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Contents

1. Introduction and Policy Statement 
2. Situations Where these Procedures do not Apply
3. Approval of Immediate Placements of Looked After Children Connected Person 
4. The Placement
5. Assessment and Approval of Connected Person as Foster Carers
6. Supervisory Responsibilities 
7. Ending the Placement
   
   Appendix 1: BAAF Form C

1. Introduction and Policy Statement 

The following procedure covers immediate placements of looked after children with a Connected Person i.e. where the carers are not already approved as foster carers.

A Connected Person is defined as "A relative, friend or other person connected with a child. The latter is someone who would not fit the term 'relative or friend', but who has a pre-existing relationship with the child. It could be someone who knows the child in a more professional capacity such as (for example) a child-minder, a teacher or a youth worker."

Relative is defined as "a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership) or step-parent."

The procedure sets out the checks that need to be made before such a placement can be made.

It also covers the procedure to be followed to carry out the required assessment and approval of the Connected Person as foster carers if the placement is to last longer than 16 weeks.

Policy

The Children Act 1989 states that Local Authorities have a duty and arrange for a looked after child to be cared for by a relative or friend of the child, if it is consistent with the child's welfare.

Lambeth Children and Young People's Service recognises that looked after children and young people are often best cared for within their own family and community network.

Placement with a connected person should therefore always be considered for children and young people who need to be looked after for both long and short-term periods, where this is consistent with the child's best interests.

Children who are placed with a connected person/s as foster carers under this procedure must meet the threshold of eligibility for accommodation.  This provision should not be used to provide financial support to families in the community in situations where children do not meet the threshold for accommodation.

Carers who are relatives or friends of a looked after child should receive the same level of service as unrelated carers: similarly children who are placed with relatives or friends should receive the same level of safeguarding and oversight as children who are otherwise placed. National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services (Standard 30)

See the following Chapters:

Children in Need Eligibility Criteria Procedure

Looked After Children Procedure

2. Situations Where these Procedures do not Apply

These procedures do not apply where a child (under 16 yrs) goes to live with a relative or friend and this is a private arrangement between the parent/person with Parental Responsibility and carer.

If this placement continues for 28 days or more, the child may come within the definition of a Privately Fostered child, in which case the local authority's duties in relation to the placement are set out in the Private Fostering Procedure.

3. Approval of Immediate Placements of Looked After Children Connected Person 

Before any placement with a Connected Person who is not already approved as a foster carer is made, the approval of the Nominated Officer is required. This being the Head of service for Specialist Resources

Any such approval can only be given for 16 weeks from the date of the placement.  After that period of time, further assessment must be carried out and further approval sought - see Section 5, Assessment and Approval of Connected Person as Foster Carers.

Matters to be taken into account when assessing the suitability of a Connected Person to care for the child are:

1. The nature and quality of any existing relationship with the child;
2. Their capacity to care for children and, in particular in relation to the child (or children) concerned, to provide for his/her physical needs and appropriate medical and dental care; to protect the child adequately from harm or danger including from any person who presents a risk of harm to the child; to ensure that the accommodation and home environment is suitable; in relation to the child's age and developmental stage, to  promote his/her  learning and development; to provide  a stable family environment which will promote secure attachments for the child, including promoting positive contact with parents  and other connected persons, unless this is not consistent with the child's welfare;
3. State of health (physical, emotional and mental), and medical history including current or past issues of domestic violence, substance misuse or mental health problems;
4. Family relationships and the composition of the household, including particulars of all other members of the household, their age and the nature of any relationship with the  connected person and each other including any sexual relationship; any relationship with the parents; any relationship between the child and other members of the household; other adults (not members of the household) likely to have regular contact with the child; any current or previous domestic violence between members of the household, including the connected person;
5. Their family history, including their childhood and upbringing, and the strengths and difficulties of their parents or others who cared for them; their relationship with parents and siblings and each other; educational achievement and any learning difficulty/disability; chronology of significant life events; particulars of other relatives and their relationships with the child  and the connected person;
6. Any criminal offences A history of past difficulties that have now been overcome should not in itself make a carer unsuitable, the exception being offences against children or other vulnerable people, or violent or sexual offences; the important point is that any such issue should be disclosed at the earliest possible point rather than emerging later when it may have more disruptive consequences;
7. Children's Social Care records should be checked, and where the family have lived in other local authority areas within the previous 5 years these should also be checked. This is particularly important where there is a close family relationship between the prospective carer and the parents of the child requiring accommodation and where the prospective carer may have been similarly affected by adverse early experiences;
8. Past and present employment and other sources of income;
9. Nature of the neighbourhood and resources available in the community to support the child and the Connected Person.

