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Contents

1. Definition of Emergency Placement 
2. Placement During Normal Working Hours 
3. Placement Outside Normal Working Hours 

1. Definition of Emergency Placement

An Emergency Placement is the placement of a Looked After child in foster care or residential care (including Secure Accommodation) made without the usual planning and/or thorough assessment process having taken place because of the need to ensure the safety and the welfare of the child immediately.

The following placements are deemed to be Emergency Placements:

• The placement of a child outside normal working hours;
• Any placement where the necessary plans are not in place, i.e. where a child is abandoned, has suffered/is at risk of Significant Harm, or where there is an exceptional and immediate need to end an existing placement
• A placement in Secure Accommodation without a Court Order but authorised by a Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation Placement) for a maximum of 72 hours.

2. Placement During Normal Working Hours

Identification of the Placement

Where an Emergency Placement is required, the social worker should still liaise with and provide a completed Referral Form to the Placement Coordination Team, who will attempt to identify an appropriate internal resource.

Where an Emergency Placement is required, and timescales for referral to Family Support Panel is not possible the social worker should still liaise with and provide a completed Referral Form to the duty officer in the Placement Co-ordination Team, who will attempt to identify an appropriate internal resource. Referrals can be made by telephone to the Placement Coordination Team who will complete the form. This should not be confused with any other documentation that the social worker must complete.

Where an external placement has been identified as necessary, for example where a secure placement is required, the referrer must obtain the authority of the Designated Manager (Placement of Looked After Children Outside the Authority) before making the referral.

The Placement Coordination team will consult with staff/providers/carers in relation to the proposed placement, as necessary and as time permits, to ensure the identified placement is appropriate to meet the child’s needs. In relation to requests for secure placements, the Placement Coordination team will contact the National Bed Bank Bureau to establish available vacancies.

Where the proposed placement is with an external provider, the contact will include a discussion about basic costs, any services that would be deemed an extra cost, such as education or therapy, and the notice period. Preferred providers will always be contacted in the first instance.

Where a proposed placement in foster care requires the grant of an exemption from the usual fostering limit, the procedure in Limit on the Number of Children in Foster Homes Procedure (Emergencies), will apply. If the placement is outside the foster carer’s terms of approval, the approval of the Designated Manager (Foster Placement - Exemption to Exceed Usual Limit) will be required.

If an external placement is confirmed as suitable and the necessary authorisation's are in place an initial search will take place within our commissioned/contracted placements where checks have already taken place. The Placement Co-ordination Team will undertake the following if a spot placement has to be made:

• Contact the Regulatory Authority
• Request a copy of the provider’s registration certificate and the most recent inspection report
• Obtain verbal references from other local authorities who have placed children with the provider in the last 12 months
• Liaise with social workers who have previously used the provider

As long as no concerns have been raised in the above enquiries, the Placement Coordination team and the referring social worker will decide whether to pursue the placement.

The Placement Coordination team will then liaise with the provider regarding the placement, including the contract for the placement where an external provider is involved. Preferred providers will be the subject of existing contracts and spot contracts will be negotiated with other external providers.

The Placement

In all cases, even where a child is placed in an emergency, the social worker must complete a Placement Plan (recorded on the Placement Information Record).

The child’s social worker will then complete the placement procedures as set out in the relevant chapter for planned placements including the referral of the placement request to the Placement Coordination Team.

In particular, in order to ensure the appropriate arrangements to pay carers are in place, where the emergency placement is in foster care, the child’s social worker must complete a C250 form as soon as possible.

Although a meeting with the provider/carers to plan the placement will not be possible prior to the placement, this must take place within 72 hours for a placement in residential care, and within 5 working days for a placement in foster care, in order to complete the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record.

The child’s social worker must refer the case to the next meeting of the Family Support Panel (see Family Support Panel Procedures).

See Emergency Reviews Procedure (for placements in residential care) and Placement Plan Reviews Procedure (to follow) (for placements in foster care).

3. Placement Outside Normal Working Hours

1.	When a placement appears appropriate, the Emergency Duty Officer will identify a suitable placement using the available placements known to the Team.
2.	The Emergency Duty staff should liaise as necessary with the provider/carers, seeking their view on the suitability of the proposed placement.  If there is a significant difference of opinion, the ‘on call’ fostering or residential manager (depending on the proposed nature of the placement) should be consulted to make a decision.
3.	When a decision is reached, the Emergency Duty Officer should liaise with the provider/carers to agree the time and other suitable arrangements for the child’s placement.
4.	Before a child is placed, the Emergency Duty Officer must ensure that the following records are completed as far as possible, depending on the information available, and hand copies to the provider/carers:  Placement Plan/Placement Information Record taking care to ensure wherever possible that consents have been obtained from those with Parental Responsibility
5.	The Emergency Duty Officer should if possible arrange an emergency Health Care Assessment of the child. Regardless of whether or not this is possible, the EDT worker must ascertain if the child has a medical condition or is on a course of prescribed medication and must pass this information on to the foster carers or staff of the home.
6.	Having placed the child, the Emergency Duty Officer must pass the top copies of the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record to the relevant social work team without delay. A copy of the Referral and Information Record and any other referral information should be taken by EDT should also be faxed and/ or e-mailed to Placement Co-ordination Team by the next working day.
7.	If the child is placed at beginning of a holiday period, e.g. Christmas Eve, the Emergency Duty Officer placing the child will arrange for the child to be visited at least once during the holiday period by the Emergency Duty Team to ensure the child’s needs are being attended to and the provider/carers have all they require to meet the child’s needs until the relevant social worker can follow the placement up.

The child’s social worker will then complete the Placement Procedures as set out in the relevant chapter for Planned Placements, including the referral to the Family Support Panel and the completion of form C250 to ensure that the foster care allowances are paid to the carer and that the information relating to that child is up to date.

Although a meeting with the provider/carers to plan the placement will not be possible prior to the placement, this must take place within 72 hours for a placement in residential care, and within 5 working days for a placement in foster care, in order to complete the Placement Plan Part 2.

See Emergency Reviews Procedure (in relation to residential care)

End