Setting

Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 1 ADOPTION SERVICE

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Announced Inspection 28th February 2006 09:30 Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 2 The Commission for Social Care Inspection aims to:

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• Put the people who use social care first • Improve services and stamp out bad practice • Be an expert voice on social care • Practise what we preach in our own organisation

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Reader Information Document Purpose Inspection Report Author CSCI Audience General Public Further copies from 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Copyright This report is copyright Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and may only be used in its entirety. Extracts may not be used or reproduced without the express permission of CSCI Internet address www.csci.org.uk Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 3 This is a report of an inspection to assess whether services are meeting the needs of people who use them. The legal basis for conducting inspections is the Care Standards Act 2000 and the relevant National Minimum Standards for this establishment are those for Adoption. They can be found at www.dh.gov.uk or obtained from The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. Online ordering: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop

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Every Child Matters, outlined the government’s vision for children’s services and formed the basis of the Children Act 2004. It provides a framework for inspection so that children’s services should be judged on their contribution to the outcomes considered essential to wellbeing in childhood and later life. Those outcomes are: • Being healthy • Staying safe • Enjoying and achieving • Making a contribution; and • Achieving economic wellbeing.

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In response, the Commission for Social Care Inspection has re-ordered the national minimum standards for children’s services under the five outcomes, for reporting purposes. A further section has been created under ‘Management’ to cover those issues that will potentially impact on all the outcomes above.

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Copies of Every Child Matters and The Children Act 2004 are available from The Stationery Office as above. This report is a public document. Extracts may not be used or reproduced without the prior permission of the Commission for Social Care Inspection. Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 4

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manager (if applicable)

Type of registration Local Auth Adoption Service

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of places

Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 5

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Date of last inspection

This is the first inspection against NMS and LAA

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Brief Description of the Service:

Darlington Borough Council's adoption service is part of the wider provision for children and families, in what is a small unitary authority. At the time of the inspection the Council commissioned a large part of the adoption service from Durham Family Welfare (DFW) which is a a well-established Voluntary Adoption Agency in the North East.

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Brief Description of the Service:

It may be helpful for readers of this report to refer to the DFW Inspection Report of October 2004 to gain an understanding of the range and quality of services provided by DFW. Darlington commissioned the following adoption services from DFW: recruitment, preparation and assessment of adoptive parents; matching adoptive parents to children; approval of non-agency adopters; support and supervision of adopters; the approval for recommendations about whether a child should be placed or matched with adopters at the DFW Adoption Panel and the independent review function of Darlington children placed for adoption.

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Brief Description of the Service:

Darlington and DFW shared a Senior Practitioner who worked in both services and was responsible for offering intial independent social work advice to birth families. The Senior Practitioner was supervised by the Acting Service Manager of DFW. Darlington’s Assistant Director and Head of Children’s Social Care Services was the designated agency decsion maker. Administrative arrangements were shared between DFW and Darlington with a dedicated administrator for Darlington being based at DFW in Durham. Darlington was in the process of exploring who to commission inter-country adoption assessments from given that DFW are not regisitered to undertake this type of work. Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 6

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SUMMARY

This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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SUMMARY

The inspection was well prepared for with all required pre-inspection material being forwarded as requested. The agency provided the best facilities available to them and engaged in the process as willing participants. The programme that was arranged was well coordinated and very manageable. This enabled the inspection to be carried out with the minimum of disruption and maximum efficiency.

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SUMMARY

The inspection was carried out over three days, with an extra day being allocated to interview staff concerning Darlington business at DFW and to observe the DFW Adoption Panel for Darlington business. During the course of the fieldwork interviews were held with key managers and staff, members of the Post Adoption Service and an elected member of the council. An examination of personnel files was undertaken.

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SUMMARY

Two face-to-face interviews were conducted and two telephone interviews were arranged with four adoptive families. Their views are incorporated into the text of this report. Questionnaires were sent to placing social workers (4), placing authorities (1) and specialist advisers (2). Two questionnaires sent to birth families were returned. One case-tracking interview was also arranged with a birth family.

