Reunification of a Child to Parental Care

1. Introduction

Between 2015 and 2019, 297 children ceased to be looked after in Bracknell Forest. Of those children, 110 (37%) were returned home to parents, a trend which has been increasing over time. The purpose of this policy is therefore to outline best practice and the steps which will be required to support successful future reunification.

National research suggests that almost half of children who returned home were readmitted to care (47%). Two thirds of children who returned home experienced at least one failed return and a third had oscillated in and out of care. Children who returned home are the largest single group of children who ceased to be looked after in any year. Research shows that careful assessment of needs, evidence of improvement in parenting capacity, a slow and well-managed return home and the provision of services to support children and their families were associated with a positive experience of reunification, which lasted.

For many children permanence is achieved through a successful return home. This is particularly true of children who were subject to Care Orders prior to returning home. Statute and regulations are already in place, which require Local Authorities to carefully assess any plans for reunification. Within the Placement with Parent Regulations there are established systems which support robust care planning in the statutory review framework. Furthermore, children subject to Care Orders are not discharged from care until this has been agreed at the Statutory Review and an assessment has been undertaken which positively reflects the parent's ability to meet the needs of the child. This has not always been the case for children who were accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act.

2. Features of Outcomes

2.1 Features Predicting a Good Outcome

The following features have been identified as indicating better prospects for successful reunification:

• Those children who despite abuse do not have residual disability, developmental delay or special educational needs;
• Children who have had the benefit of non-abusive or helping relationships with peers, siblings and/or a supportive adult;
• Children who have developed a healthy and appropriate understanding about the maltreatment which they have suffered;
• Children and families who are able and willing to co-operate with helping agencies;
• Children and families who have been able to engage in therapeutic work;
• Situations where successful partnerships between professionals and family members have occurred;
• Children and families where the psychological abuse component of the maltreatment experience has been amenable to change.

2.2 Features Predicting a Poor Outcome

The following criteria have been identified as suggesting a poor outcome for reuniting children who have been maltreated with their parents:

• The abusing parent completely or significantly denies any responsibility for the child's developmental state or abuse;
• The child is rejected or blamed outright;
• The child's needs are not recognised by their parents, who put their own needs first;
• Parents have frequently failed to acknowledge or show concern about long-standing difficulties such as alcoholism or psychiatric problems;
• During therapeutic interventions, the relationships within the family and with professionals remain at breaking point.

2.3 Factors Showing Uncertainty

Uncertainty about a family's capacity to change will be characterised by the following:

• Uncertainty as to whether the parents are taking full responsibility for any child abuse;
• Whereas the child's needs may sometimes be viewed as primary, the parents put their own needs as dominant;
• The child may be scapegoated and parent-child attachments are ambivalent or anxious;
• Family patterns are rigid rather than healthy and flexible;
• Relationships with professionals are ambivalent.

2.4 Factors associated with successful reunifications

• Children went to a changed household;
• Reunification is based on a thorough assessment, including case history;
• There was adequate preparation for return provided for both parents and children;
• Specialist services were provided where necessary;
• Sufficient time was allowed for the 'problem' that led to the original admission to have been addressed;
• Conditions were set for the parents before return;
• There was clear evidence of parental change;
• Parents and children had informal support from wider family, friends or community;
• Foster carers or residential workers supported parents and children pre and post return.

2.5 Factors associated with reunification breakdowns

• Children had previous failed returns;
• Insufficient assessment and lack of knowledge of the child's history;
• Weak planning, particularly when returning accommodated children;
• Inadequate service provision;
• Children had emotional or behavioural difficulties;
• Parents' problems had not been adequately addressed;
• Parents were ambivalent about the return and/or isolated.

3. Children Returning Home on a Planned Basis

The NSPCC have an produced evidence based research publication entitled Reunification; An Evidence-Informed Framework for Return Home Practice. This provides a whole framework with risk assessment, tools and reviews. The decision around which sections need to be completed lay with the line manager but this will be a helpful way to ensure there is effective decision making and assessment of risk.

In addition, for accommodated children returning home on a planned basis, the expectation will be that a Single Assessment is completed, prior to the child returning home. This will identify parental capacity to care for the child, the strengths and vulnerabilities in the child's situation, and the support and services required to support the child returning home. The social worker will also need to consider sibling relationships and any potential impact on dynamics. The Care Plan should then be updated, by the social worker, which specifies the agencies who will be involved in supporting the child and their family, along with the nature of the support being offered.

