Using Tools to Assess Prospective Adopters Financial Stability – New – Short and Smart Session – FREE – 1 hour only

Who this is for

Panel members, Adoption practitioners (Voluntary Adoption Agencies, Regional Adoption Agencies and Local Authorities),  Independent Professionals and other professionals who are working with children.

Details

Strengthening Financial Assessments in Adoption: A Practice Development Initiative

In response to the recommendations of the Leiland-James Child Safeguarding Practice Review, Adoption Matters recognized the critical need for enhanced financial assessments of prospective adopters. This imperative drove a comprehensive review and development initiative aimed at ensuring robust and consistent practices.

The agency acknowledged the inherent complexities and potential subjectivity within financial assessments, noting variations in interpretation among assessors, panel members, and placing social workers. Concerns were also raised regarding the lack of specialized financial assessment training for social workers, particularly in providing accurate benefits advice.

To address these challenges, the agency undertook a thorough review of its existing procedures and implemented significant practice changes. A key component of this transformation was the investment in and integration of the IEHUB tool. A pilot program commenced in April 2024, culminating in agency-wide adoption in October 2024.

The IEHUB system provides a standardized, proportionate, and secure platform for prospective adoptive families to share sensitive financial information. This tool ensures consistency in assessments and offers reliable, up-to-date information on benefits and financial support resources.

Since the implementation of IEHUB, the agency has received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Notably, the tool has facilitated successful assessments for applicants who initially feared their financial circumstances would disqualify them from adoption, demonstrating its effectiveness in broadening access to adoptive families. This initiative underscores the agency’s commitment to rigorous, fair, and supportive financial assessments, ultimately prioritizing the best interests of vulnerable children.

Learning 0utcomes

• Significance of financial information in recent Child Safeguarding Practice Review
• Consideration given to complexity of assessing financial information for families and social workers
• Understanding disparity and subjectivity of financial assessment and how this can be addressed
• Good practice ideas shared to collate and review adopters financial circumstances
• An opportunity to share tools that support financial assessment, including an introduction to the IEHub

About the trainer

Joanne Whitworth

She has served as a practicing Social Worker for 27 years. Her extensive experience encompasses children’s services within local authorities, with a focus on safeguarding, fostering, and adoption.

For the past 10 years, she has been employed by Adoption Matters. She has held the position of Practice Development Manager for the last three years. In this role, she is responsible for staying informed about current research, evolving practices, and ongoing learning to enhance agency procedures and service development.

She also manages the enquiry service for Adoption Matters and serves as a social work representative on their adoption panels. Furthermore, she facilitates training and development for the agency’s adoption panel members.

Instructions

A member of staff will contact attendees one week before the event as a reminder— THERE WILL BE NO EVENT PACK FOR THIS SESSION, and because this is a SHORT AND SMART EVENT NO RESOURCES WILL BE SHARED.

If you have any questions regarding this webinar, please contact us at info@cvaa.org.uk. We will aim to answer your query within two working days.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.