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SUMMARY

The adoption files of Darlington children placed with DFW adopters in the last 12 months were read. Other case files were also examined. Written materials relating to the operation of the agency were read, including policies and procedures, protocols and information provided for prospective and approved adopters. Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 7

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What the service does well:

Darlington’s adoption service is child-focused and provides good outcomes for children who are placed for adoption within the resources available. The relatively small numbers of children waiting and the prioritisation of children’s needs through the matching and placement process provided evidence of this. Darlington has access to an excellent Post Adoption Service, which is part of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in the town. Social workers and adopters spoke about the positive impact that this service had on supporting children’s adoption placements.

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What the service does well:

The service had a longstanding relationship with DFW, a well-established voluntary adoption agency, and had developed a service level agreement for the recruitment of adopters. The service level agreement provided four placements for four Darlington children, any additional children placed for adoption would be subject to the normal inter-agency fees. All the adopters spoken to confirmed that DFW provided an excellent service. The service level agreement was a unique way of meeting Darlington’ s commitments as an adoption agency and ensured that the majority of adopters from Darlington received an excellent service.

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What the service does well:

As one adopter said “We never had a honeymoon period when our child was placed, but we had a lot of reassurance at the beginning, our social worker is now in the CAMHS service and she has continued to offer excellent support…we know that we will always be able to get help if we need it” and from a social worker “we have access to the Mulberry Centre (CAMHS), they offer consultation on attachments, the preparation of life-story work…it’s good to have expert advice over the phone or to talk with someone who can help you plan your preparation work with a child.”

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What the service does well:

The managers of the service had recognised the need to enhance the role of adoption in the service and had implemented a comprehensive restructuring of children’s social care services to ensure that children had permanence plans that were implemented in a timely way. The managers of the service recognised that there were some issues that still needed to be addressed. The staff in the service were experienced and committed to their role and worked effectively with their partners in DFW to match and place children in, what one adopter described as a “seamless service”.

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What the service does well:

The managers of the service demonstrated their commitment to improving service delivery in the adoption service by ensuring that there was a bi- monthly adoption-monitoring meeting. This meeting provided a forum for managers and staff between Darlington and DFW to identify possible referrals for family finding, to track the progress of children’s permanence plans and to receive feedback about placements made and orders granted. The managers of the service in Darlington demonstrated their commitment to the adoption process and their desire to improve outcomes for children. Both Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 8 the Service Manager for Looked After Children and the Performance Manager were skilled and experienced in adoption matters.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This is the first time that the service has been inspected against National Minimum Standards and Local Authority Adoption Agency Regulations.

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What they could do better:

The inspection identified that Darlington had delegated most of the adoption function to DFW. Whilst this had clear benefits for adults choosing to adopt thorough Darlington and DFW there was some evidence that the service level agreement had compromised Darlington’s key roles and responsibilities as an adoption agency to children and their birth families.

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What they could do better:

The service level agreement identified that DFW would place and support four Darlington children with their adopters. During the twelve months prior to the inspection the agency had placed four children under two years of age with DFW adopters. Any other children placed for adoption were subject to the inter-agency fee. There was some evidence to suggest that Darlington were not specifying the types of adopters needed for their children, and that a small number of “harder to place” children were continuing to wait.

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What they could do better:

Whilst adoption plans and the service level agreement were monitored in the adoption monitoring meeting, Darlington would benefit from proactively managing the recruitment of the types of DFW adopters they need for their children. This might include older children, sibling groups or the consideration of concurrent placements for very young children.

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What they could do better:

The DFW panel considers Darlington’s adoption business. This includes best interest recommendations for children, approvals of adopters and recommendations concerning matches. Darlington recommendations are then forwarded to the agency decision maker in Darlington for their approval.

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What they could do better:

Darlington must ensure that they establish their own adoption panel, or seek to share an adoption panel with another local authority in order to ensure that the council owns recommendations and decisions concerning Darlington children and fulfils the service’s obligations as an adoption agency to children and adults. The service must develop independent support services for birth parents and birth families, as the existing arrangements are not independent or adequate to meet current need. This is despite some good practice that was evidenced Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 9 with Darlington social workers maintaining relationships with birth families throughout the care planning process. However there can be limits to the ability of a child-care social worker to counsel birth family members. As one birth parent said “All we were told was that adoption was in our child’s best

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What they could do better:

interests…we are still not sure about why she was adopted.”

