Who makes the final decision about adoption in a foster to adopt placement?

The final decision is made by the court when it decides whether to make an adoption order. The people involved in the foster to adopt plan can provide information, assessments and recommendations, but neither the local authority, adoption agency, birth parents nor prospective adopters can make the adoption order themselves.

Foster to adopt is usually arranged while the local authority is assessing the child’s long-term care plan. The child may be placed with approved foster carers who have also been assessed as prospective adopters, even though the court has not yet decided whether adoption should take place. This means the placement can begin before the legal outcome is certain.

Several decisions may take place before the adoption decision:

• The local authority decides whether the child needs to be looked after and what type of permanence plan it should pursue.
• The adoption agency assesses and approves prospective adopters and considers whether the proposed match is suitable.
• The family court deals with care proceedings and may decide whether the local authority should have authority to place the child for adoption.
• The court later considers an application for an adoption order, taking account of all relevant evidence and the child’s welfare.

These decisions are related but are not the same. A placement order permits a child to be placed for adoption without the birth parents’ consent in certain circumstances. It does not itself create the permanent legal relationship of adopter and child. That relationship is created only if the court makes an adoption order.

When deciding an adoption application, the court’s central consideration is the child’s welfare throughout their life. It will examine the child’s needs, background, relationship with birth family members, wishes and feelings where these can be understood, and the likely effect of becoming legally adopted. The court must also consider whether adoption is necessary and proportionate when compared with other possible arrangements.

The court may consider reports from the local authority, the child’s guardian, social workers and the adoption agency. It may also consider information about the child’s experiences in placement, their development, their relationships and the prospective adopters’ ability to meet their needs. The prospective adopters’ views are relevant, but they do not decide the legal outcome.

Birth parents are normally involved in the legal process and may consent to adoption or oppose it. If consent is not given, the court must decide whether the legal conditions for dispensing with consent are met. This is a significant legal issue, and the court must consider the birth parents’ position alongside the child’s welfare and all other evidence.

The child’s guardian may provide an independent view of what would best protect the child’s interests during care proceedings. Depending on the child’s age and understanding, their wishes and feelings may also be obtained and presented to the court. The weight given to those views depends on the child’s circumstances and understanding; the child does not usually make the final legal decision alone.

The court can ask for further evidence, adjourn the matter, or refuse the adoption order if it is not satisfied that the legal requirements are met. It may also consider whether another permanence option would better meet the child’s needs. Until an adoption order is made, the foster to adopt carers should understand that the placement remains legally uncertain, even where adoption has been identified as the preferred plan.

Timescales vary because they depend on care proceedings, assessments, birth family involvement, the child’s circumstances and the evidence required. A foster to adopt placement can therefore continue for a substantial period before the court reaches its decision. The carers’ supervising social worker, the child’s social worker and their legal representatives should explain the current stage of the case and any decisions that could affect the placement.

Once an adoption order is made, the adopters generally become the child’s legal parents and acquire parental responsibility under the adoption legislation. The order changes the child’s legal relationship with their birth family, subject to the terms of the order and any arrangements approved by the court. Before that point, foster to adopt carers should not assume that adoption is guaranteed or make decisions that belong to the local authority or the court.