Issue - items at meetings - Annual Adoption Agency Report

Report of the Director of Children’s Services (copy attached).

1.       That the Annual Adoption Agency Report and the progress of the Agency in relation to adoption and permanence activity be noted.

2.       That the revised Adoption Agency Statement of Purpose be endorsed.

29.1    The Board considered a report of the Director of Children’s Services concerning the annual adoption agency report, which provided full information about the adoption activity and compliance with the national adoption standards within the Children & Young People’s Trust and provided a profile of the work of the Adoption and Permanence teams with the fostering & Adoption Service (for copy see minute book).

29.2    The Head of Service, Fostering and Adoption, presented the item and gave an overview about recruitment activities and strategies within the service (see appendix 1 to the minutes).

29.3    The Head of Service noted the challenges the service faced in terms of the significant rise of children coming into care over the last 12 months. This rise in the numbers of children coming into care is a national picture but has resulted in particular difficulties at times in finding available fostering placements either from within in house resources or from agency foster placements.

29.4    The Board very much welcomed the report and congratulated the team of officers involved with this work. The Chairman also noted that the last Ofsted inspection had rated Brighton & Hove Adoption service as good with outstanding for diversity and the Fostering service as outstanding. She recorded her thanks to all the team involved for their positive performance and contribution. 

29.5    Discussion took place on this item and on item 30. The Board referred to several points raised in the reports and presentation and sought further clarification on those. Members noted the letter box service referred to in the report and enquired what the service was about; they enquired whether the approval of foster carers was a stringent process in Brighton & Hove; and noted the use of outside agencies and queried the extent to which the city needed to use those agencies.

29.6    The Head of Service explained that the service operated a letter box service which facilitated an exchange of cards, letters or information at agreed intervals between adopters and birth parents in order to retain the link between the birth family and the child. She reported that one dedicated officer was responsible for this service and a record was kept of all the communications had between those parties. She indicated that the service made an effort to retain those links for children and provided particular support to birth parents and birth family members to enable them to continue to have some form of contact with the adopted child.

29.7    In terms of the approval of foster carers, the Head of Service indicated that it was necessary for the process to be a rigorous one. She noted that children coming into care often have a range of complex needs, and may have suffered abuse, neglect or trauma in their family background. She explained that it was essential to place children with foster carers that are sufficiently confident and properly equipped for the demands of the fostering task and able to provide a safe and secure home for a child. 

29.8    The Head of Service also referred to the retention rates of the city’s carers. She explained that, inevitably there were a few carers that retired each year due to their age, health issues or fostering no longer fitting with their family situation. She said that officers worked hard to ensure that good carers were retained by the service. 

29.9    The Head of Service referred to the use of independent fostering agencies and confirmed that there was an increase in the use of such agencies given the rise in numbers of children coming into care. She noted that the Children & Young People Trust now had an established agency placement team and that there was a good process in place for commissioning such independent fostering services.

29.10  In response to further enquiry about pre birth assessment work, the Head of Service explained that due to increased numbers of referrals there had been a reduced capacity to undertake timely pre birth work. However, she reported that a multi-agency review group had been set up within the Trust to look specifically at early permanence work and pre birth care pathway. She advised, however, that the priority was to ensure that the service ensured effective and timely planning and intervention in relation to those most vulnerable babies in the care system.

29.11  RESOLVED – That, having considered the information and the reasons set out in the report, the Board accepted the following recommendations:

(1)      That the Annual Adoption Agency Report and the progress of the Agency in relation to adoption and permanence activity be noted.

(2)      That the revised Adoption Agency Statement of Purpose be endorsed.