Section 1: Adoption Allowances - Eligibility for financial support
The child’s eligibility for an allowance
Approved adopters’ eligibility for an allowance
Allowances for Foster & Kinship Carers who adopt.
How to apply for Adoption Allowance
Adoption Allowance Annual Reviews
Payment of Adoption Allowances
The child’s eligibility for an allowance
When a child’s plan for adoption is presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel, the Panel will consider whether the child’s circumstances meet the eligibility criteria for financial support including an Adoption Allowance. This will be determined by the Panel in consultation with the Medical Advisor representing the child’s health and developmental progress alongside their family medical history. The Panel will make a recommendation about the child’s eligibility and this will be reviewed by the Agency Decision Maker.
If an adoptive family has not been identified at this point, the child’s eligibility for an adoption allowance will be included in the drawing up of ‘matching considerations’ within the ‘family finding’ process so that any prospective adopters are aware of the child’s eligibility for an adoption allowance before making a decision about whether they feel able to meet that child’s long-term needs.
Once a match between the child and suitable prospective adopters has been identified, the match will be considered at a Link Matching Meeting, where the child’s health and development will be discussed in line with the prospective adopters’ ability to meet the child’s needs and provide for them throughout their childhood. The child’s eligibility for an Adoption Allowance will be discussed in this forum and, pending a positive outcome, a recommendation will be made for the Adoption and Permanence Panel to consider.
The Adoption and Permanence Panel will review the child’s eligibility again when considering the match between the child and the prospective adopters, and the Agency Decision Maker will also express a view on the child’s eligibility. Notably, the Agency Decision Maker has the overarching decision. However, further to this, it is widely acknowledged that children’s needs might change as they grow and develop and therefore a child may become eligible for an Adoption Allowance later in their childhood. Where this is the case, adopters are encouraged to contact the Council’s adoption service for support, where they will be helped to explore their welfare entitlement and alternative supports before consideration is given to an application for an Adoption Allowance. Where an Adoption Allowance is requested or deemed appropriate, the adoption service representative will be required to complete an assessment of need to be included in a Financial Assistance Request to be considered by the Service Manager with responsibility for the adoption service.
Approved adopters’ eligibility for an allowance
A child’s eligibility for an Adoption Allowance will be discussed with prospective adopters during the ‘Preparation to Adopt’ course and home study phases of the adoption approval process, and specifically during the linking and matching process. The Adoption Allowance information will be given to all prospective adopters at this stage and eligibility for an Adoption Allowance will be based on an assessment of financial circumstances and the child’s support needs.
Allowances for Foster & Kinship Carers who adopt.
The Adoption Support Services and Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2009, hereafter known as, ‘the Regulations’ also allows for the Council to pay an Adoption Allowance to prospective adopters who are existing foster carers or kinship carers, based on an assessment of the child’s needs and the carers’ financial circumstances.
In the case of foster carers, the Regulations allow the agency to pay existing foster carers the same level of fostering fee for a period of up to two years following the Adoption Order being granted. This is to allow foster carers a period of adjustment to enable them to continue to care for the child without experiencing significant financial hardship which might impact the child during the early stages of adoption. However, as is the case in all circumstances, the Council expects that all prospective adopters, including foster carers, will understand and accept adoption places a legal responsibility on them to provide for the child throughout their childhood and in the case of foster carers who might cease fostering, to have considered alternative sources of income which will enable them to meet their responsibility.
In all instances relating to foster carers and kinship carers, the carers will be provided with information outlining the expectations of the Service, ahead of a professionals meeting to consider the viability of the carer’s request to adopt. Pending a positive outcome, a viability assessment will be undertaken by the service to inform the recommendation or decision to support the request to adopt following a further professionals meeting. Any financial support provided by the Council must be agreed by the Service Manager with responsibility for the adoption service, prior to the match being considered by the Adoption and Permanence Panel and prior to the any legal assistance being sought in respect of the child’s adoption.
Where the needs of the child are such that a foster carer is required to cease fostering, the Council may consider remuneration appropriate, this might be in the form of an Adoption Allowance. However, in exceptional circumstances, the Council will consider remuneration equivalent to the foster carers’ fostering fee for a period of up to two years, or agree a specific arrangement, as befits the needs of the child.