About us
We provide independent panels that review suitability to adopt or foster and other decisions made by adoption and fostering providers.
What we do
We provide independent review panels for anyone who has received a qualifying determination letter and wants to challenge a decision made by an adoption agency or a fostering service provider about:
- suitability to adopt or foster
- accessing protected information about adoptees’ birth records
- foster parent terms of approval (for applications which are submitted within the right timescales)
Who we are
We’re a small team made up of a contract manager, caseworkers and administrators.
Our independent panels are made up of 5 to 7 members who have professional or personal experience of adoption and fostering.
IRM is run by Coram Children’s Legal Centre on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE).
Our responsibilities
We review the qualifying determination letters made by adoption agencies or fostering service providers.
Our independent panels consider information from adopters, foster carers, adoption agencies and fostering service providers and make recommendations about suitability, access to records and terms of approval for foster carers.
The final decision regarding suitability is made by the agency decision maker, taking into account the IRM review panel’s recommendation.
Contact
Independent Review Mechanism
Regent Business Hub, 4 Pavilion Business Park, Royds Hall Road, Wortley
Leeds
LS12 6AJ
Email irm@irm.org.uk
Phone 0113 202 2080
Phone lines are open between 9:30am and 12:30pm, Monday to Friday. Where possible, consider contacting us by email.
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