The home must be visited by the social worker as part of the assessment of the suitability of arrangements.

Where a couple are proposed as carers it is important to ensure that the relationship is reasonably secure and harmonious. They should, as a minimum be asked how long they have been together and whether violence has ever occurred between them. Looked after children cannot be placed in any household where there is either physical violence or regular and severe verbal aggression between adults.

Single carers must be asked about any current or recent intimate relationships and the role that person plays in family life. If possible the partner should be seen prior to placement, however it must be stressed that they will need to be seen as part of the assessment process and they will need to be police checked if they are regular and/or overnight visitors to the home.

The carer's children must be seen as part of the screening. It is important that the carer's current child care responsibilities are taken into account in both practical and emotional areas.

The Carers must be asked about all formal and informal child care commitments they may have: they should not be responsible for more than 3 children under 5 years including the proposed foster child; they should also be asked about any current or recent problems with their own children i.e. non-attendance, suspension or other disciplinary measures at school and any involvement with the police.

The carer's accommodation may be owned or rented privately or from a social landlord. It must however be secure in that there is no threat of eviction for non-payment of rent or mortgage. It must also be clean, in good repair and with adequate space for the proposed child. It is essential that appropriate sleeping arrangements are available and that there is clarity as to who is sleeping where e.g. where there may be adult children away at University.

As a minimum children over the age of 3 should not share a bedroom. Where a child has either suffered or perpetrated physical or sexual abuse on another child a risk assessment must be undertaken before they are allowed to share a bedroom with another child (National Minimum Standards). The proposed sleeping accommodation must always be seen before a child is placed.

The child's wishes and feelings (subject to age and understanding) must be ascertained and recorded and wherever possible, an opportunity must be provided for the child to visit the home before the decision.

The views of parents/ those with Parental Responsibility must also be obtained.

The proposed carer should be given information about the assessment process which will follow if the placement is to last longer than 16 weeks, including the need for CRB checks and other agency enquiries on all members of the household aged 16 and over, as well as interviews with referees, adult children and ex-partners, which will be part of any such fostering assessment.

It is essential that prospective carers are absolutely clear as to the level of responsibility they are taking on in caring for a looked after child, in terms of the   areas to be completed within the assessment, the ongoing supervision they will be subject to as a foster carer and the commitment they will need towards meeting the child's needs: attending reviews and other meetings, ensuring statutory medical and dental checks take place, dealing with contact, involvement in legal processes and helping children to move on where relevant. The carer needs to be aware from the beginning that they will be responsible for all day-to-day aspects of the child's care.

Where the social worker is in any doubt as to the suitability of the placement, s/he should consult the Fostering Service for advice before the placement is agreed.

Where the placement appears suitable and is approved by the Nominated Officer a written Placement Agreement should be completed by the child's social worker with the proposed carer.

The prospective carers need to be made aware that any approval is only temporary and does not imply continued approval beyond the 16 (sixteen) weeks.

The placement may only continue after sixteen weeks if the carer is approved as a foster carer - see Section 5, Assessment and Approval of Connected Person as Foster Carers - or in exceptional circumstances where the temporary approval is extended.

This temporary approval can be extended for a further period of up to 8 weeks (if it is likely to expire before the assessment is completed) or until the outcome of the Independent Review (if the outcome of the assessment is that the Connected Person is not approved and seeks a review of the decision - see Assessment and Approval of Foster Carers Procedure).

Before deciding whether to extend the approval, the Local Authority must consider if the placement is still the  most appropriate placement available, and it must be considered by the Fostering Panel before the above approval is given.

Framework Processes The prospective carer must be created as a person within Framework and a pre-assessment screening episode started. Social Worker - completes Pre-assessment screening format and sends to Team Manager to agree work and actions. If the screening is accepted as satisfactory the Social Worker should then send a request to the Head of Service to confirm agreement to Regulation 24 placement

Child's Social Worker sends a Foster Carer enquiry to the team in-box of the Long-term/Kinship Fostering Team.