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What they could do better:

Darlington would benefit from redrafting the current Statement of Purpose to more clearly define the service they offer to children and families and to explain the extent of their partnership with DFW. The service should also identify an appropriate agency to undertake inter-country adoption assessments.

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What they could do better:

The managers of the service in Darlington would benefit from reviewing the quality and quantity of services provided by the service level agreement with DFW in a more pro-active way. Further to this the Acting Service Manager in DFW would benefit from management training and from clearer management support and professional supervision from Darlington.

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What they could do better:

The practice of the Acting Service Manager reviewing Darlington children in adoption placements must stop and more independent arrangements should be put in place. Darlington must ensure that the content and quality of files of children’s adoption files are appropriate and should develop more consistent file audit, to ensure management oversight and involvement in case decisions.

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What they could do better:

The evidence on staff personnel files must be reviewed to ensure that they meet the standards and regulations.

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What they could do better:

The current adoption archive was being reviewed at the time of the inspection and was to be relocated in the town hall in Darlington.

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What they could do better:

Please contact the provider for advice of actions taken in response to this inspection. The report of this inspection is available from enquiries@csci.gsi.gov.uk or by contacting your local CSCI office. Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 10

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CONTENTS

Being Healthy - There are no NMS that map to this outcome

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CONTENTS

Achieving Economic Wellbeing - There are no NMS that map to this outcome

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CONTENTS

Statutory Requirements identified during the inspection Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 11

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• The agency matches children with adopters (NMS 2) • The agency assesses and prepares adopters (NMS 4) • Adoptors are given information about matching (NMS 5) • The functions of the adoption panel are as specified (NMS 10) • The constitution and membership of adoption panels are as specified (NMS 11) • Adoption panels are timely (NMS 12) • Adoption agency decision is made without delay and appropriately (NMS 13) • The manager is suitable to carry on or manage an adoption agency (NMS 15) • Staff are suitable to work with children (NMS 19) • The agency has a robust complaints procedure (NMS 24 Voluntary Adoption Agency only)

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JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

Darlington has skilled and experienced staff in the Adoption Service, however inconsistencies in the assessment of children’s needs must be addressed in order to ensure that all children with a plan for adoption stay safe and secure and are placed with their adoptive families in timely way.

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EVIDENCE:

Darlington has developed a service level agreement with DFW to recruit adopters to meet the needs of Darlington children. Four children can be placed with DFW approved adopters as part of the service level agreement. Any other children placed for adoption would be placed with the usual inter agency fees. At the time of the inspection Darlington provided information about children who may need an adoption placement in the adoption monitoring meeting. Service managers and senior practitioners in Darlington and DFW attended this meeting and considered the timing of referrals to DFW for family finding, adoption panel dates and court timescales. The adoption monitoring meeting would benefit from being able to evidence more proactive management of permanence planning and from being far more specific about the types of adopters needed for Darlington children. For example given some of the excellent support offered by DFW to their adopters Darlington may wish to

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EVIDENCE:

Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 12 specify that the agency recruit concurrent foster carers/adopters for relinquished or very young children who have a plan for adoption. All adopters spoke in glowing terms of the assessment and support they received from DFW, however as one adopter said “You don’t understand Darlington’s role…early on in the process DFW are the face of the adoption service.”

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EVIDENCE:

Adults seeking to adopt in Darlington have access to information that directs them efficiently and effectively to DFW. The Post Adoption Service provide an input into preparation training which is informative and greatly valued by prospective adopters.

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EVIDENCE:

Darlington had recognised that adopters who wished to adopt a child from overseas were unable to be assessed by DFW. As part of the service’s action plan the service must identify alternative arrangements for assessing and approving prospective inter-country adopters.

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EVIDENCE:

All adopters that were interviewed as part of the inspection confirmed that the matching and placement of Darlington children with them was a sensitive, considered and well-planned process. Social workers from Darlington and DFW worked well together and ensured well-managed introductions and placements. One adopter said ”It was hassle free….a day can feel like a week so it was good that they were always on the ball.”

