Adoption leaders move to stem drop in placement orders
Neil Puffett
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
The body set up to oversee the adoption system has issued guidance in an effort to halt a sharp slump in the number of court orders being made for children to be adopted.
The "myth-buster" guidance, published by the Adoption Leadership Board, is intended to provide local authorities with clarification about recent court judgments on adoption and what that means for social work practice.
Last week, CYP Now reported that between April and June this year a total of 760 placement orders were granted, compared with 1,550 orders being made between July and September 2013.
The fall is being blamed on an appeal court ruling made last September by Sir James Munby in the case of Re B-S in which he criticised the "sloppy practice" of social workers and said that local authorities must provide evidence that all alternatives to adoption had been considered before bringing a case to court.
Another appeal court ruling - the case of Re B - is also claimed to have had an impact.
Sir Martin Narey, chair of the Adoption Leadership Board, said that following two years of "significant progress" in numbers of adoptions taking place, there has been a "sudden and significant fall off".
"It is clear from my discussions with social workers and managers in local authorities and in voluntary adoption agencies, that there is a belief that the law has been fundamentally changed by a number of court judgments."
Narey said the guidance, which was drafted by a senior Queen's Counsel, sets out the case that the judgments do not alter the legal test for adoption and makes clear that courts must be provided with "expert, high quality, evidence-based analysis of all realistic options for a child" and the arguments for and against each of them.
"The board and I have published this guide to help everyone working for children understand the law around these complex cases, and be confident in making the right decisions for the child," he said.
"Where the right analysis has been carried out and a child's social worker is satisfied that adoption is the option needed to meet the best interests of the child, the local authority can be confident in presenting the court with a care plan for adoption.
"Adoption is not right for every child but where it is, we owe it to them to pursue this option relentlessly."
Children's minister Edward Timpson also blamed the decrease in the number of children placed for adoption, on a "misinterpretation of the law".
"The new guidance will help make clear the law around the correct interpretation of these complex cases and ensure the right decisions are being made each and every time," he added.
