Realistic time scale

[Cranberriesandtea]

So after a few delays due to annual leave etc, we have been matched by all members now, CSW , family finders etc. Paper work being submitted for matching panel this week (in our LA the wait seems to be 6 weeks)

We were told by our SW that intro plan is made during the r6 weeks wait for matching panel. And that intros can start as quickly as a few days after matching panel.

In the background I've been asking on support groups the same and they keep replying about appeals and delays to intros due to birth parents. No one has explained why?? So I'm lost as I don't understand how BP's can appeal intros starting when the kids already have a placement order? I thought the next time they could appeal was when we apply for AO.

Can someone please explain like I'm 5 what happens between the child social workers agreeing it's a good match and submitting matching panel approval and intros starting. I have autism and am trying to not harass my social worker, she has explained the process too me but she is explaining like I have a background knowledge of social work and legal understanding and I don't. Sometimes I really need to be told like it's my first day on Earth how things happen. (I've told my social worker this before and she laughed thinking I was joking) obviously im not going to say it again, im afraid she'll think im too autistic to care for my child 😂

Also I wanted to add, the people I have spoken to in the support groups say things like approved at matching panel February, kids didn't move in until July due to birth parents appeal. It's that gap in approval that I'm really stuck on, I don't understand the legal process that can delay intros after a successful matching panel.

I have seen similar things about delays due to BPs objecting and I don't understand it either.

Are you in England? If so I understand the process to be:

placement order is made for the child, SW starts looking for family. Once suitable adoptive family is found they are linked - this is where you are now. Then you have matching panel. If successful at matching panel The decision needs to be ratified by ADM and then intros can begin.

This is what happened with us. The only difference between this and what you've said is we had to allow 2 weeks for ADM approval. But otherwise its exactly as you said.

Yes that is exactly how the SW explained it to me, hence my confusion as to why BP are able to delay intro's.

We are in England. Our SW said that all going well it will be middle of October for intros and yeah allowing the ADM rubber stamp.

Hopefully it is other countries doing it different. Both Wales and Scotland are different

I have seen similar posts and various groups and been equally confused. Maybe someone else will be able to shed some light. If people have been commenting on your thread can you ask them?

Honestly I think it is vastly more than likely that this will go as expected. So prepare for that. I know what it's like though - when you're so desperate for something and so invested, especially a child, it's so easy to focus on all the things that can go wrong. But I just want to say good luck!

About a year ago I was where you are. My little girl is sat on the floor playing with duplo now!

Usually introductions start 2 weeks after matching panel. At that point children have Placement Orders.

Delays are more common at the Adoption Order stage. That's when birth parents ask for leave to appeal/appeal. However, birth parents need very good reasons to get leave to appeal.

@onlytherain

Thanks. So in your experience why would a couple have an approved matching panel in February but not be starting intros until July? I have asked this specific person in the support group I'm in but they haven't replied (yet)

There are other posters who also had 3-6 months between matching panel and move in day and I really don't understand how? I didn't think birth family had any influence on intros starting?

Personally, I only have experience of delays to the adoption order. It is possible to appeal a placement order, but seems to happen less often than appeals to the adoption order.

I think children are only matched after the placement order, eg. we were contacted by the family finder about our children before their placement order, but got linked and matched after their placement order. Could the delays have anything to do with sw being so stretched? Admin errors/missing paper work?

As far as I can tell, the birth parents have the right to apply to appeal a placement order at any time until the child moves in with the adoptive parents. The parents have to demonstrate a change of circumstances since the order was made:

(1)change of parents' circumstances
()2)change of child's circumstances
(3) change of placement

corambaaf.org.uk/sites/default/files/Members%20Area/Resources/Practice%20Notes/PN67.pdf

frg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/210823-3b-Challenging-placement-orders.pdf

Birth parents can Appeal the Placement Order. If they do this it would delay Matching Panel and Introductions.

There would be nothing that YOU could do except let the Social Workers deal with the process.

The only other time they can Appeal is when the Adopter submits the application to the Court for the Adoption Order.

The best thing you can do is take things day by day. And only deal with things that actually happen.

I have only had experience of delays with the adoption order once LO was placed.

What happened for us was:
SW did a home visit and wanted to proceed with us.

Went to matching panel 2 weeks later. BM did not want this to happen. BM instructed her solicitor to try take it to court. This did not happen or delay anything.

1 week after matching panel we did a bump into.

1 week after bump into we started introductions.

After 2 weeks of introductions, LO moved in.

BM then tried to take SW to court and all sorts but basically nothing happened expect the adoption order was delayed. It was approved 8 months after LO moved in.

Our timeframe was quite lengthy:

Meet children at stay and play
Express an interest a few days later
Various details exchanged
A home visit was arranged for about a month after, but because one social worker’s auntie’s tortoise had covid, and the other was ‘about to go on holiday to Mexico’ this became online
We had the online meeting, where we were told we couldn’t be linked at an online meeting 😅
Two months passed because it was ‘summer holidays’
Eventually had another bump into, got panel scheduled for a month after that
About three days before panel it ‘suddenly’ became urgent for reasons related to FC and so our intros essentially began two days before panel

Ultimately took six months between expression of interest and move-in, mainly due to one lovely SWs Mexican holiday plans 😂

I thought placement order was sought before they started family finding? Our little boys was approved when he was 6 months old in November 2022. They started family finding after that and found us end of Nov. We went to panel end of Jan 2023 with intros starting 1st Feb once ADM received.

We were in the situation of late applications to appeal the PO. So we were delayed after matching. From our experience though it seems incredibly rare, and it threw the whole system into panic. The social workers hadn’t had much experience of it and the legal side is then difficult for them to explain to adopters. We did have some signs though earlier in the process that this might happen in our particular situation.
I would say really don’t worry about it unless it happens. It doesn’t happen often. When it does happen each situation is very unique.
Wishing you all the very best with the next steps and with introductions.

Hi Montues, don’t know if you’re still on here but wanted to get some advise. We were matched recently and started some play dates this side of Christmas then after final contact the BP have contested the placement order. We’re so worried as we already have a BC to think about. Any advice appreciated.

Hiya, really sorry to hear this - I can only imagine how stressful it is with a BC to think about too. Feel free to private message me.

I can share my experience of recently adopting

We had matching panel, we were told there and then that we had been approved. We had to wait for the ADM to send through paperwork - this took 10 days. We then started introductions 2 days after receiving paperwork from the ADM.

We know that birth parents can challenge the adoption order but there is no way that they can change anything due to their lifestyle.

Thanks for your feedback. Our introductions would have started sooner but because of Xmas it wasn’t due to start till the new year. Xx