Placement for Adoption

Every Looked After Child must have a Permanence Plan by the date of his or her second Looked After Review.

When an adoption plan is being considered in relation to a Looked After Child, consideration should be given to inviting a representative of the Adoption Service to the relevant meeting.

In relation to a Relinquished Child, an early planning meeting should be arranged to which a representative of the Adoption Service must be invited. Where adoption is considered to be the preferred option for a relinquished child, it should begin family finding immediately in order to achieve early placement following the decision.

Family finding should begin as soon as adoption is under consideration, and before the Agency Decision Maker decides that the child should be placed for adoption or a Placement Order is made.

In the case of siblings, an early decision should be taken as to whether it is in the best interests of each child to be placed together or separately, and the impact on each child of that decision. The decision should be based on a balanced assessment of the individual needs of each child in the group, and the likely or possible consequences of each option on each child. Factors that may need to be considered will include: the nature of the sibling group (do the siblings know each other/ how are they related); whether the children have formed an attachment; the health needs of each child; and each child's view (noting that a child's views and perceptions will change over time).