Practice Note 70. The Fostering Decision-Maker (England)
| Paul Adams
This Practice Note offers guidance for fostering decision-makers in a range of matters to help them achieve high standards in undertaking this role.
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Practice Note 69. Assessing and supporting transgender foster carers and adopters
| Claire Brown, Charlotte Andrew and Paul Adams
This Practice Note has been written to assist practitioners who are assessing transgender applicants in the UK who wish to foster or adopt, and to help fostering services and adoption agencies to work in a way that encourages and values applications from this group of people.
Practice Note 68. Reducing the risks of environmental tobacco smoke for looked after children and their carers
| Mary Mather and Karen Lehner, revised and updated by Ellie Johnson
This Practice Note updates previous CoramBAAF guidance in the light of changing scientific information and the improved understanding of the effects on health of exposure to passive or second-hand smoke from cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco. This guidance also considers the use of electronic cigarettes/vaping devices by substitute carers.
Practice Note 67. Local authorities' duty of fairness towards a parent seeking to revoke a placement order
| CoramBAAF and Coram Children’s Legal Centre
When a parent seeks permission to appeal against the placement order or permission to apply to revoke the placement order, the local authority is faced with decisions about how to avoid delay in progressing the adoption plan for the child that the court has authorised, while also respecting the parent’s legal right to either appeal or to seek to revoke the order.
Practice Note 66. The health of unaccompanied asylum-seeking and other separated children
| CoramBAAF
Although only a small minority of looked after children will be asylum seekers and separated from their families, health professionals need an understanding of their circumstances and additional needs.
Practice Note 65. Decisions about the assessment of couples and other partnerships in foster care (England)
| Paul Adams
Practice Note for when Fostering services will sometimes be approached by an individual who wants to foster, but they have a partner who does not want to be involved, or at least who does not want to be assessed as a foster carer. It is important that fostering services have a good understanding of the law in this regard, and what that means in practice.
Practice Note 64. Best practice in meetings between prospective adopters and children prior to matching
| Sally Beaumont with Elaine Dibben
This Practice Note provides guidance for social workers and policy makers on managing meetings between prospective adopters and children prior to matching. A range of "pre-meets" are starting to be used by agencies, and this Practice Note sets out the benefits and challenges of this approach.
Practice Note 59. The provision of information to Fostering for Adoption carers
| CoramBAAF
This Practice Note provides information and guidance on the development and increased use of Fostering for Adoption placements. Raising questions and challenges about the information that should, and can legally, be provided to Fostering for Adoption carers, i.e. any dually-approved carers, including Regulation 25A carers, considering a placement under s.22C(9B)(c) of the Children Act (CA) 1989 in England.
Practice Note 56. Paperless fostering and adoption panels
| Paul Adams
This Practice Note looks at some of the issues involved in moving panels towards a greater use of digital technology.
Practice Note 54. Assessing second-time adopters
| BAAF
This Practice Note addresses the assessment of adopters who have already adopted a child or children and are applying for a second time.