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Panel refusing to hear our case!?

Cheese94 March 6, 2021 10:55

I am just in such a spin at the moment and wanted to reach out and see if any other adopters have gone through this before, as our SW has said she has never had this happen and it seems rare from her perspective 😕

This coming Friday we were due to go to panel, we found out yesterday that after reading through our PAR they are refusing to hear us at panel due to several 'concerns' which is confusing since we had a lot of eyes on our PAR, a second opinion and even the head of the LA's adoption services looked over it and said it was ready.

On the one hand, I agree with our SW who said to be honest this is better than turning up and getting a deferral or a split panel, but it's just so confusing, we are getting so little information from the LA who has said it could be weeks until we know what these mystery concerns are. What's worse is we had been provisionally lined up a match, spoken to the family finder etc. and it was all due to go ahead after panel which now isn't going to happen.

So I am just wondering if anyone else has gone through this and could offer some advice or guidance on what the process is?

atotheb March 16, 2021 14:19

Hi there. Sorry, this sounds very hard for you. I wanted to respond and offer my perspective. I sit on an adoption panel for a large London agency.

For the panel and the panel chair to suggest the case isn't ready for a panel is pretty rare, but it does not mean that it has anything to do with your input or your assessment as such. One of panel's biggest jobs is to make sure the t's are crossed and i's dotted, to make sure all the correct work has been done by your SW and anybody else involved (medical, references, financial etc). If there is information missing it is rare that your SW's manager would've missed that but it can happen. It may well be that the chair or a couple of panel members felt like something significant hadn't been explored thoroughly. Again, that isn't your responsibility but your SWs. I think what I am trying to say is don't worry, if it has come back to you it is likely something that can be rectified before another panel date comes up. And yes, much better than to go to a panel and get a deferral. You will return with a very robust PAR I am sure.

Sometimes SWs get a bit defensive about panel behaviour but I think any good panel is putting the applicant's needs as a priority, alongside their commitment to children who need a forever home.

I hope it is resolved quickly for you.

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