Early Permanence for children

Early Permanence, also sometimes called 'fostering to adopt', offers a child stability whilst decisions about their future are made. 

Early Permanence places a child with approved adopters who are also approved as foster carers. Adoption agencies can use this route to approve adopters as foster carers for a specific child. During the fostering stage of the placement the court will weigh up what’s in the child’s best interests in the longer term and if adoption is right for them. 

As an Early Permanence carer you will need to be able to deal with the uncertainty of the period before the court’s final decision. If the court decides that the child should be adopted we can then approve the ‘match’ between the you, the Early Permanence carer/s, and the child you are caring for so that the placement becomes an adoption placement.

What are the advantages of Early Permanence?

  • the child is placed with carers who may become their adopters at an early stage and avoids multiple placements for the child
  • it avoids the stressful upheaval for the child if they have to move from foster home to a new adoptive family once a court have reached a final decision
  • the bonding period between the child and adoptive parents can begin sooner, creating a secure and loving family life for the child

Is Early Permanence right for me?

There will be a number of things that you'll need to think about as a Early Permanence carer.

  • it's highly likely that you would go on to adopt the child, but you would have to deal with the uncertainty before the court reaches a final decision
  • during the fostering stage of the placement you may be asked to bring the child for contact with members of the birth family at a supervised contact centre
  • you'd need to think about the possibility of the court not agreeing with the local authority’s adoption plan and the child returning to their birth family 
    • you would need to work together with the local authority to manage this in the most sensitive way for the child 
    • it can be a very distressing time for the Early Permanence carers, even though it's judged to be the right thing to do by the court

These are all things that you'd need to discuss with your social worker so that you can be clear about the process you are undertaking.

Early Permanence for young children

Finding the best solutions that prevents delays and multiple placements for the child is so important.