Dan Neville
Ceist:145 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of assessment inter views for parents applying for adoption of chil dren in each of the health boards. [26253/98]
Written Answers - Adoption Procedures.
The information requested by the Deputy is not held by my Department. However, the number of visits required in an adoption assessment varies accord ing to the circumstances of the applicants.
I have commissioned a review of the foreign adoption assessment procedures in health boards, the purposes of which include the provision of an overview of current procedures in this regard. This review has commenced and it is expected that it will be completed next March. The terms of reference of the review are: (i) the current assessment procedures in health boards to be reviewed in consultation with relevant interests. This review should encompass both social work practice and service management; (ii) an overv iew of the current assessment procedures in health boards which identifies any particular issues which need to be addressed to be provided; (iii) a standardised framework for the carrying out of future assessments which accords with best practice in the field and delivers the service in the most efficient and sensitive manner possible to be proposed. Within this standardised framework, health boards should be able to exercise a degree of flexibility in the management of the service and in the detail of its delivery so that they can adapt it to the particular circumstances prevailing in their functional area; (iv) the resource impli cations on current application rates for assess ment of this proposed standardised framework to be estimated. This estimate will include staffing levels, management and administrative require ments, etc. The feasibility of introducing charges for assessments should also be considered in this context; (v) any areas in which legislative or administrative change would improve the quality of the assessment process to be highlighted.