The biographic and professional influences on adoption and fostering panel members’ recommendation-making

In the UK, decisions to approve adoptive parents and foster carers and authorise adoptions rest with specialist panels. While their formal role and function are clear, there is concern that their composition and the biographies and background characteristics of members could introduce bias and influ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAdoption & fostering Vol. 45; no. 4; pp. 382 - 397
Main Author Weekes, Arlene
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.12.2021
British Association for Adoption & Fostering
Subjects
Adoptive parents
Biographies
Decision making
Foster carers
Senior managers
approving foster carers and adoptive parents
objectivity and bias in childcare decisions
decision-making processes
Adoption and fostering panels
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Summary:In the UK, decisions to approve adoptive parents and foster carers and authorise adoptions rest with specialist panels. While their formal role and function are clear, there is concern that their composition and the biographies and background characteristics of members could introduce bias and influence the decisions made. This article examines the validity of these criticisms with findings from a study of eight agencies, 15 panels and 22 members. It was found that the panel system achieves its aims in terms of having a representative constitution and providing considered recommendations in a timely manner to senior managers, but that individual biography affects panel members in carrying out their role to an unexpectedly high degree, possibly leading to flawed decisions. Actions to remedy this problem, at both an individual and group level, are suggested.
ISSN:0308-5759
1740-469X
DOI:10.1177/03085759211058359