STANDARD 19 - Fitness to provide or manage an adoption agency or an adoption support agency

The people involved in carrying on and managing the adoption agency or adoption support agency:

1. have the knowledge and experience of adoption law and practice, and when providing services to children, knowledge and experience of child care law and practice;
2. have business and management skills to manage the work efficiently and effectively and;
3. have financial expertise to ensure that the agency is run on a sound financial basis and in a professional manner.

The manager and branch manager has on taking up the post:

1. a recognised social work qualification or a professional qualification, at least at level 4*, relevant to working with children; and
2. at least two years’ experience relevant to adoption within the past five years; and
3. at least one years experience supervising and managing professional staff; and
4. in-depth knowledge and experience of child care law and practice; and
5. where the agency provides an intercountry adoption service, knowledge of:
   1. intercountry legislation and practice;
   2. the principles of the law and eligibility criteria for the overseas country;
   3. the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption;
   4. the Immigration Rules and immigration legislation that applies to the country in question; and
   5. the implications for children who are (a) adopted from outside the British Islands and (b) being taken out of the British Islands for the purposes of adoption; and
6. the adoption agency manager has a qualification in management at least at level 4.

* With respect to standard 19.2 (a) and (f), 19.3 (a) and (d) and 19.4, for persons undertaking a qualification after January 2011, the relevant qualification will be the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services. Managers who already hold a Level 4 Leadership and Management for Care Services and Health and Social Care will not need to undertake this qualification at level 5.

The registered manager (or registered provider, where the registered provider is an individual and there is no registered manager) of an adoption support agency has on taking up the post:

1. a recognised social work qualification, or a professional qualification, at least at level 4, relevant to working in an adoption setting (or children services where the agency provides services to children); or
2. is a Member (MBACP) or Accredited Member (MBACP Accred) of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), or is chartered by/registered with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), or the United Kingdom Register for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (UKRCP); or
3. is registered as an Arts, Drama or Music Therapist or as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health Professions Council for England and Wales (HPC); and
4. a qualification in management at least at level 4; and
5. at least two years’ experience relevant to adoption within the past five years; and
6. at least one year’s experience of supervising and managing professional staff.

(or registered provider of an adoption support agency where the registered provider is an individual and there is no registered manager)

Appointees to the post of manager who have no management qualifications, must enrol on a management training course within six months, and obtain a relevant management qualification within three years of appointment.

The responsibilities and duties of the manager and to whom they are accountable are clear and understood by them. The manager is notified in writing of any change in the person to whom they are accountable.

The manager exercises effective leadership of the staff and operation, such that the agency is organised, managed and staffed in a manner that delivers the best possible child care (in respect of adoption agencies)/service provision for the agency’s service users (in respect of adoption agencies/adoption support agencies).