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Disruption of Adoptive Placements

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This chapter applies to disruptions of adoptive placements, which occur prior to an Adoption Order having been made. Where a disruption takes place after an Adoption Order has been made, a Disruption Meeting may be held as part of the adoption support provided to the child and adoptive family in which case the same principles as set out in this chapter may be followed.

AMENDMENT

This chapter was refreshed in January 2024.
  1. Where an agency adoptive placement breaks down prior to the granting of an Adoption Order, a Disruption Meeting must be held to identify the reasons for the breakdown and to learn lessons from the events surrounding the breakdown.

    When endings are unplanned, then the welfare and well-being of children remain paramount and agency staff act at all times with this in mind;

    The Disruption Meeting will be held no sooner than 28 days after and no later than 42 days after the placement breaking down, and will follow a set agenda;

    The Adoption Service will arrange for the meeting to be chaired independently by an experienced practitioner or manager from outside the adoption service not involved in the line management of the case responsible social worker;

  2. The Disruption Meeting will be convened by the child's social worker, who will invite the prospective adoptive parents, their social worker, the current carers, the child's Independent Reviewing Officer and any other relevant people. The child's social worker will also ensure that the child's views and feelings are given to the meeting in the most appropriate way;

  3. The Panel Members who sat on the approval and/or matching panel should be notified of the disruption and should receive copies of the Panel minutes recommending the adoption plan for the child, the prospective adopters' approval and the placement with the particular prospective adopters, to enable learning points to be shared. A wider discussion should take place with all panel members on the central list regarding the themes from the disruption meeting once the learning is identified;

  4. If a placement disrupts, a review must be held between 28 days and 42 days after the disruption. The Adoption Panel should reconsider the prospective adopters’ approval status. The information gathered at the disruption meeting should be shared with panel members to aid their understanding. It is important that this information is shared with the panel as the panel should include information on disruptions in its formal feedback to the agency. The information gathered for a review, minutes of the review meeting and a record of any decision made in the course of or as a result of the review must be placed on the child’s case record. The agency must ensure that it notifies the child (if of sufficient age and understanding) and the prospective adopter of the outcome of the review, as well as any other person the agency considers relevant. This should normally include anyone whose views were obtained and, of course, anyone directly affected by the decision.