Statutory Guidance on Adoption For local authorities, voluntary adoption agencies and adoption support agencies July 2013 2 Contents Summary 3 Foreword by Edward Timpson MP 5 Introduction 7 Chapter 1: Adoption agency arrangements 14 Chapter 2: Considering and deciding whether a child should be placed for adoption 32 Chapter 3 Preparing, assessing and approving prospective adopters 59 Chapter 4: Matching and proposing a placement 82 Chapter 5: Placement and Reviews 93 Chapter 6: Safeguarding and permitting access to adoption records 109 Chapter 7: Contact 118 Chapter 8: Adoption Agency and Local Authority Responsibilities in Court proceedings127 Chapter 9: Adoption Support Services 163 Chapter 10: Intermediary services and access to information in pre-commencement adoptions (pre-30 December 2005) 185 Chapter 11: Access to information in post-commencement adoptions (post 30 December 2005) 206 Chapter 12: Post adoption counselling and Adopted Children and Adoption Contact Registers 224 Chapter 13 Inter-country adoption 228 Annex A: Offences and penalties under the Act and regulations 229 Further sources of information 243 3 Summary About this guidance This is statutory guidance from the Department for Education. This means that recipients must have regard to it when carrying out duties relating to the adoption of children and the recruitment and support of adopters in England. This guidance replaces all previous versions and is current as at 1 July 2013. The two stage adopter assessment process applies to both domestic and intercountry adopters, and for the latter, the additional requirements of the Adoptions with a Foreign Element Regulations 2005 continue to apply. This guidance explains the content of regulations made under the Adoption and Children Act 2002, and the du