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EVIDENCE:

Adopters had mixed views about the quality of their child’s written assessment. One adopter said “the form E was very accurate, there were very few questions left unanswered.” Another adopter said “The assessment that we read had very little relation to the child that was placed with us…this was down to the delay in our child being matched with us at panel, they had changed so much.”

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EVIDENCE:

There was other evidence to suggest that the quality of children’s written assessments varied from very good to poor from the panel observation and from case file reading. The service had acknowledged this and had sought to develop a Long Term Child Care Team with a specific remit for permanence planning. The team had just come into being in January 2006 so it was too early to judge the impact of this on the adoption service. However the detail of the children’s strategic service plan and the role that adoption played in ensuring good outcomes for looked after children was well developed in the council.

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EVIDENCE:

The need to link strategic objectives to improved service delivery in adoption is a challenge for the service and the inspection found that more should be done to ensure that the preparation of children’s assessments are scrutinised and quality assured before going to the adoption panel. The service acknowledged that the team manager did not always have the time to read and critically Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 13 appraise children’s assessments, and that the senior practitioner was also not given the time to review and quality assure the assessments.

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EVIDENCE:

The DFW Adoption Panel considers Darlington adoption business. The DFW Adoption Panel is robust and effective, however Darlington must establish their own Adoption Panel, or seek to share their Adoption Panel with another local authority in order to ensure that the service meets their obligations as an adoption agency.

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EVIDENCE:

Darlington would gain much from establishing their own Adoption Panel and this is one of the most pressing aspects of the service’s action plan. Minutes of the panel were very clear and recorded the reasons for any recommendations made. The service level panel administrator for Darlington was effective in their role and had received specialist training.

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EVIDENCE:

The Agency Decision Maker took account of all of the information before making a decision. Written notifications were sent out as required and in a timely fashion.

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EVIDENCE:

The service must ensure that safe staff recruitment and selection procedures are implemented and evidenced for all staff working for the purposes of the adoption service. The inspection confirmed that all staff had received a CRB check, however the type of disclosure and the outcome of the check should be recorded on file. The service must ensure that all staff files have a photograph and that all staff have two written references and that these references are followed up by telephone verification, the outcome of which is recorded on file. Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 14

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• The adoption agency provides support for adoptive parents (NMS 6) • The agency has access to specialist advisers as appropriate (NMS 18

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JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

Darlington works in partnership with another agency to ensure that the majority of adopters are supported to provide stable and permanent homes for the children placed with them.

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EVIDENCE:

Darlington commissions an excellent service from DFW for adopters, and is developing a range of other Post Adoption Support services in partnership with the local CAMHS.

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EVIDENCE:

The Post Adoption Support service offers expert and accessible advice and support to adopters and adopted children. The Post Adoption Support service has developed links with other agencies to ensure that adopters can access support through their GP. Support can be individual or offered in groups when resources allow.

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EVIDENCE:

The Post Adoption Support service participates in DFW training and support groups.

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EVIDENCE:

The CAMHS in Darlington has beacon status, and it was impressive to hear some of the comments about the service from adopters and related professionals. Adopters said that the Post Adoption Support workers gave compelling training that had been used as a resource when their child had been placed. Social workers spoke about the positive impact that having such a service had had upon their care planning. The two workers in the Post Adoption Support service had achieved a great deal. Darlington should be commended for this effective partnership working and should seek to keep the adequacy of the Post Adoption Support service under careful review. Darlington has access to excellent adoption medical advice, in addition to the specialist advice available from Post Adoption Support service. Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 15 The legal advice to the service had been subject to change however some of

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EVIDENCE:

the issues concerning the attendance of Darlington’s legal adviser at the DFW panel had now been resolved. Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 16

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• Birth parents and birth families are involved in adoption plans (NMS 7) • Birth parents and birth families are involved in maintaining the child’s heritage (NMS 8) • The Adoption agency supports birth parents and families (NMS 9)

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JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

7,8 and 9 Darlington does not provide a range of services that support birth parents and birth families to deal with the lifelong implications of adoption.

