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Shining StarsFostering Agency Procedures Manual

Parent and Child Arrangements

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Legal Context for Placements
  3. Contribution to Assessments
  4. Recruitment, Matching and Placement
  5. Placement Matching
  6. Pre Placement Planning Guidance
  7. Placement Planning Meetings
  8. The Placement
  9. Foster Carer's Roles and Responsibility
  10. Supervision and Support
  11. Responsibility of the Parent(s)
  12. Role of the Supervising Social Worker (SSW)

1. Introduction

Parent and child foster care is an exceptional arrangement for very young children and their parents.

These placements are complex and demand foster carers to be experienced, skilled and able to work closely as part of a team. Parent and child placements carry unique risks, due to the vulnerability of young children being placed, and the necessity of having an adult in a carers' home undertaking observation and monitoring. If a parent and child are to be placed in foster care together it must be on the basis that the parent will provide the primary care for the child with support from the carer. It is essential therefore to be clear about the role and responsibility of the parent and the carer as well as the roles and responsibilities of the professionals involved.

Questions during the referral process will include:

  • What is the proposed legal status of the parent and child?
  • Who is being 'looked after'?
  • What are the aims, tasks and proposed duration of the arrangement?
  • Who is carrying out the specific risk assessment of any adult parent prior to the arrangement starting, and what information will this be based upon?

It is important to emphasise that the usual fostering limit remains three in relation to parent and child arrangements. No fostering household may foster more than three children unless all the children are related to each other as siblings, or the resident Local Authority has agreed the exemption in relation to specific placements. The statutory guidance outlines that, even though an adult parent or a non-looked after parent is not counted as one of the three, care should be taken not to overburden foster carers.

3. Contribution to Assessments

The Agency will contribute to the assessment process coordinated by the Local Authority and provide copies of the carer's daily records, monthly reports and observations. An observation report will be provided by the Agency covering the heading set out in the Parent and Child Agreement.

4. Recruitment, Matching and Placement

The Agency is committed to ensuring that only those foster carers with an appropriate aptitude take on parent and child arrangements.

In summary, the qualities sought by the Agency can be described as follows:

  • Heightened child protection awareness;
  • Working with birth parents;
  • The ability to form strong relationships with parents quickly, while retaining a clear focus on the child's safety and well-being;
  • Excellent communication skills including the ability to keep detailed written records.

Excellent observation skills to allow the carer to contribute to the assessment is an important part of the role including making verbal contributions in professional meetings including giving evidence in court.

  • Practical considerations;

    Sufficient space is essential for successful parent and child arrangements. Balancing the need for privacy against the need for appropriate supervision is a judgement that will need to be made on a case-by-case basis, dependent upon ongoing risk assessment of the arrangement, and informed by the placement plan. The foster carer must have sufficient availability to ensure that an appropriate level of supervision can be guaranteed throughout the duration of the arrangement. Given the potentially stressful nature of such arrangements, particular focus upon the proposed foster carer's support network is also good practice supported by the Agency.
  • An ability to work as part of a team alongside professionals - is particularly important in relation to parent and child arrangements. Foster carers must be prepared to work to an agreed plan, and contribute to the urgent revision of this plan when appropriate.

Experience of previous placements where possible:

  • If the requirement is for the baby to sleep in carer's room then this room must have sufficient space to provide for reasonable living space for a cot/ sleeping arrangements for the baby.

Foster carers taking on this role need to be vigilant for a range of risk factors. They must be very clear about when they need to step in, and when they need to pass on concerns to professionals. Objective assessment skills, combined with a willingness to take decisive action when needed, are therefore essential qualities. Some of the risk factors may relate to the parent's own personal networks (relating to, for example, previous or current drug misuse or domestic abuse) foster carers will need to be sufficiently robust to deal with this potential problem area decisively and with a clear child focus. Equally, a lack of adequate supervision and care for a young infant must be responded to quickly and effectively.

The above requirements must be evidenced in a full annual review for presentation at panel for change of approval. If the carer is newly approved and seeking approval for Parent and Child Placements the requirements must be evidenced in the Form F. Existing carers who want to change their approval will need to be assessed and an addendum to be added to their existing Form F which should be presented at panel for change of approval. Where a situation arises where an existing placement becomes pregnant and wishes to remain in the placement with their child the same previously mentioned criteria will apply to their carer.

5. Placement Matching

Once a referral has been received by the Agency the matching process will be started.

This matching is important to decide on how best to support the parent and to meet the parents and child's needs. The fostering manager will need to agree to the placement match having considered all the relevant information, including the carer's suitability experience and training. Consideration will also be given to the Supervising Social Worker who should be suitably experienced to manage the placement.

6. Pre Placement Planning Guidance

The 2010: Care Planning, Placement & Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 (regulation 9) state that:

'Before making any foster care placement (other than an emergency or immediate placement) the responsible authority shall prepare a placement plan for the child, which covers all matters specified in Schedule 2, which must be agreed with and signed by the foster carer. If it is not reasonably practicable to prepare the plan before the placement, it must be done within five working days of the start of the placement'.

Prior to placement, the Agency may co-ordinate a visit by the parents and the placing authority social workers to visit the foster carers before the placement commences.

