3.3.1 Placements in Foster Care - Under Review

RELATED CHAPTERS

This Chapter should be read in conjunction with Decision to Look After a Child (Care and Permanence Planning) Procedure, which contains procedures and guidance on planning, consultation and decision making in relation to Looked After Children.

Also see the following chapters:

Effective Placements and Placement Prioritisation Criteria Guidance (which includes Prioritisation Criteria for foster care, residential care and secure accommodation.)

Children’s Placement Planning Group Procedure

At the time of the February 2012 update this chater was under review.

1.	Placements Process - Planned Placements
	1.1	Definition of Planned Placement
	1.2	Placement Process
	1.3	Placement Planning
	1.4	Notification of Placement
	1.5	Arranging Looked After Reviews
	1.6	Health Care Registrations and Assessments
2.	Placement Process - Emergency Placements
	2.1	Definition of Emergency
	2.2	During Normal Working Hours
	2.3	Outside Normal Working Hours
	2.4	Emergency Placement Planning Meetings
3.	Support, Monitoring and Ending of Placements
	3.1	Support and Monitoring of Placements
	3.2	Ending or Termination of Placements
4.	Assessment, Approval and Matching of Foster Carers for Permanent Placement

1. Placements Process - Planned Placements

Emergency Placement procedures are contained in Section 2, Placement Process - Emergency Placements

1.1	Definition of Planned Placement
1.2	Placement Process
1.3	Placement Planning
1.4	Notification of Placement
1.5	Arranging Looked After Reviews
1.6	Health Care Registrations and Assessments

1.1 Definition of Planned Placement

Emergency Placement Procedures are contained in Section 2, Placement Process - Emergency Placements

A Planned Placement is the placement of a child with the agreement of the child’s social worker and Supervising Social Worker that the placement is suitable, having considered the needs of the referred child and all the other children in the home. If the child's wishes are not acted upon, the reason should be given.

Where agreement is not reached, an Emergency Placement Planning Meeting must be convened within 3 working days of the placement starting to consider the suitability.

1.2 Placement Process

If not undertaken in the previous three months, the social worker must undertake a Core Assessment in relation to the child and the manager must approve the proposed placement, taking account of the Decision to Look After a Child (Care and Permanence Planning) Procedure.

Referrals within the authority should then be made to the Fostering Team.

Where the proposed placement is with a foster carer living outside the authority, the views of the local authority where the foster carer lives must be sought and taken into account. Where the foster carer has been approved by a different fostering agency, the written consent of that agency will also be sought by the child’s social worker.

If the proposed placement is for the child to be permanently placed with foster carers, the social worker seeking the placement must be mindful that procedures exist for obtaining approval to the matching of foster carers.

These procedures are set out in Section 4, Assessment, Approval and Matching of Foster Carers for Permanent Placement.

1.3 Placement Planning

It is good practice, whenever possible, to arrange for the child and parent(s) to undertake at least one, pre-placement, visit.

Where there is a child already in the placement from a different local authority, the consent of that child’s local authority should be sought by the social worker for the child about to be placed.

Before the child is placed the social worker should liaise with the Supervising Social Worker and ensure that the following plans have been completed or that arrangements are in place to complete/circulate them: a Care Plan, Placement Plan Part 1 and Part 2, Personal Education Plan (PEP) and Health Care Plan.

The purpose of the first Placement Planning Meeting is to finalise the Placement Plan (which will be recorded on the Placement Information Record). This will involve a discussion of the child's needs to ensure careful matching, including the child's personal history, religious persuasion, cultural and linguistic background and racial origin, as well as the child's health and education needs and how these are to be met. It will also include the arrangements for registering the child with local health professionals (GP, dentist and optician)

In addition the placement planning meeting will consider the type of introduction process required, for example whether arrangements should be made for the child, parents and the social worker to visit the foster home and/or whether it may be appropriate to have an introductory overnight stay. Children should be able to visit the foster home and talk in private with the carer. If this is not possible, arrangements may be made for the carers to visit the child and parents; or for information about the foster carers to be sent to the child and/or the parents, for example about routines in the foster home, bedtimes, meals, visitors, pocket money, school, privacy and the overall expectations in relation to the child's behaviour within the home.

