6.2.7 Monitoring and Supervision of Adoptive Placements

RELATED GUIDANCE

Practice Guidance on Assessing the Support Needs of Adoptive Families (2008).

1.	Arrangements for and frequency of visits for supervising the placement must be made at Placement Planning Meetings and set out in the Adoption Placement Plan – see Placement for Adoption Procedure, Section 9, Planning the Placement. This will involve at a minimum: The child’s social worker visiting the child within the first week of the placement and then weekly until the first review. If this is not practicable, the social worker for the adoptive family may visit instead. Thereafter, the frequency of visits will be determined at the child’s Adoption Review or, if not specified, a minimum of every six weeks for the first year and after this, on a three-monthly basis
2.	Where there are any concerns, additional visits should be arranged.
3.	The prospective adopters’ social worker will also carry out visits at intervals agreed in the Adoption Placement Plan - and more frequently if circumstances require. The visits should continue until an Adoption Order has been made or until the placement is terminated. Where the placement is with prospective adopters approved by another agency, these arrangements will also be as agreed in the Contract between the Adoption Service and the relevant agency (recorded on the Consortium Pro Forma or BAAF Form H1).
4.	Visits must be made by suitably experienced qualified social workers or social workers/student social workers who are supervised by suitably qualified and experienced social workers - see Section 5 of Adoption Panel Procedure. The purpose of the support and supervision is to ensure that the child's welfare is being promoted and safeguarded. The prospective adopters should be encouraged to take on responsibility for parenting the child whilst keeping the child's social worker and their own social worker informed of the child's progress. This is also the opportunity to test out the Adoption Support Plan, offer advice to the prospective adopters on the management of the child's behaviour and ensure the prospective adopters are equipped to meet the child's needs.
5.	Records of all visits must be made and copies placed on the child’s Adoption Case Record as well as the child’s social work file. Between visits, the social workers involved must discuss progress in the placement and read each other’s recording of visits during the monitoring period.
6.	Where there are concerns that the placement is at risk of breaking down, a review meeting must be convened immediately by the child’s social worker - see Adoption Reviews Procedure.
7.	The child should be endeavoured to be seen alone (unless s/he is of sufficient age and understanding and refuses) at all of the visits, whether undertaken by the child’s social worker or the adopters’ social worker, and his or her wishes and feelings recorded.
8.	The child’s social worker will arrange for the child to continue to have health assessments in line with his or her Health Care Plan and that the Health Care Plan continues to be reviewed up to the Adoption Order in accordance with the procedures for Looked After Children.
9.	The procedures to be followed where a placement disrupts are set out in the Disruption of Adoptive Placements Procedure.
10.	Visits to the child and adopters after the Adoption Order will be made as and when required under the Adoption Support Plan - see Adoption Support Services Procedure

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