Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director for Strategy and Resources

Councillor David Mellen, Portfolio Holder for Early Years and Early Intervention introduced a report on Adoption in Nottingham. Helen Blackman, Director of Children’s Integrated Services and Sonia Cain, Service Manager for Fostering and Adoption informed the Committee of the process for adoption in Nottingham and the work that the Council is doing to ensure positive outcomes for looked after children. They highlighted the following points:

(a)  Across the UK the number of adoptions is decreasing. In Nottingham City the number of adoptions completed continues to rise. In 2011/12 there were 33 adoptions, in 2016/17 there have been 48 adoptions;

(b)  there are currently 96 children in care in Nottingham City  awaiting adoption;

(c)  there are a number of misconceptions about who can adopt, and as long as carers are over the age of 21 and have the ability to offer a child a permanent home then they will be considered as an adopter;

(d)  Adoption Services are advertised on the Council website, once someone has expressed an interest in adopting they will be invited to an information evening, these are held every 6-8 weeks. Following this meeting a series of assessments are completed including home visits, medical checks and reference checks. This process takes about 26 weeks at which point the potential adopter will go before a panel who will assess their suitability. If they are deemed suitable then the process of matching the carer to a child or children can begin;

(e)  carers are supported with a full training programme, including managing challenging behaviour, health needs and managing disability, and caring for sibling groups. The Council also offers some financial support for adopters, and the pupil premium in schools is available for children after adoption;

(f)  there is a Post Order support team who are available to support adopters after the Adoption Order has been finalised and who can help carers access therapeutic support;

(g)  between three years prior to and including 2014/15 financial year the Council achieved permanency through adoption for 153 children, 59% of which who fell into one or more of the “hard to place” categories;

(h)  the national performance tables drive for quicker outcomes for children leading to a focus on easy to place children such as babies and toddlers. The Council is working hard to ensure that all children are given the same chance and works hard to place those children who fall into the “hard to place” categories;

(i)  each year the target for securing an adoption from the time a child entered into care becomes shorter and the target more challenging especially around securing placements for the children in hard to place categories;

(j)  much work is focused on suitable placement and ensuring that the correct placement is found for children. Nottingham’s disruption rate (the breakdown of a placement) is very low and this is attributed to the extensive work put into prior to placement;

(k)  Ofsted feedback highlights the following points:

·  Adoption is considered for all children, and is achieved for sibling groups as well as older children and those with complex needs;

·  Assessment of adopters and special guardians is comprehensive and appropriate support  is offered sensitive to their needs and the needs of the children;

·  Children looked after live in stable and secure homes and are supported to live full and enjoyable lives;

·  Very careful consideration is given to children living with carers who can meet their needs. Robust quality assurance is in place to oversee and ensure the quality of placements;

(l)  in financial year 2014/15 the Council achieved 70 adoptions, which was a very large rise in numbers achieved. The following years numbers have not been so high, but this large increase in numbers was attributed to the sustained and intensive focus on placement made possible by various grants, including the adoption support grant;

(m)   in June 2015 the government indicated its desire to reshape the adoption provision into regional adoption agencies. They want to reduce the number of adoption agencies operating in the UK. Nottingham City Council have expressed an interest, in collaboration with other local authorities in the region, in running one of these Regional Adoption Agencies and made a bid, the pilot scheme is due to go live by April 2018;

(n)  the Council currently also have the opportunity to work with the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership fast tracking adoption social work across Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Derby and Derbyshire in order to place children quickly but securely. This scheme will be run over the next year;

(o)  there are a number of challenges facing adoption in Nottingham: 

·  Recruitment – it has always been a challenge to recruit carers but collaborative work across the region will improve chances of increased recruitment;

·  Adoption Support Grant – approximately £320,000 extra funding is coming to an end within the next year;

·  Timescale for Adoption – year on year the target time scales set nationally are getting shorter and the expectation is that the adoption process should be quicker;

·  Legal Challenges – there are many legal complexities around adoption. The courts want children to stay with birth relatives where possible although they acknowledge that this is not appropriate in all cases;

·  Changes to interagency funding – Interagency funding changes are likely to create some pressure. Grants previously available to help cover the costs are no longer accessible;

Following questions and comments from the Committee the following information was highlighted:

(p)  the 26 week assessment period ensures that carers are suitable to offer a child or children a permanent home. The Council will continue to focus on the quality of assessment and placement. The process is getting quicker but the Council is committed to focus on all children rather than just the easy to place children. Very few placements disrupt in Nottingham and the careful approach is working;

(q)  in addition to finding a permanent family for the child’s life the adoption process costs significantly less than keeping a child in care until they become care leavers;

(r)  if a placements breaks down then it is treated the same as any family breakdown and the child will return to care. A huge amount of work goes into each placement to ensure that the chance of disruption is minimal;

(s)  if a carer was approved and matched with a child but required extra space to accommodate the child/ren then it would be possible for the Council to consider help to rehome or provide extra space at the family home.

RESOLVED to

(1)  thank Councillor David Mellen, Helen Blackman and Sonia Cain for their attendance and update on Adoption in Nottingham;

(2)  note the content of the presentation.