
What is early permanence?
Early Permanence is where children in care are placed at the earliest opportunity with adopters who are also approved as foster carers. Early Permanence is an umbrella term for concurrent planning, fostering for adoption and foster to adopt placements. The terminology may sound confusing, but the aim of all is to minimise placements for children entering care and enables a child to form better attachments.
What are the advantages of early permanence for the child?
Research shows that the longer the delay and the greater the number of moves for a child entering care, the greater the potential for damage to children’s mental health and development. Early Permanence placements are intended to lay the foundations for improved health and emotional wellbeing throughout the child’s life, by giving more stability during the vital early years of development. Early Permanence placements are already showing positive results in limiting delay and securing better outcomes for children where adoption is the likely path to permanence.
Early permanence shifts the stress and uncertainty about future placements from the child to you the adults as early permanence carers. You will be dually approved as a foster parent and adopter and family time (contact) with birth family is often undertaken. At Adoption Matters, we have a wealth of experience in Early Permanence as one of the leaders in the sector, first setting up our innovative Concurrent Planning Service in 2014, which grew to the largest provider of early permanence service through CCP in the country.
What are the advantages of early permanence to you?
You will get to know and care for a child sooner and if you do go on to adopt them, will be able to share those earliest memories with them.
You will have a better understanding of a child’s birth family and history, being able to talk more meaningfully to a child about their birth family when they get older. Many of our early permanence carers form relationships through contact with family that can aid the transition to adoption too.
Is early permanence only for young babies and toddlers?
Historically, early permanence was for very young babies, often newborn straight from hospital. However, over the last 2 years, early permanence is being considered for all ages of children including brothers and sisters.
How often are children placed for early permanence, returned to birth family?
There are no national statistics published, but the number is believed to be low. Our former Early Permanence Service – The Concurrent Planning Service placed 187 children in early permanence / concurrent planning placements across the North West of England from 2014-2024, less than 4% were rehabilitated home to birth family members. A rehabilitation home during early permanence is a very stressful and extremely emotional time, but you will be fully prepared and supported throughout the period. Most of our early permanence carers who have supported a rehabilitation home to birth family, have gone on to care and/or adopt again. We recommend reading this blog written by one of our early permanence carers talking about a rehabilitation and the positives the carer took from the experience, she went on to care again through EP and eventually adopted.
What training and support will I receive as an Early Permanence carer / adopter?
We offer ongoing and dedicated support to all of our early permanence carers / adopters. Starting with our early permanence information sessions available to all prospective adopters, you will also receive specific and tailored early permanence training should this be a route you wish to pursue. We have a host of information guidance leaflets for our EP carers including information for your employers, managing family time, creating memories, travel management and detailed information and guidance around care proceedings in early permanence. During the fostering phase, you will have dedicated support and will receive a fostering allowance.
Early permanence isn’t for everyone, but if this is a route you wish to find more about, please do contact us and we can talk to you about it in more detail and invite you to a dedicated information event.
As an Early Permanence carer – will I be entitled to adoption leave and pay from my employer?
Since April 2015, prospective adopters who foster their child prior to adopting them are eligible for adoption leave and pay https://www.gov.uk/adoption-pay-leave. It is likely you will be required to leave work at short notice if you have a child placed with you through Early Permanence, and therefore you will need to have supportive employers.
As a foster parent, you will be entitled to a fostering allowance from the Local Authority responsible for placing the child, which will end if the placement becomes an adoption placement. Fostering allowances vary from Local Authority areas but can range from £165-£250 per week. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/support-for-foster-parents/help-with-the-cost-of-fostering
Will I have to facilitate contact with birth family?
We call contact with family during early permanence placements, Family Time.
In Early Permanence placements children are placed with adopters who are also approved as foster carers. Whilst their future is being determined by the court, it is vitally important that children are given the opportunity to maintain relationships with their family through safe and positive family time arrangements. Adoption Matters would expect their EP carers to support family time arrangements by taking the child/children to and from the contact sessions with their family and providing a brief hand over at the beginning and end of each session. We believe that it is in the best interests of the child/children to be brought to and from family time by a consistent person and a trusted adult.
Family time sessions are conducted in a neutral venue, never your home, usually a local authority children’s centre, or specialist contact centre.
Well managed, consistent and well supported family time can be fundamental in establishing positive working relationships between a child’s birth parents and their carers. We firmly believe that establishing such relationships can only benefit the child, whatever the outcome. We understand that this may sound daunting, but we will provide full and ongoing training and support around family time. Our teams are very experienced in supporting carers before, during and after family time sessions may end.