3.1 Children Subject to Full Care Orders

A Care Order will only have been made if the court is satisfied that the child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm in the care of his/her parents. It is therefore important to be especially careful when such children are returned to the care of their parents. Where the child is returned to parental care, this will be under the provisions of Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations, Care Planning, Placement and Case Review. Any return of a child to parents in these circumstances must be the first part of planned progress towards discharge of the care order. Part of the decision making for a child to return to live with parents when they are the subject of a care order is the need to complete the Placement with Parents Regulation risk assessment and agreement prior to the placement commencing.

3.2 Children Accommodated by Agreement with Parents

Where children are accommodated by agreement, the degree of severity of the circumstances in which accommodation was requested in the first place will help to indicate whether reunification is feasible. Any agreement for the provision of accommodation should reflect the fact that the parents have continuing parental responsibility for the child, and that they should always have continuing involvement with the child following placement. Any decision not to return a child to the care of parents when they are requesting should be accompanied by legal advice as this may breach section 20 of the Children Act 1989.

3.3 Reunification Planning Requirements

• Any plan for the re-unification for a child looked after (CLA) must be confirmed by the outcome of a Single Assessment or other specialist assessment;
• Objectives should be reasonable, and timescales not too short or unachievable;
• Plans should not be dependent on resources which are scarce or unavailable;
• The plan must always be focussed on the child;
• The commitment of all parties to the reunification plan is essential;
• Given this will be a change of care plan the view of the IRO should be sought and the CLA review brought forward to discuss the plan.

However, if and when the period of accommodation ends by virtue of the child returning to parents, the child ceases to be looked after by the local authority and the Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations do not apply to the arrangements. It remains important to work in partnership with the parents towards a plan that promotes and safeguards the child's welfare.

3.4 Timescales and Permanency

Delay is detrimental to children and young people. If a plan is made for a child to return to parental care but they have not returned within 6 months, the reasons for the delay should be carefully considered and documented and the viability of the original plans should be subject to further scrutiny at the next statutory review.

At the child's second statutory CLA Review meeting an over arching plan should be made for one of the four options below:

• The child's future re-unification with parents;
• The child's placement with kinship carers;
• The child's placement with other permanent/long term carers/adopters;
• The child's placement in residential care.

Where there is considered to be a realistic prospect of re-unification of the child with his/her parents, the decision making process will be informed by the findings of the completed Single Assessment, which will be presented at the CLA Review.

Permanency is a journey which needs to continue to be reviewed throughout a child's time in care. A permanency plan which is in place when a child is young may not be the appropriate plan when they reach adolescence and furthermore permanency planning is needed to support a child's transition into adulthood.

[1] From Bracknell Forest BC: Permanence Planning for LAC and Parallel Planning: Policy and Procedure.

4. Services to be Considered

If the child has been accommodated for a period or periods amounting to 13 weeks, and is not already an Eligible child (as they are already entitled to such support), it is expected that visits to the home will be offered, in agreement with the person who will have care of the child. The plan should specify the visit frequency and a date to review the plan. This is to consider whether any modifications are required to the plan.

The assessment will have indicated any ongoing support needs. There are a range of services which may be suitable to assist in this task. Parents may require help initially in re- establishing routines and may benefit from a referral to early help services. Equally, with older children, parents may need support in negotiating ground rules and boundaries, with direct work being offered to the young person, to help them re-establish themselves in the family home. Such work might be provided by other services. Children Centres will have a variety of services, which might be of help. These could include evidence based parenting programmes such as 'Triple P' and 'STOP parenting program'. The family's extended network can also be of great value to the child and use of the family group conferences is encouraged.

5. Visits to the Child

It is expected that the person completing the first visit will be a social worker. They will be required to assess the parents' capacity to continue to care safely for the child, how the child is adjusting to life with their family and whether the agreed support is adequate or further support, advice, or assistance is needed. Following the visit, the case note should identify:

• The child's wishes and feelings about the return home;
• The parent or carer's view of how the return home is progressing and any views of siblings particularly in relation to changed dynamics in the home;
• Whether any additional support or services are required to enable the child to remain safely at home; and
• Whether the child's welfare is being adequately safeguarded and promoted.

In the event of concern regarding the child's welfare, the social worker should report this to their line manager, who will in turn discuss this with their Head of Service.

6. Reviewing the Plan

The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review advises that a review should be held, to consider the return plan for the child, and to ensure that all necessary preparation for the return is carried out and appropriate support and services identified. It is expected the reviews will be held prior to any planned return home.

