Section 4: Financial arrangements for Interagency Placements
Inter-Agency Agreement
The Form IA (Inter-Agency) financial agreement is designed for use in inter-agency placements between local authorities or with voluntary adoption agencies where the aim is to provide an adoption placement for a child or sibling group. It is anticipated that the agreement will be completed by agency personnel only and the contents agreed separately from the placement planning meeting at which the practical arrangements are discussed.
From 1 April 2021 it has been stipulated that the fee will be made as one payment at the point of placement unless otherwise agreed.
The standard fee from 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024 is set out below.
|
For 1 child |
£35,565 |
|
For 2 children |
£59,276 |
|
For 3 children |
£82,985 |
|
For 4 children |
£106,695 |
|
For 5 or more children |
To be negotiated on an ongoing basis |
|
Ongoing supervision |
£988 per month |
The Inter-Agency Agreement is required to be signed prior to the placement of a child for adoption purposes. The agreement should include any financial arrangements agreed to support the child’s adoption.
Where it is anticipated an agency will request payment of the fee prior to the child being placed, the terms on which the fee will be paid and refunded should be set out in the Inter Agency Agreement.
All fee invoices should be addressed to the Adoption Team Manager at Aberdeen City Council and should identify the child placed for adoption. (initials only).
Adoption Support
The Council is responsible for placing a child for the purposes of adoption and is responsible for assessing the child’s support needs for the first three years after the making of an Adoption Order. After three years the residing Local Authority becomes responsible for providing any support required, apart from the payment of a previously agreed Adoption Allowance.
The Adoption Support Plan should reflect the responsibilities of each stakeholder including any financial arrangements. The plan should be completed and signed by the prospective adopters, their agency representatives, and also by any other Council contributors to the plan, prior to the adoptive match being approved by the Adoption and Permanence Panel.
The Adoption Support Plan will be reviewed prior to the child being placed, and thereafter the support plan will be reviewed at the six-week Looked After Children’s Review, at twelve weeks from the point of placement, six months following the child’s placement and immediately following the Adoption Order.