For children placed in foster care, the Placement Plan should cover the following issues in addition to those for all placements set out in the Decision to Look After and Care Planning Procedure:

The type of accommodation to be provided and the address;
The child's personal history, religious persuasion, cultural and linguistic background and racial origin;
Where the child is AccommodatedS, the respective responsibilities of the Local Authority and parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility; any delegation of responsibility by parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility to the Local Authority for the child's day-to-day care; the expected duration of the arrangements and the steps to bring the arrangements to an end, including arrangements for the child to return to live with parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility; where the child is aged 16 or over and agrees to being provided with accommodation under Section 20 Children Act 1989, that fact;
The circumstances in which it is necessary to obtain in advance the Local Authority's approval for the child to take part in school trips or overnight stays;
The Local Authority's arrangements for the financial support of the child during the placement;
The obligation on the carers to comply with the terms of the foster care agreement.

The social worker must ensure that the child is provided with information on using this authority’s Complaints Procedure.

1.4 Notification of Placement

Notification of the placement must be sent, in writing, to all those consulted and involved in the decision-making process. The notification should be before the start of the placement, wherever possible, or within 5 working days.

If not consulted during the decision making process, the social worker must also notify the appropriate Health Trust, Local Education Authority and Family Services in the area where the child is placed. These notifications must be made in writing advising of the placement decision and the name and address of the person with whom the child is to be placed.

If the child is moving from one placement to another or his/her legal status has changed, the relevant Business Support Officer must be notified.

1.5 Arranging Looked After Reviews

The social worker must consult the Team Manager with a view to arranging the child’s Looked After Review. See Looked After Reviews Procedure.

1.6 Health Care Registrations and Assessments

It will be necessary for the social worker to ensure the child is registered with a GP, Dentist and Optician within a week of the placement, either retaining practices known to them or in the area where they are placed. See General Practitioners, Dentists and Opticians Procedure.

It will also be necessary to arrange a Health Care Assessment; see Health Assessments and Health Care Plans Procedure.

2. Placements Process - Emergency Placements

Planned Placement procedures are contained in Section 1, Placements Process - Planned Placements.

2.1	Definition of Emergency
2.2	During Normal Working Hours
2.3	Outside Normal Working Hours
2.4	Emergency Placement Planning Meetings

2.1 Definition of Emergency

An Emergency Placement is a placement of a child without the agreement of the social worker and Supervising Social Worker that the placement is suitable having considered the needs of the referred child and all other children in the home.

2.2 During Normal Working Hours

Where an Emergency Placement is required, the social worker should, if possible, follow the consultation and pre-placement planning procedures set out in Decision to Look After a Child (Care and Permanence Planning) Procedure. If it is not possible to follow these procedures, the manager may still authorise the placement but may require that the procedures are followed at a later date.

Where a request is made for a foster carer to exceed the number of children they are approved for, the Fostering Head of Service or Chair of the Fostering Panel (See Designated Manager (Exemption to Exceed Usual Limit)) can approve an Interim Exemption. Thereafter it will be necessary for the Fostering Panel to give due consideration to the decision.

See the Limit on the Number of Children in Foster Homes Procedure.

Where a request is made for a foster carer to look after a child beyond the age range approved for, the Fostering Head of Service may give authorisation.

In all cases, even where a child is placed in an emergency, a Placement Plan Part 1 must be completed, with copies given to the carers, child and parent(s). If possible a Placement Plan Part 2 should also be completed; if this is not possible, it must be completed within 7 days of the placement starting.

Unless agreed by the social worker and set out in the Placement Plan, no contact may be permitted between the child and parents or siblings.

An Emergency Placement Planning Meeting must then be conducted within 3 days of the placement, when the suitability of the placement can be explored and outstanding procedures followed. See Placement Planning and Disruption Procedure.

