5.1.2 Assessing and Matching Short Term Foster Carers wanting to Provide Long Term Care |
Contents
1. Introduction
There are occasions when foster carers who are approved as short-term carers, may be considered to care long term for children placed with them. This should always be done through the planning process and carers should not be approached or encouraged to offer long term care without the viability of this first being discussed between the locality team and the fostering service.
It is usual when long term foster placements are being sought for children to complete BAAF forms E & F in order to consider the most appropriate placements. However in situations whereby a child is already living with a foster carer and the department wishes to consider long term fostering delays can be caused because of the time-consuming nature of the form E and F. The department takes the view it is not necessary to completely re-assess the foster carers, as a form F would have been approved at the Fostering Panel under the Fostering Service Regulations.
There are however a number of requirements in relation to the child, foster carers and proposed match. In relation to the children concerned, approval needs to be sought from the Adoption and Permanency Panel for long-term care. The short-term foster carers need to be approved as long-term carers and the process undertaken needs to ensure carers understand the different implications of long-term care. In addition an agreement needs to be sought from the Panel for the formal matching between child and long term foster carer.
In these situations a less intensive assessment is required because the foster carer is already approved as a short term carer and the child placed with them. This guidance sets out the standard of assessment and information, which would be required to change the approval of a short-term carer to a long-term carer and a match between placement and child. This process will be based on the current needs of the child and the strengths and weakness of the proposed match.
1.1 What is Long Term Fostering?
Long term fostering involves a commitment from the carers to care for a child up to the age of 18 as a member of their family and hopefully retain contact and friendship into adulthood. The difference between short term and long term fostering is that the latter is closer to the parental role although the child still remains Looked After by the Local Authority. This means the carer is expected to take more responsibility for liaison with education and health and would be expected to take a lead role in going to parent’s meetings, talking with teachers and health professionals and taking a pro-active role in discussions with the child’s social worker about their needs. They would also be expected to promote on-going life story work with the child.
A long-term foster carer does not acquire legal parental responsibility, which is retained by the parents and the Local Authority looking after the child. This means the carer continues to attend Reviews and Meetings for the child and the child is visited at regular intervals by their social worker.
1.2 Contact/Identity Issues
Where a child’s Care Plan includes contact with family members carers will be expected to facilitate this. For unaccompanied minors it is unlikely that contact with family members will be an issue but it would be expected that a carer would help a child to identify with other members of their ethnic community. This might involve attending religious ceremonies, eating differently prepared food, joining a community group, attention to any special needs with regard to skin and hair etc.
1.3 Finances
As of the date of this guidance any carer who transfers from short term fostering to long term fostering will remain on the same fostering allowance i.e. the fee element will be maintained.
1.4 The Child in Placement and Permanency
This guidance applies to all children under the age of 14 years for whom the plan is that they remain with their current short term foster carers on a long term basis. For those 14 years and over, plans to remain with short term carers should be made through the planning and review process and in consultation with the fostering service. These decisions will be based on the needs of the child and their wishes and feelings. Indeed many children have strong wishes to move on to other forms of accommodation at 16+ years and these views should be equally acknowledged when decisions are being made.
As a standard practice the issue of Permanency should always be addressed at a child’s second review and the Adoption and Permanency Team consulted where there is a possibility of either long term fostering, adoption or other permanency proposed. For unaccompanied minors aged under 14 years of age long term fostering is likely to be the best option for permanency as the evidence suggests very few children actually return to their families either in their country of origin or in the UK. This is normally due to lack of information about their birth family and/or the reasons for being in the UK.
The advantage of long term fostering approval being sought for the child is the formal acknowledgement that he/she is expected to stay with the family until ready to live independently or in semi-independent supported accommodation. This will give children a sense of security and stability in their lives.
2. Procedure for Presentation to the Adoption and Permanency Panel
2.1 The Child’s Social Worker
Form E. Part 1.
The child’s social worker needs to present an up to date report about the child to the Panel. Only Part 1 of the Form E should be completed but this should be with as much information as is available. Part 1 should contain information about birth family, siblings, contact issues, a profile of the child and the Plan for the child. The plan for the child should clarify the following issues
- Current health and future health needs
- Current educational progress and future needs identified
- Identity needs
- Any therapeutic in-put needed
- Any Legal issues, particularly with regard to asylum status for unaccompanied minors.
- Any contact issues
It is important to include the views of the child about the placement. In addition a letter from the child to the Panel is always appreciated by Panel members.
A copy of a recent school report and the most recent statutory medical should also be attached together with a photograph of the child.
The department and panel accept that for many unaccompanied minors the information available is very limited, particularly with regard to their family and home circumstances. It is however important to clarify in the Form E that information was sought and briefly state why the information is not available. It is not appropriate leave a blank space.
It is important to acknowledge that several Panel members are independent and do not have access to RBKC databases and therefore cannot read Reviews and Lotus Notes. Therefore there is no point in referring to either. All the information needed has to be summarised in the Form E.
Clearly, where possible, the social worker will need to discuss with the child’s parents the plan for long term fostering. Their wishes and feelings need to be included and in normal circumstance their agreement would be needed when a child is accommodated under S.20 Children Act 1989. Obviously this is not often possible with regard to unaccompanied minors and again this needs to be briefly stated in the Form E.
Matching Report
Once the Form E is completed this can be presented to the Panel together with the report from the Adoption and Fostering Worker about the carers. Accompanying these reports a brief Matching Report (see FPU 34 for format) is required with bullet points as to why this is a suitable match for the child. The child’s social worker and the Adoption Team worker need to work closely together to decide the contents of the matching report.
2.2 The Adoption and Permanency Social Worker
The social worker from the Adoption and Permanency Team will prepare an up to date report on the foster carers who wish to transfer to a long term fostering arrangement. This report should highlight their fostering experience since initial approval, their understanding of the commitment to long term fostering, their strengths in the current placement and their commitment to the child/ren placed with them.
Procedure and contents of Carer’s assessment
An addendum report needs to be attached to the original Form F or Competencies Report, which was presented to Panel. If there have been significant changes for the carer which affect the relevance of the original report the worker should discuss this with the Team Manager. A decision can then be made as to whether a more detailed re-assessment is required. In any event much of the family and background information will remain the same.
It is very important that the contents of the original report are again shared with the carer and questions asked as to the accuracy and whether there is any further information that needs to be added to the background information. This is vital because in some situations important information has either been omitted in the past or the impact has since become more evident. This would be particularly applicable to any instances of childhood trauma or abuse that might impact on their current parenting capacities.
The following issues/format should be considered in any addendum report, which should then be attached to the original assessment.
- Front Sheet - Foster Carers Essential Information - this will already be available on file.
- History/chronology of their fostering experience since approval.
- What has been learned from this experience? Their understanding of the impact of their own background and experience on fostering and the impact that long term fostering will have on the family.
- Activities and interests within the family.
- Foster carers understanding of the implications of long term fostering including education, health and identity issues for the child.
- Understanding of the impact of racism, and how to support a child.
- How will they deal with adolescent issues and sexuality.
- How will they deal with contact issues.
- Their understanding of what is needed to help a child move on to independence and support them afterwards.
- Their views on the children to be fostered long term and their motivation to offer a long term placement.
- Views of other members of the household on the plan to long term foster.
- References from the fostering linkworker and one other referee
- A letter from the child, if age appropriate, with their views on long term fostering (this may be obtained by child’s social worker) and feedback on the interview with child.
- Ensure police checks and medicals are up to date (within 2 years). A new Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check may be necessary.
- Attach the last fostering review and any other significant information. Any allegations etc. must be explored further.
- Conclusion.
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