Previous reference:  Minute 19 (2017/18)

The Deputy Director (Children's Social Care) will submit a report    (Document “A”) which updates the Panel in respect of the work of the Regional Adoption Agency; One Adoption West Yorkshire and includes the Agency’s Annual Report for the period April 2017 to March 2018 (Appendix 1).

The report specifically address the issues of IT provision and office accommodation for staff, as requested by Members in November 2017.

Members are asked to review the Annual Report of One Adoption West Yorkshire and for their continued support for the work of the Agency to ensure that children receive the best possible support.

                                                (Mary Brudenell – 01274 07712 217288)

Previous reference:  Minute 19 (2017/18)

The Deputy Director (Children's Social Care) submitted a report (Document “A”) which updated the Panel in respect of the work of the Regional Adoption Agency ‘One Adoption West Yorkshire’ (OAWY). It included the Agency’s Annual Report for the period April 2017 to March 2018 (Appendix 1).

The OAWY Service Delivery Manager went through the report which specifically addressed the issues of IT provision and office accommodation for staff, as requested by Members in November 2017. She explained that:

·         The agency had now been operational for 15 months. This had been a time of great challenge; there had been initial issues with regard to office accommodation and IT connectivity but great progress had now been made in respect of both these issues.

·         The Agency operated across three distinct business areas: Family Finding, Recruitment and Assessment, and Adoption Support.

·         Nationally there were more children than adopters so ways to engage potential adopters and to facilitate early links with children were being explored. There had been an increase in the numbers attending the recruitment/information sessions and the frequency of these events had gone from quarterly to bi-monthly to accommodate demand.

·         The agency was looking at the development of a more bespoke family finding model and exploring the use of the media and social media to identify families, particularly for those children who waited longer due to the complexity of their circumstances.

·         Early permanence for babies was also being pursued.

·         The current target for recruitment was 120 adoptive households across West Yorkshire in the current year.  There were currently 87 in assessment.

·         A pilot peer mentoring support scheme had been established and officers were very optimistic that this would prove to be a valuable resource.

·         33 recruitment/information events had been held, a large number of which had taken place at locations within Bradford.

·         An Adoption Support Care Offer was under development.

·         The Agency made good use of the Adoption Support Fund with the aim being to provide support at the earliest possible point.

·         Group work and support was an area that was being expanded.

·         The Adoption Panel met 7 times a month; delays had been reduced and choice increased.

·         Two thirds of children placed within the last year had been through OAWY. Inter-agency fees had increased significantly from 1 June and the agency was looking at creative ways to manage this.

·         The agency’s management/accountability processes were considered to be robust.

·         To ensure that children had a strong voice there was an Adopted Teenagers Identity group (ADIT) and an Adopter Voice group.

·         The agency was keen to look at best practice and to drive this forward in the future.

In response to Members questions it was explained:

·         It was believed that the regional agency was proving to be better for the district. There had been a significant increase in the range of placement choice; fewer children from Bradford were being place outside the area and there was much more support available for people to access.  A Centre for Excellence had also been established. There had also been a slight improvement in terms of timeliness and it was anticipated that this would continue to improve.

·         At this point there were no plans to extend the agency to encompass additional authorities/areas. The agency was already quite large and there was a wish to consolidate on the work that was already being done.

·         OAWY had run a recent training event for other authorities and the intention was that this would be done again.

·         There had been a concerted effort to resolve the issues with IT connectivity; it having been a challenge as initially there had been five different systems. Lessons had been learned from the issues.

·         There were links with the Virtual School and the importance of their work to raise the achievement of adopted children was recognised. Outreach work was undertaken with schools to support them and to ensure that Pupil Premium was utilised for the things adopted students required.

·         In respect of the Medical Advisor Service; the agreements about time resource had been negotiated a considerable time previously when there had been fewer children and the hours available did not now meet the need. Negotiation with the Health Trusts was underway on this issue.

·         The biggest challenges in the near future would be ensuring optimum outcomes for children whilst remaining within the relevant budgetary constraints and pushing forward on recruitment.

Members commended officers on what had been achieved in the development of the regional agency.

Resolved –

That Document “A” and the Annual Report of One Adoption West Yorkshire be welcomed and that a progress report be submitted to the Panel in twelve months time.

ACTION:       Deputy Director (Children's Social Care)