Early Permanence practice aims to place children with prospective adopters on an initial foster carer basis while the courts are still considering whether the child can safely return to their family or whether they might need to be adopted. The practice aims to limit the number of placements and feelings of uncertainty that many children in care experience. Early Permanence is considered to be in the best interest of children by providing them with stability and a sense of permanency as early as possible.
Placing a child/ren in an Early Permanence (EP) placement means that the child/ren are looked after under fostering regulations until the Court decides the final outcome of the care proceedings.
If the court orders the child’s return to family, the EP carers will support the reunification and they will only ever have been foster carers. However, because EP Carers have been approved to adopt (as well as act as foster carers), if the Court grants a placement order, these carers will then become prospective adopters and if the match is formally agreed can adopt the child/ren.
Placing the child into an EP placement means that their time in care will either result in the child being supported by the EP carers to return to their family, or that the child will already be placed with their future adopters. This enables the child to begin forming attachments as early as possible and safeguards the child from multiple moves. In an EP placement it is the carers taking on the uncertainty of proceedings on behalf of the child, so that the child does not have to.
Cases where parents have previously had children placed for adoption and there are no signs of significant or sustained change, or cases where parents have complex mental health, drug and/or alcohol issues, or complex learning difficulties may be appropriate cases for an EP placement.
Are social workers disadvantaging birth families in Early Permanence placements?
No - the legal tests for removal and whether a care plan for adoption is needed are exactly the same. EP carers are only foster carers until, and only if, such time as the Court grant a placement order.
How does birth parent contact work in Early Permanence placements?
The Early Permanence carers will usually bring the child/ren to and from contact (if risk assessed as safe), which will be supervised in the usual way. EP carers will also keep a communication book.
You will hear the terms ‘Concurrency’ and ‘Foster for Adopt’ – both of these terms refer to ways of placing children into Early Permanence (EP) placements. In ‘Concurrency’ carers will have been dual approved by adoption and fostering panels (or a combined panel) to offer EP placements. ‘Foster for Adopt’ approved carers will be approved by your Agency Decision Maker to provide an EP placement to a specific child or sibling group. The same training and support should be offered to all EP carers, regardless of the approval mechanism used.
Concurrency is when there is a Plan A (reunification) and a Plan B (adoption) being considered by the Local Authority. Whereas ‘Foster for Adoption’ is usually used when the Local Authority is more confident in a sole plan for adoption. However, experience shows that things can change considerably during EP placements, and both contain uncertainty.
In the early days of EP you may have heard talk of percentages. It is much more helpful to ground yourself, the family and the EP carer in the fact that whilst all EP cases involve children with a high likelihood of needing a plan for adoption, only the Court can decide the final care plan for a child. In all cases unexpected events can occur. Therefore, all EP carers may experience children placed with them returning to family.
There are differences in the timing of your work. With an Early Permanence (EP) placement you will be actively involved in the placement search and initial matching, including meeting the potential EP carers. However, as these carers are also able to become the potential adopters if needed, you should not need to carry out family finding later if a PO is granted. You will still need to complete official matching and adoption processes to ensure that the EP placement is the right long-term match for the child/ren. EP carers may need more support than traditional foster carers due to the uncertainty they are managing. However, you will also have an Adoption Social Worker involved from the onset.
Early Permanence (EP) carers are putting themselves forward to potentially care for the child/ren for life, taking on significant emotional uncertainty so the child/ren does not have to. This is different to the role of a traditional foster carer who has planned to play an important but temporary role in the child/ren’s life.
Early Permanence carers describe their journey as a “rollercoaster”. It is important to avoid over reassurance about possible case outcomes. EP carers tell us that over reassurance, talk of percentages, guesses about the proceedings etc. are unhelpful. They have to remain focused on the day-to-day care of the child/ren accepting that the final outcome of proceedings is uncertain for them whilst win-win for the child. It is important to remind them that they must not call themselves mummies or daddies during the fostering phase.
Early Permanence carers may be approached many times about possible placements. They are assessed as being very resilient and are trained to manage their expectations. Therefore, they may present differently to other prospective adopters that you may have met. Your visit may not be their first visit, several visits may already have taken place about other children for whom an EP placement was being considered but was in the end not needed. Please ask about any previous placement discussions so you understand where the potential carers are in their EP journey.
It is important to keep Early Permanence carers up to date on important information, especially care plan changes. If you have explored a potential placement with an EP carer, let them know as soon as possible if they are not linked or if the placement is no longer needed.
Early Permanence (EP) placements MUST be considered for a child/ren whenever adoption is being considered (S.22c The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010). It is also appropriate to consider Early Permanence in relinquishment cases.
Hold a Family Group Conference / Review Meeting as soon as possible to increase the chances of viable relatives being identified as early as possible (this avoids unnecessary EP placements and multiple placements for children).
Do not think about Early Permanence placements in terms of success or failure – if a child returns back to their family this is not a failure. Early Permanence is win-win for the child/ren – either they return to their family or they have a permanent carer as early as possible.
Be mindful of confidentiality from pre-placement e.g. will carers only be identified by their first names to the family? Remember you need to think of immediate safety risks and longer-term adoption disruption risks.