Devon County Council

The procedures for recruiting, preparing, assessing, approving and supporting prospective adopters are set out in detail in our policy and procedure documents.

In brief, the social work team within the Adoption Unit teams receives enquiries from members of the public interested in becoming adopters and from time to time engages in specific initiatives to encourage people to consider adoption of older children, sibling groups and children with disabilities.  These initiatives have included selective advertising in relevant publications, local media campaigns linked to national Adoption Week and a regional recruitment drive co-ordinated by the South West Adoption Consortium.

All enquirers are sent an information pack about adoption.

Those interested in knowing more will be invited to attend an open meeting, to meet adopters and staff and to learn more about adoption.   They will have one or more individual discussions with an adoption social worker, usually in the enquirer’s home to answer their questions about adoption and to gather preliminary information about what the applicant’s wishes and what they might have to offer to the kinds of children needing adoption locally, regionally or nationally.

If the enquirer wishes to proceed, the preliminary information will be considered and a decision taken whether to proceed to a formal home study assessment.  If the decision is taken not to proceed, the applicant will be informed in writing and advised of the options open to them.

As part of the formal assessment, applicants will be asked to attend a Preparation Course which provides more detailed information and helps people decide whether adoption is for them.  Checks and references are taken up, and any evident medical issues will be investigated.

An adoption social worker will be allocated to work with the applicant through the assessment process, which will involve a series of home visits.  Applicants are encouraged to contribute directly to the written assessment report.

Applicants receive a copy of the completed report of the social worker’s assessment and will be invited to add their comments to it.

Applicants are invited to attend Adoption Panel when their approval is being considered.  This is an opportunity, not a requirement, so a decision not to attend will not be taken to indicate a lack of commitment to the application.  If they are approved, the Adoption Panel may offer advice about the number, age range and gender of the children for which they are considered most suitable.

If the Agency Decision Maker is minded not to approve the application, the applicants are notified of the reasons and of their rights to make representations to the County Council and to have the application further considered by the Adoption Panel or to apply to the Independent Review Mechanism.

Following approval, the adoption social worker will keep in touch with the prospective adopter and ensure that they have access to information about children needing placement within the county and the region and nationally.

The Adoption Unit ensures that suitable families are considered for waiting Devon children.

Specific procedures have been drawn up to cover situations in which a relative or friend or current foster carer of a looked-after child wishes to be considered as a potential adopter for the child.  These procedures aim to ensure that:

• each party has access to prompt and well-informed advice
• each party’s needs and wishes are considered
• any assessment is able to take place promptly (usually through the employment of sessional staff)
• decision-making processes are clear, particularly when more than one potential adoptive family wishes to be considered for the child.

Reciprocal arrangements are in place with neighbouring local authorities for the taking up of applications from Devon’s Children & Young People’s Services staff who wish to adopt, to ensure that the privacy of the applicant and the objectivity of the assessment are protected.