Introductions postponed indefinitely - anyone any ideas to move forward?

[WeAreNearlyThere]

Hi,
I had a bit of a rant a week or so ago because our introductions which were due to start last Wednesday have been postponed indefinitely with a review in three weeks time.
I am sure people will appreciate our disappointment, but I just want to make it clear that we fully understand that it was done in the best interest of the child and we are 100% behind that decision. We're not selfish gits and we know that the current situation is unprecedented and that no one really knows what will happen next. We can deal with the current three week delay however we feel that at some point there needs to be some sort of plan to move forward instead of postponing it indefinitely. We're pretty resilient and have been approved for both mainstream adoption as well as F2A, but we're only human.
We have been in self isolation for the past two weeks and will continue to do so. The foster carer has been in self isolation for longer as she has an underlying health issue. Meanwhile we have been FaceTiming, which will benefit the transition.
I was wondering if there are adopters who despite the current circumstances still had introductions. What sort of strategies were put in place to make it as safe as possible?
Maybe any social workers, family finders reading this?
Your help would be greatly appreciated.

@WeAreNearlyThere I really feel for you. I find the LA's stance rather odd - it would seem to make sense with a vulnerable FC to review after the 12 week shielding period not next year. Is the child not expected to venture outside the home for that length of time?

My intros were "indefinitely" delayed when the lock down was announced.
I returned to work (after an absence of a day) at which point I had no idea when the adoption would go ahead. I found it very hard. My colleagues were v supportive but I emailed them before our (online) team meeting asking them not to mention it.

I have been lucky, last week the LA reviewed and we started intros yesterday

Thank you @mahrezzy. The foster carer said that she would go with any decision the LA makes and she's not the kind of person who would just say that, I'm sure. She genuinely feels sorry for us and has been absolutely amazing and supportive throughout.
We are emotionally tied to him and committed. The thought of walking away is unbearable but with no certainty whatsoever how long until we're emotionally worn down? With no plan and no hope is it fair on him? Is it fair on us? He's the most important factor in this equation but we're left feeling completely insignificant the way we've been treated. Doesn't matter what we do or suggest to aid the process or that we might have emotions we just need to sit in the corner and wait. For what, nobody knows or will tell us.
I totally get what you mean and as thought about F2A as well but then the question, "So you were matched but couldn't deal with the uncertainty and so you chose the uncertainty of a baby that may be returned to its birth family?" creeps up. And I couldn't blame them if they did ask us that. To an outsider that wouldn't make a lot of sense and I find it very hard to 'justify' a decision like that.
A good friend of ours who works for Adoption UK and has sat on several matching panels has advised against walking away as she feels that it will go against us at the next panel and I think she's probably right. So we're in an impossible situation.

@Jellycatspyjamas thank you I really appreciate it. I will read it after this reply. The long and short is that my area manager has called me and said that as much as they support me, they will need me back at work. Some colleagues are off self isolating and the staff teams across the company are stretched even thinner than usual. They desperately need cover at other homes. As a key worker I have no choice and the risk of infection is high due to the nature of the job. They've given me the rest of this week, but next week it's back to work or start of adoption leave if anything changes. So I'm going around in circles. Damned if I do. Damned if I don't.

Thank you @Italiangreyhound I will read it shortly and reply. Very kind and much appreciated🙏

@dimples76 thank you and congratulations! Some positive news at last! Genuinely happy for you! Wish they would have said next year that would be at least something!😊 But they've not given us any dates or timelines whatsoever. We did suggest the shielding period but that fell on deaf ears it seems. We're going to take the rest of the week to have a think and discuss how we're going to manage this emotionally. Our agency has been great so far but it feels like we can't expect a lot of support from LO's LA unfortunately. Again best of luck!

This is a difficult one for a number of reasons and we are in a similar position. However, I would say (at the moment) that we have been fortunate with the LA and our SW's. Everyone involved in this placement has been super positive and want to continue with introductions rather than delaying for longer (including the FC's). I picked this out from CoramBAAF regarding introductions during COVID19 as I did also raise this with them just in case they had similar ideas.

Children who are “looked after” have been defined by the Government as “vulnerable children”. The placement of a child with prospective adopter/s is a key intervention in ensuring the safety, welfare and future of the child, but the risks associated with making such placements must be identified and explicitly addressed.

Basically, it's possible and they can do something.
Whilst I understand your friend from AdoptionUk saying it won't go in your favour, I think this is really really unfair to say! You have reasonable cause should you change your mind. The child is 15months old and could be much older when they potentially move causing disruption to any attachment with a child. Facetime won't provide that.

Likewise, if you are like us, you are now committed and have started making that bond, want and desire for that particular child(ren) you will want to hold out as long as possible. But, their has to be a reasonable expectation and timeframe. Ask me again in two months and if I'm still here, I genuinely feel our position on these children maybe different (they are older).

We, as I'm sure everyone else, are self isolating. This in itself should be one of many reasonable precautions prior to introductions. I think they need to do some more thinking outside the box to make this happen, but that's my opinion I guess.

@WeAreNearlyThere how's it going?

@WeAreNearlyThere any news?

Hi,
Thanks again for all your reactions. Sorry for the late update, but we've been quite busy and just didn't want to think about it too much.
We are continuing to self-isolate and do everything we can to keep ourselves safe. So far we have a bit of a vague date and we have made it clear that we want to get involved in the discussion around moving forward nearer to the date. We also told them that we cannot be expected to wait indefinitely and they are more open and willing to move forward. Unless anything drastically changes we should be starting introductions end of June. A date is all we wanted so that we have something to look forward to. Hope.
Wishing all the best to everyone else in the same situation and thanks again for your replies and wise words!

Oh that is brilliant news, I am so pleased for you. Please do keep us updated, we are all rooting for you.

Corvid or no corvid there are many children/baby's, who require greater amount of time too recover from NICU, may have trauma, neo natal issues., We specialise in such children have for many years ALL have happily moved on too loving family's and permanency., most family's have been patient and understanding and worked with us through very difficult transitions. As for corvid our DS age 5 came home from school with it before GOV directive and school closures recovered well all lockdown isolation's done. Continued with placement plan's for younger child, paediatrics. court's. via video link and now all ready too go, as too format can not disclose hopefully all will go smoothly so chin up every one.

That's great news OP. Fingers crossed that you get to go ahead next month