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Contents

1. Introduction
2. Situations Where these Procedures do not Apply
3. Approval of Immediate Placements of Looked After Children with Family and Friends / Connected Persons
4. The Placement
5. Assessment and Approval of Family and Friend/Connected Persons as Foster Carers
6. Ending the Placement

1. Introduction

The following procedure covers immediate placements of looked after children with family and friends/a Connected Person where the carers are not already approved as foster carers. Placements under this procedure should only be made in exceptional or unforeseen circumstances. This could include following a court remanding a child to local authority accommodation - see Remands to Local Authority Accommodation or to Youth Detention Accommodation Procedure.

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.

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. Legal advice maybe required in individual cases.

3.Approval of Immediate Placements of Looked After Children with Family and Friends / Connected Persons

There will be circumstances when a placement is required for a Looked After Child and the most appropriate placement is with a Connected Person but as the need is urgent it is not possible to fulfil all the requirements of the approval process under the 2011 Fostering Regulations. Regulations 24 and 25 of the 2010 Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations allow for the temporary approval of a Connected Person as a foster carer to allow an immediate placement. The local authority must be satisfied that this is the most suitable means to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare and that the placement cannot wait until the full assessment approval of the adult is completed. The Connected Person must have a pre-existing relationship with the child.

The 2010 Regulations set out the criteria and key information to be ascertained in order for a decision regarding temporary approval to be agreed. This includes discussions and obtaining information about previous criminal convictions, visits to the home, information about household members, quality of relationships and their view about the proposed placement. In Stockport, the social worker and a member of the Fostering Team will undertake a visit to the home.

The Head of Service is the Nominated Officer in Stockport who has the authority to grant the temporary approval of a foster carer. He/she will make the decision on the receipt of the specific written report, prior to placement.

The person is temporarily approved for a period of 16 weeks (or exceptionally 24 weeks) and is in all respects a local authority foster carer. The Regulation 25 of the 2010 Regulations set out the exceptional circumstances when the 16 weeks can be extended to 24 weeks by agreement of the nominated officer.

The period of 16 weeks approval is to allow for a foster carer approval to be undertaken.

Where the full assessment is not completed within 16 weeks (or exceptionally 24 weeks) from the date of temporary approval) then the child must be moved from the placement.

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.

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.

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.

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 will notify all family members consulted and involved in the decision-making process 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 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 Family and Friend/Connected Persons as Foster Carers

The full fostering assessment should be completed after the placement is made. The Regulation 24 assessment will contribute to this.

The temporary approval can be extended for a further period of up to 8 weeks in exceptional circumstances (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 family and friend / Connected Person is not approved and seeks a review of the decision - see Assessment and Approvals of Foster Carers Procedure).

Before deciding whether to extend the approval, the Nominated Officer must consider if the placement is still the most appropriate placement available, and must seek the views of the Fostering Panel and inform the Independent Reviewing Officer 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 procedure for the assessment and approval is as for all applicants - see Assessment and Approvals of Foster Carers Procedure.

6. Ending the Placement

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

The social worker must also notify the Independent Reviewing Officer.

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 Planning and Disruption Meetings Procedure should be followed.

End