2.3 Outside Normal Working Hours

The Emergency Duty team is normally provided with a list of available family placements within the authority.
When a placement appears appropriate, the Emergency Duty Team social worker will identify a suitable placement, using the available family placements given to them.
Before placing the child, the Emergency Duty Team social worker should take account of the procedures outlined in Decision to Look After a Child (Care and Permanence Planning), regarding consultation, and should take all reasonable steps to ensure these procedures are followed.
When a decision is reached the Emergency Duty Team social worker should liaise with the placement staff/carers to agree the time and other suitable arrangements for the child’s placement.
Before a child is placed, the Emergency Duty Team social worker must ensure that a Placement Plan Part 1 is completed and a copy given to the staff/carers. The original must be passed to the relevant social worker without delay.
If the child is placed at beginning of a holiday period, e.g. Christmas Eve, the Emergency Duty Team social worker placing the child will arrange for the child to be visited at least once during the holiday period to ensure the child’s need are being attended to and the staff/carers have all they require to meet the child’s needs until the relevant social worker can follow the placement up.

2.4 Emergency Placement Planning Meetings

If a child is placed in a Foster Home in an Emergency (as defined in Section 2.1, Definition of Emergency), an Emergency Placement Planning Meeting must be convened within 3 working days of the start of the placement.

See Placement Planning and Disruption Procedure.

3. Support, Monitoring and Ending of Placements

3.1	Support and Monitoring of Placements
3.2	Ending or Termination of Placements

3.1 Support and Monitoring of Placements

The child’s social worker must visit the child in the placement within one week of the placement and then at specified intervals; see Social Worker Visits Procedure.

Also see:

Supervision of Foster Carers Procedure and Placement Planning and Disruption Procedure.

3.2 Ending or Termination of Placements

All those notified of the placement should be notified also when a placement is terminated. If the child’s placement or legal status changes, the relevant Business Support Officer must be notified.

At the end of a foster placement, all written information on the child which the foster carer holds should be transferred to the Supervising Social Worker for transfer to the child’s social worker.

4. Assessment, Approval and Matching of Foster Carers for Permanent Placement

The matching process should consider the child's needs especially regarding the following key areas:

The child's education;
The expectations around contact with relatives and friends;
The child's identify/race/culture;
The child's history;
The child's behaviour;
The child's health;
The focus of the placement.

The matching process should also consider the carer's availability and:

Their experience;
Their strengths;
The family composition;
The distance from the foster home to the child's school;
Other children in the placement;
The foster carer's children.

Where a child’s proposed placement with a foster carer is to achieve permanence or the plan is for the existing placement to become permanent, the following must occur in order to obtain the necessary approval:

Where the child is under thirteen years old, the plan to achieve permanence for the child through a long-term foster placement must initially be referred to the Permanency Panel upon whose recommendation the Designated Manager (Permanence Plans) can give approval in principle.
In relation to all children, where the foster carers are not already approved as long-term foster carers, it will be necessary to conduct an assessment to obtain such approval.

For foster carers who are relatives or friends, the social worker should liaise with the family placements staff to agree who should undertake the assessment.

In relation to internal foster carers, the assessment will be undertaken by a family placement worker. Where the child is already placed with the foster carers the assessments must be completed within 4 months.

In order to complete the assessment it will be necessary to undertake a BAAF Form F1 Assessment unless the request for approval is for a specific child, in which case a BAAF Form F2 Assessment should be completed.

When complete, the appropriate form should be presented to the Fostering Panel, who may recommend to the Designated Manager (Foster Carer Approval) that the foster carers be approved as long term.
In relation to all placements, an assessment of the suitability of the match of the long-term foster carers to the child or children in question should be conducted.

In these circumstances, the social worker should liaise with the family placement worker to agree who should undertake the assessment. Where the child is already placed with the foster carers, the assessments must be completed within 4 months.

When complete, the assessments should be presented to the Fostering Panel, who may recommend to the Designated Manager (Foster Carer Approval) that the matching be approved.

The Fostering Panel will require a Checklist of Needs and Matching Report accompanied by the following information:

In relation to the foster carers:

BAAF Form F1 or BAAF Form F2 updated as necessary and focusing on parenting ability, family attitudes, place of child in family and fostering history
Last foster home review report
Fostering Panel minute recommending approval of foster carer’s long term status
Up to date medical report from GP and any further information required by the Medical Adviser.

In relation to the child:

BAAF Form E if available; full pen picture of child if not
Looked After Review minute recommending the plan for the placement
Personal Education Plan
Any specialist assessments
Report of any home-finding efforts
Up to date medical information

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