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Independent Review Mechanism

If your adoption agency has decided not to continue assessing you as a prospective adopter, or withdrawn its approval of you, there is somewhere you can turn. The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) was set up to give adoption applicants in England the option of applying to an independent body to review the adoption agency's determination not to approve them as adopters or to withdraw their approval. In Wales, adopters can turn to the Independent Review of Determination which has been contracted by the Welsh Assembly and began on 1 April 2010.

England

The IRM offers prospective adopters the opportunity to have a specialist panel, totally independent of the agency, look at their application again. The IRM cannot overturn the adoption panel’s recommendation, it can only make its own recommendation, which the agency may or may not decide to follow.

Operated by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) on behalf of the Secretary of State for Children, School and Families, the IRM applies to all cases presented to an adoption panel after April 2004 (England only). It is intended to give adopters increased confidence in the assessment process.

In the event that an agency has decided not to continue an assessment, the prospective adopters can request that the agency prepares a brief report for panel. If the agency then decides not to proceed, the prospective adopters can use the IRM.

The process

• The prospective adopters make an application to the IRM
• Once the application is received, a review panel is convened to examine the information prepared for the adoption panel
• If required, the panel requests further information from the adoption agency
• The panel considers all the agency information and the prospective adopter’s representations
• The panel makes a recommendation on the prospective adopters’ suitability to adopt
• The adoption agency must take the recommendation into account when making its final decision, but the IRM cannot overturn the adoption panel’s decision

For more information visit the IRM website http://www.independentreviewmechanism.org.uk/

Wales

The Independent Review of Determination (IRD) for Wales independently reviews fostering or adoption applications where they have been declined by their agency.  The Welsh Assembly has contracted BAAF Cymru to run the IRD from 1 April 2010.

For more information visist the IRD website http://www.irdcymru.org.uk/