Given the potential complexity of parent and child placements is it essential all information, legal documents, risk assessments, and previous Care Plans are made available to inform the placement prior to placement or immediately upon commencement of the placement. The local authority has a duty to provide the Agency and the foster carers with a copy of the Placement Plan.

7. Placement Planning Meetings

The Agency will arrange a parent and child placement planning meeting before the placement starts or where this is not possible within 5 days of the placement starting. The aim of this meeting is to ensure the Agency has all available information relating to the placement. At this meeting clarification needs to be given as to what is expected of the foster carer i.e. observational / non-intervention/intervention, teaching / modelling. This may also include contact arrangements for the child's other parent.

The supervising social worker and the child's social worker together with the foster carer will complete and provide a risk assessment and safer care agreement in relation to the individual parent and child placement. Foster carer will inform parent of household rules/routine. If the parent is also looked after then a separate Placement Planning Meeting should take place in order to ensure that the parent's needs are fully considered both separately and in conjunction with those of their child.

8. The Placement

The foster carer(s) will be expected to offer guidance and assistance to the parent in managing the care tasks for the child. This may include direct instruction or modelling, it may include responding to questions or it may include practical support such as accompanying the parent to parent/baby groups, health visiting, shopping etc.

9. Foster Carer's Roles and Responsibility

The carers should have knowledge of attachment issues and how to promote attachment between the parent and child placed. Some parents in Parent and Child Placements are teenagers and the Parent and Child Carers will need to have knowledge and understanding of working with teenagers. In addition, for some placements there needs to be an understanding of how drug and or alcohol misuse will impact on a parent's ability to parent, and on the child's health and development.

The carer will need to be familiar with recent guidance relating to the development of babies, weaning, bottle feeding/breast feeding and up to date information regarding Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), which stresses the need to avoid any bed co-sharing and offers general guidance on safe sleeping arrangements. Foster carers will work closely with Health Visitors and other health professionals.

Provision of equipment will be clearly defined within the Placement Agreement. However, foster carers are expected to provide the equipment to meet basic care needs.

To comply with advice and guidance on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, mattresses for cots or Moses baskets will not be shared between babies. A new mattress MUST be used and carers can discuss this with their Agency.

The foster carer will be expected to keep a detailed written daily record noting observations of the parent's ability to respond to their baby's needs, manage the routine, and manage the practical tasks of washing, ironing, shopping, budgeting etc. These observations will inform any parenting programme or assessment that has been agreed. The foster carer will be expected to be open and honest about the parent's strengths and difficulties when recording their observations and the parent will be given the opportunity to read and comment on these observations and will be required to sign them. See Parent and Child Placement Agreement.

The level and frequency of physical checks required by the Local Authority of the child must be clearly agreed within the Parent and Child Placement Agreement. The carers will record and report any child protection incidents and immediately ensure the safety of the child. See Parent and Child Placement Agreement.

The foster carer will respect and give recognition to the importance of a parent and child's ethnic origin, cultural background, religion, language, gender, sexuality and disability.

The foster carer will attend pre-placement meeting, family centre service agreement meetings, reviews, core group meetings, planning meetings, child protection conferences and any other meetings required.

Daily records will be signed by both foster carer and parent and will be made available to the local authority. These may be used in court proceedings. If the parent declines to sign the recordings then a note should be made to that effect and the local authority should be made aware as soon as possible. See Parent and Child Placement Agreement.

10. Supervision and Support

Supervising Social Workers and foster carers will use informal and formal supervision and ensure any issues or concerns are discussed and noted with relevant action. The level of contact between the foster carer and their Supervising Social Worker will be clearly determined and reflects the level of supervision these placements require.

11. Responsibility of the Parent(s)

The responsibilities of the parent must be clearly set out in the parent and child placement agreement and the local authority care plan.

If there are any differences of opinion on childcare these should be discussed and recorded by the foster carer in the daily logs and the foster carer will contact the health visitor and the Supervising Social Worker at the first opportunity. The Supervising Social Worker should communicate this information to the Local Authority Social Worker at the earliest opportunity to ensure best practice and safe care.

If the issues cannot be resolved through discussion, then the matter must be escalated by the Social Worker or Foster Carer to the appropriate Agency line manager who will take the matter forward with the Local Authority Manager.

Smoking is not permitted inside the foster carer's home. If a parent smokes it must be in the designated outside area. On returning to the home, the parent must wash their hands before contact with their baby. Further guidance regarding a parent's handling of their child after smoking should be discussed with the Health Visitor.

If there are other children in the household, the parent in placement must not provide any practical or supervisory care to those children.

No involvement with any illegal substances is permitted in the foster carer's home. However, it is recognised that some parents may be supported in a parent and child placement whilst undergoing a treatment programme for substance or alcohol misuse, if this is the case controlled medications will need to be stored safely.

The parent should inform the Foster Carer and child's Social Worker of any appointments, and check if childcare cover is required.

Parent's circumstances and history is strictly confidential to the named foster carers and not their families or friends. Parents can feel reassured that no discussions will take place between family members and friends.

12. Role of the Supervising Social Worker (SSW)

All Parent and Child Foster Carers must be fully supported by a designated and experienced Supervising Social Worker who should offer a minimum of one phone call a week and weekly visits until agreed otherwise in the social workers supervision with their line manager. Supervising Social Workers should raise any issues with regards to support or guidance they may need with their manager.