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EVIDENCE:

The inspection confirmed that some birth parents and birth families were told about their child’s plan for adoption in a sensitive way. Other birth parents or birth family members had been involved in the care planning process and had participated in Family Group Conferences at the beginning of children’s services involvement, when appropriate. Other evidence suggested that social workers were not skilled or confident about explaining the implications of adoption to birth families. The Senior Practitioner in Darlington had responsibility for providing initial support to birth families however the service had no established arrangements for the provision of ongoing independent social work support to birth parents and birth families. One social worker commented “ A grandparent of an adopted child contacted me the other day, I referred her onto our senior practitioner as I wasn’t aware of any support that could help her.”

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EVIDENCE:

This is an area that Darlington must address as part of the action plan. There was some excellent work seen in ensuring that some birth parents and birth families were involved in maintaining their child’s heritage. Again the Post Adoption Support service offered advice and consultation to social workers involved in life work and individual life work sessions for children if needed. Darlington commissioned the letterbox scheme through DFW and although DFW had good systems in place to ensure that information was exchanged this service was sometimes let down if Darlington social workers did not prompt DFW about any changes in address or circumstances concerning post- order contact. Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 17 Darlington must develop and implement a clear strategy for working with and supporting birth parents and birth families both before and after adoption.

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EVIDENCE:

Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 18

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• There is a clear written statement of the aims and objectives of the adoption agency and the adoption agency ensures that it meets those aims and objectives (NMS 1) • The agency provides clear written information for prospective adopters (NMS 3) • The manager has skills to carry on or manage the adoption agency (NMS 14) • The adoption agency is managed effectively and efficiently (NMS 16) • The agency is monitored and controlled as specified (NMS 17) • The staff are organised and managed effectively (NMS 20) • The agency has sufficient staff with the right skills / experience (NMS 21) • The agency is a fair and competent employer (NMS 22) • The agency provides training for staff (NMS 23) • Case records for children and prospective / approved adopters are comprehensive and accurate (NMS 25) • The agency provides access to records as appropriate (NMS 26) • The agency’s administrative records processes are appropriate (NMS 27)

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• The agency maintains personnel files for members of staff and members of adoption panels (NMS 28) • The premises used by the adoption agency are suitable for purpose (NMS 29) • The adoption agency is financially viable (NMS 30, Voluntary Adoption Agency only) • The adoption agency has robust financial processes (NMS 31)

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JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

1,3,14,16,17,20,21,22,23,25,26,27,28 and 29 The management systems are improving, however, the service must redefine Darlington as an adoption agency and develop more robust systems to monitor existing partnership arrangements to ensure an efficient, effective and child focused adoption service.

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EVIDENCE:

Darlington would benefit from developing a strategy that redefines their key roles and responsibilities as an adoption service. This must include Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 19 arrangements for a Darlington adoption panel and independent social work support for birth parents and birth families. In addition to this the reviewed Statement of Purpose should identify how Darlington will provide services to inter-country adopters.

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EVIDENCE:

Any changes should be incorporated into Darlington’s reviewed Statement of Purpose.

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EVIDENCE:

Darlington has an attractive children’s guide for younger children which is reviewed and provided to social workers and adopters.

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EVIDENCE:

Managers in Darlington were suitably experienced and qualified to manage an adoption service, however the acting Service Manager of DFW should be supported to complete management training to meet National Minimum Standards. Further to this the Service Manager from DFW should be supported and supervised more effectively by Darlington staff concerning the evidence needed to ensure that DFW are providing best value to children and adults through the existing service level agreement.

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EVIDENCE:

The current arrangements for the Service Manager to act as an Independent Reviewing Officer for Darlington children placed for adoption should be reconsidered in light of changes in legislation.

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EVIDENCE:

Darlington has developed systems to ensure that senior managers and the executive of the council monitored the performance of the adoption service and the contribution it made to improving outcomes for children in Darlington. The bi-monthly adoption monitoring meeting could be developed to ensure that Darlington is more proactive in determining DFW recruitment activity and more robust in challenging unnecessary delay in children’s care planning. The service should establish, without delay, a robust system of file auditing: children’s adoption files showed little evidence of any management oversight, and the quality of some of the paperwork was poor. It is of utmost importance that children’s adoption files reflect an accurate record of all work undertaken in relation to the adoption, which will be readily understood by the adoptee at any future date.