The review will consider the Single Assessment and the circumstances fully and will establish the inter-agency support for the child once they have returned home. CLA Reviews should, if necessary, be brought forward in these circumstances to ensure that in all cases a CLA Review is held to consider the plan for reunification.

As noted above, at every child's second statutory review meeting an over arching plan should be made for their long term future, and where there is considered to be a realistic prospect of re-unification, the decision making process will be informed by the completed Single Assessment, presented at the Review.

6.1 Child Protection Conferences

A Child Protection Conference should be held prior to returning a child to parental care only when it is agreed by the Head of Service responsible for the case that an inter agency child protection plan is the only way to ensure that the child's welfare is not compromised.

It is not appropriate to return children to their parents in circumstances when they will be at risk of harm, so the holding of a Child Protection Conference will be an exceptional measure.

In the exceptional cases of children accommodated by the authority who are subject of a Child Protection Plan, a Child Protection Conference must be held to consider the level of risk if they return to their parents, and to recommend a suitable protection plan. This will inform the discussion and decision making at the CLA Review.

6.2 Family Group Conferences

The implementation of a plan for re-unification may well be facilitated by holding a Family Group Conference. In all circumstances a Family Group Conference should be considered. Family Group Conferences may help by:

• Helping and enabling families to solve problems and take effective ownership of child care planning;
• Exploring the possibility of a friends or family placement;
• Identifying and meeting the needs of carers and support networks;
• Enhancing and strengthening a child's contact with family members;
• Planning for the accommodation and support of young persons leaving care.

7. Unplanned Return to Home (S20)

Children who are voluntarily accommodated can, however, be removed from care at any time by a person with Parental Responsibility and sometimes at short notice; young people aged 16 or 17 can also leave care without notice if it is to return home, but otherwise now require the permission of the Executive Director. (Children's Homes and Looked After Children (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013).

When a young person aged 16 or 17 returns home in an unplanned way, the 'Request to De- accommodate a child looked after' episode will be completed on Mosaic.

The Head of Service will review the following to make a recommendation to the Executive Director:

• Single Assessment: The single assessment should cover the following:
  • Chronology of significant events;
  • Case history;
  • CP and CLA history;
  • Any criminal record for anyone within the household;
  • Consultation with the child, family and professionals (inc. IRO);
  • Wishes and feelings of the child;
  • Health of the child;
  • Educational, emotional, cultural and social needs of the child;
  • Financial information;
  • Suitability of proposed carer and parenting capacity;
  • Suitability of other adults in the household;
  • Suitability of proposed accommodation;
  • Last CLA review information;
  • CiN Planning Meeting date.
• Recommended support to parents and children that should form the basis of the plan and what is needed to make the return home successful;
• Short-Term Support Plan: this support plan will act as an interim plan until the CiN Planning Meeting takes place;
• CiN Planning Meeting: this is needed to ensure that the CiN planning and review cycle commences. The IRO should be invited to the CiN Planning Meeting.

When the request is approved by the Executive Director, the CLA episode will be ended.

8. Ratifying the Decision (S20)

When a child returns home, from section 20 accommodation, the decision requires the oversight of a senior manager, as is the case with Placement with Parent regulations. This includes children who returned home, on an unplanned basis. As well as considering any assessments, the nominated officer, Head of Service, will wish to be satisfied that the child's wishes and feelings had been considered and that appropriate consultation had taken place with the key adults in the child's life such as IRO, the child's relatives (where appropriate) and other appropriate persons such as Foster carer or registered manager of the children's home.

9. Ongoing Support

Children who have been subject of a plan for reunification will be considered children in need and will benefit from ongoing support:

• The child's IRO will attend the CiN Planning meeting for children subject to section 20 who return home on an unplanned basis where the local authority is supporting the decision;
• Reviews will identify outstanding tasks and the roles and responsibilities of professionals in meeting identified need;
• Subsequently, the frequency of CiN reviews will be determined by progress in settling the child within the family;
• Decisions will be made as to when it is appropriate to transfer the support being co-ordinated to a Team around the child meeting; the support being offered to the child and their family is voluntary and families may choose not to engage at any point in the process.

For children who are the subject of a care order they will remain CLA under Placement with Parent's Regulations. This will continue until the decision is made to discharge the care order.*

*Such a decision should be made in consultation with the Head of Service following legal advice and would usually not be before the children had returned for a period of 6 months. The rationale for this is that the Court have previously decided that the threshold for significant harm has been met. 6 months will provide evidence around sustained change.