the changes required. If this timescale is not achieved the matter will be deferred until the next available panel;
• Once cases are presented to adoption panel, panel can ask social workers for further information or further amendments to be made. If this occurs, social workers will be written to identifying the changes needed, they will be given a date by which to resubmit paperwork. If changes are not made in the required timescale, a delay in matching children with families can occur;
• All sections of the CPR are to be completed; if information is missing, this should be clearly explained on the document. For example if the information for sections F and G is not available at time of going to panel, the reasons for this should be added to sections F and G and submitted along with the paperwork;
• It is crucial social workers obtain the wishes and feelings of children. If the child is unable to do so, or is too young this should be clearly recorded on the CPR. Often social workers comment it is too early in the process to discuss adoption. However, it is not too early in the process for them to express a view with regard to the separation from their birth family or their understanding about being in foster care, these views, wishes and feelings should all be recorded on the CPR;
• If social workers are unsure about any issue relating to the presentation of cases to adoption panel, they should make contact with the adoption team and the Professional Advisor to the Adoption Panel, who will gladly offer advice and assistance.

Adoption and Permanency Panel Procedure

• Walsall Adoption and Permanence Panel will consider approvals of prospective adopters, matches of adoptive families to children who are suitable for adoption and matches of children and young people within long term fostering placements. This is working within the terms of Walsall Permanence Policy.

Paperwork required for Permanent Matches

• This process will apply to all those children who have been placed for more than 12 months. For all other children placed less than 12 months where the plan for permanence is yet to be finalised, the CPR for long term fostering purposes must be completed prior to referral to the Adoption and Permanence Team otherwise they will be unable to family find for a child.

The paperwork required will be:

• The Child's Permanency Report;
• Permanency Matching Report;
• Copy of the foster carers assessment;
• Copy of most recent LAC review paperwork and decisions (to be pulled from Mosaic by panel admin);
• Photographs;
• If external agency, ADM Decision (Notification of Approval for long-term foster carers);
• All the above documentation needs to be with panel admin, by the specified deadline provided, to the relevant panel.