Placements with Connected Persons

1. Introduction

These provisions are to be used only in exceptional circumstances and where there are clearly defined reasons why a full foster carer assessment cannot be undertaken before a placement is made. There is a risk that if a child is placed before the full approval of the carer as a local authority foster carer they may not be approved at the end of the process resulting in a further move for the child.

As with any placement the responsible Authority must be satisfied that the placement is:

• The most suitable means to safeguard and promote the child's welfare, notwithstanding the Connected Person is not yet approved as a foster carer;
• The Authority must be satisfied that it is necessary for the child to be placed with the Connected Person before the Connected Person's suitability to be a foster carer has been assessed in accordance with the Regulations.

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.

2. Situations Where these Procedures do not Apply

These procedures do not apply where a child (under 16 years) 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. Interim Approval of Placements of Looked After Children with Connected Persons

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.

Any such approval can only be given for 16 weeks from the date of the placement. After that period of time, under Regulation 25 of the Care Planning, Placement & Case Review Regulations 2010, an extension can be sought where necessary to complete the assessment. The extension will be for 8 weeks. see Section 5, Assessment and Approval of a 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 their 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 including where relevant an initial risk assessment of any pets, together with the environment in which the pet is kept; in relation to the child's age and developmental stage, to promote their 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 the identity 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 of which they have been convicted or in respect of which they have been cautioned;
7. Past and present employment and other sources of income;
8. Nature of the neighbourhood and resources available in the community to support the child and the Connected Person.
   
   (Schedule 4 Children Act 1989 Matters to be taken into account when assessing the suitability of a connected person).

The home must be visited by the social worker as part of the assessment of the suitability of arrangements, this must include seeing the sleeping arrangements for the child concerned. Where children may need to share bedrooms, the appropriateness of sharing arrangements needs to be assessed, children's views considered and both short term and longer term accommodation/bedroom sharing solutions fully discussed with carers.

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 is finalised.

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 including the need for Disclosure and Barring Service checks and other agency enquiries on all members of the household aged 18 and over, as well as interviews with referees, adult children and ex-partners, which will be part of any such fostering assessment.

It is an expectation that a joint initial visit to be made by the child's social worker and a social worker from the Fostering Service to reach an initial recommendation as to whether temporary approval is appropriate.

Initial Police checks should be taken up prior to placement to inform the temporary approval process, and a viability assessment, taking into account the matters outlined in Schedule 4 (above) should be written and made available to the Nominated Officer when a decision is to be made on temporary approval.

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 outlining the expectations around caring for the child/children and around record keeping and keeping the child's social worker and the Fostering Service aware of any concerns or issues. A Connected Person approved under these regulations will be entitled to support and services including fees, allocation of social worker and allowances.

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 unless an extension of 8 weeks is agreed.

The placement may only continue after sixteen weeks if the carer is approved as a foster carer - see Section 5, Assessment and Approval of a Connected Person as Foster Carers - or in exceptional circumstances where the temporary approval is extended (under Regulation 25 of the Care Planning, Placement & Case Review Regulations 2010).

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 an 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 Approvals of Foster Carers Procedure). The IRO must be consulted and Fostering Panel's view obtained. A decision to extend the temporary approval must be approved by the Nominated Officer.

Before deciding whether to extend the approval, the Local Authority must consider if the placement is still the most appropriate placement available.

4. The Placement

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 it is not reasonably practicable to prepare the Placement Plan before making the placement, the Placement Plan must be prepared within five working days of the start of the placement.

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 the child 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. This also applies where the child is placed under an Interim Care Order. The visits are to be fully recorded as statutory visits.

The child's social worker will update the electronic record with the details of the placement and notify the finance section of the placement to trigger payments to the carer.

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. Responsibility for this should be clarified within the Placement Planning Meeting.

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

The social worker must also arrange for the completion of a Personal Education Plan - see the Supporting the Education and Promoting the Achievement of Children with a Social Worker, Looked After and Previously 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 Persons as Foster Carers

The fostering assessment process should commence as soon as possible after temporary approval is agreed. A member of the Fostering Team will be allocated the assessment and will commence regular visits to complete a Form C assessment (within 16 weeks of temporary approval). The Fostering Social Worker and Child’s Social Worker will maintain regular dialogue regarding the children’s wellbeing, progress and any concerns. This will inform the assessment process.

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).

The allocated supervising 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 supervising 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 Disclosure and Barring Service checks and consent to other agency checks.

The signed consent form and Disclosure and Barring Service forms will be given to the administrative staff in the Fostering Service who will send off for the necessary checks as set out in Assessment and Approvals of Foster Carers Procedure, Checks and References.

The allocated worker will explain the assessment process and expectations around foster carer recording and information sharing to the carers and provide them with written information.

The procedure for the assessment and approval is as for all applicants - see Assessment and Approvals 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. 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.