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EVIDENCE:

Staff personnel files do not meet the regulations or the standards. For example, some files do not have photographs and the agency does not follow up written references with telephone enquiries.

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EVIDENCE:

All adoption files are copied to disc. Original copies of documents are stored securely, however they are not stored in cabinets that are fire and flood proof. The service was reviewing its arrangements for the safe storage of these original records and planned to move the adoption records into the archive in the Town Hall. Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 20

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SCORING OF OUTCOMES

This page summarises the assessment of the extent to which the National Minimum Standards for Adoption have been met and uses the following scale.

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SCORING OF OUTCOMES

4 Standard Exceeded (Commendable) 3 Standard Met (No Shortfalls) 2 Standard Almost Met (Minor Shortfalls) 1 Standard Not Met (Major Shortfalls) “X” in the standard met box denotes standard not assessed on this occasion “N/A” in the standard met box denotes standard not applicable

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SCORING OF OUTCOMES

BEING HEALTHY MAKING A POSITIVE Standard No Score CONTRIBUTION No NMS are mapped to this outcome Standard No Score 7 1 8 3 9 1

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SCORING OF OUTCOMES

STAYING SAFE ACHIEVING ECONOMIC WELLBEING Standard No Score Standard No Score 2 2 No NMS are mapped to this outcome 4 2 5 2 MANAGEMENT 10 1 Standard No Score 11 1 1 1 12 3 3 2 13 3 14 2 15 3 16 2 19 3 17 3 24 N/A 20 3 21 3 ENJOYING AND ACHIEVING 22 3 Standard No Score 23 3 6 2 25 2 18 3 26 3 27 2 28 1 29 3 30 N/A 31 N/A Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 21 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? N/A

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

This section sets out the actions, which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Voluntary Adoption and the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2003 or Local Authority Adoption Service Regulations 2003 and the National Minimum Standards. The Registered Provider(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action 1 AD11AD10 5.1 and 5.6 AAR 1983 Darlington must establish a properly constituted adoption panel, or seek to share the services’ adoption panel with up to two other local authorities. 31/12/06

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

2 AD9AD7 7.1a,1,2,3 AAR 1983 The service must develop independent social work support services for birth parents, and develop a strategy for working with and supporting birth parents and birth families both before and after adoption. 31/12/06

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

3 AD1 2.1 and 4 LAA Regs The service must develop a statement of purpose which redefines and then describes Darlington as an Adoption Agency. 31/12/06

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

4 AD28 11 The service must ensure that all staff personnel files comply with schedules 3 & 4 of the regulation (this includes staff not directly employed by Darlington but who work for the purposes of the adoption service). 01/05/06 Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 22

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RECOMMENDATIONS

These recommendations relate to National Minimum Standards and are seen as good practice for the Registered Provider/s to consider carrying out.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

No. Refer to Standard Good Practice Recommendations

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RECOMMENDATIONS

1 AD2 The service should develop more robust management of the recruitment of adopters for Darlington children through the service level agreement with DFW. 2 AD3AD6AD4 The service should identify and then implement arrangements for the assessment, approval and support of inter-country adopters in Darlington. 3 AD5 The service should enhance the arrangements for the quality assurance of children’s assessments. 4 AD14 The Acting Service Manager in DFW should be supported to attain a management qualification. 5 AD16 The service should develop the existing adoption monitoring meeting to ensure that all unnecessary delay for children is avoided. 6 AD25 The service should establish, without delay, a robust system of file auditing, in addition to this the service should develop a system to ensure that decisions by supervisors are recorded on case files. 7 AD27 The content of children’s adoption files should be reviewed and should be fit for purpose.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

Darlington Borough Council DS0000067257.V285650.R01.S.doc Version 5.1 Page 23

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Commission for Social Care Inspection

North West Regional Office 11th Floor West Point 501 Chester Road Old Trafford M16 9HU

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Commission for Social Care Inspection

National Enquiry Line: 0845 015 0120 Email: enquiries@csci.gsi.gov.uk Web: www.csci.org.uk © This report is copyright Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and may only be used in its entirety. Extracts may not be used or reproduced without the express permission of CSCI

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