Fostering Team Manager assigns the assessment

Fostering Social Worker sends completed Assessment Format for Interim Approval of Family and Friends to their Team Manager to complete work and actions

Nominated Officer agrees the assessment with the outcome LBL Fostering Panel.

4. The Placement

A Placement Planning Meeting should be held before the placement or, where this is not possible because of the urgency of the placement, within 5 working days.

On the placement of the child, the child's social worker will ensure the child's Care Plan and the written Placement Plan is given to the carer.

If the child was not previously Looked After, the child's social worker will send a notification of the child's placement and a request for the child's first Looked After Review to the Independent Review Unit.

If the child was already looked after, the social worker will send notification of the placement to the child's Independent Reviewing Officer.

The child's social worker must visit and see the child alone in the placement (unless she/he refuses) each week until the first Looked After Review and thereafter at intervals of not more than 4 weeks during the period of temporary approval. The visits are to be fully recorded as statutory visits.

Notification of the placement will also be sent by the child's social worker to the relevant local Children's Services Department if the placement is in a different local authority area.

The child's social worker will notify all family members consulted and involved in the decision-making process of the placement.

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. They must be sent before the placement wherever possible or within 5 working days of the placement.

The child's social worker should also notify - preferably in writing but it may be verbally - all those involved in the day to day arrangements for the child, including nursery/school, GP and any health professional or YOS worker actively involved with the child.

It will be necessary for the child's social worker to ensure the child is registered with a GP, Dentist and Optician, either retaining practices known to him or her (which is preferable) or in the area where they are placed.

In relation to a first Looked After placement it will also be necessary for the social worker to arrange a Health Assessment - see Health and Looked After Children Procedure.

The social worker must also arrange for the completion of a Personal Education Plan - see the Education of Looked After Children Procedure.  Every effort should be made to enable the child to remain at the same school unless there are reasons which would be detrimental to his or her well being.

5. Assessment and Approval of Connected Person as Foster Carers

If the plan is for the placement to last longer than 16 weeks, the fostering assessment process should commence as soon as possible after the placement is made and the child's social worker should make a referral to the Fostering Service immediately so that a social worker will be allocated for this purpose.  The pre-placement assessment should be sent to the Fostering Service as part of the referral.

This temporary approval can be extended for a further period of up to 8 weeks (if it is likely to expire before the assessment is completed) or until the outcome of the Independent Review  (if the outcome of the assessment is that the Connected Person is not approved and seeks a review of the decision - see Assessment and Approval of Foster Carers Procedure).

Before deciding whether to extend the approval, the Local Authority must consider if the placement is still the most appropriate placement available, and it must be considered by the Fostering Panel before the above approval is given.

A file will be opened for the foster carer's assessment. The allocated assessing social worker will immediately arrange for a slot to be booked on the Fostering Panel within 16 weeks for the assessment to be considered;.

The allocated assessing social worker will check proof of identity from the proposed carers and arrange for the carers and members of the household aged 16 and over to complete applications for Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks and consent to other agency checks.

The signed consent form and CRB forms will be given to the administrative staff in the Fostering Service who will send off for the necessary checks as set out in Section 4, Checks and References, of Assessment and Approval of Agency Adoptive Parentss Procedure.

The allocated worker will explain the assessment process to the carers and provide them with written information.

The procedure for the assessment and approval is as for all applicants - see Assessment and Approval of Foster Carers Procedure.

If and when the carers are approved as foster carers, the procedures in relation to support, supervision and review of the foster carers are the same as for all approved foster carers.

6. Supervisory Responsibilities 

The allocated Social Worker for the child is responsible for the overall assessment and service provision to that child; for conducting the initial screening of the prospective carers using the BAAF Form C, obtaining management approval for the placement, for referring to the appropriate fostering team and for supervision of the placement. The Fostering Support Team will allocate a supervising social worker to the connected carer on placement of a child.

The child must be seen in placement alone, (wherever possible and unless they are of an age and understanding that they can refuse) and their bedroom seen. They should be seen within the first week of their placement then at intervals of no more than 6 weeks.

7. Ending the Placement

When the placement ends, the child's social worker must update the child's electronic record and send notification to the finance section so that payments to the carer/provider will cease.

The social worker will also send copies to those notified when the placement was made.

Where appropriate, consideration may be given to holding a Disruption Meeting in which case the procedure set out in Placement Support and Disruption Meetings Procedure should be followed.

Appendix 1: BAAF Form C

Click here for Appendix 1: BAAF Form C

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