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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.

With effect from July 2014, there is a duty (under s. 22C of the Children Act 1989 (amended by the Children and Families Act 2014)) imposed upon local authorities that where:

• They are considering adoption for a child (this can be at an early stage, and can be before a decision has been made by the Agency Decision Maker that the child should be place for adoption); or
• They are satisfied that the child ought to be placed for adoption, but do not yet have authority to place the child for adoption (either by way of parental consent or by way of Placement Order);
• Then the local authority MUST consider placing the child with:
  • Firstly, a relative, friend or Connected Person who is also a local authority foster carer; or
  • Where they decide that a placement with such a person is not the most appropriate placement for the child, they must consider placing the child with a local authority foster carer who has been approved as a prospective adopter (a 'dually approved carer').

From 1 September 2012, not all cases must be referred to the Adoption Panel. Cases where the criteria apply for the local authority to apply for a Placement Order, i.e. the child is the subject of a Care Order or the Threshold Criteria for a Care Order are satisfied or where there is no parent or guardian, will not be referred to the Adoption Panel for a recommendation, but will be referred directly to the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption) for a decision. All other cases (i.e. where the parents have given consent and there is no application for a Placement Order) will continue to be referred to the Adoption Panel for a recommendation, which the Agency Decision Maker (Adoption) will take into account when making a decision.

As soon as adoption is the Permanence Plan for the child, the child's social worker must:

• Arrange a date for the case to be referred to the Adoption Panel (where the parents have given consent and there is no application for a Placement Order)/ Agency Decision Maker (Adoption) (in all other cases);
  
  This date must be a maximum of 2 months from the date when the adoption plan was ratified at the child's Looked After Review. Where this timescale is not met, the reason should be recorded; 
  
  
• Continue to provide counselling for the child - see Section 3, Preparation of Child for Adoption;
• Make a referral to the Adoption Service for a family finder to be identified.