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Contents

1. Introduction
2. Assessment and Checks before Placement 
3. Relevant Plans
4. Approval of Placements   
5. Notification of Placements 
6. Assessment of of Connected Person
7. Support and Monitoring of Placement 
8. Further Placements with a Connected Person
9. Ending of Placements

N.B. Where any placement of a Looked After Child with a Connected Person is proposed for a continuous period of sixteen weeks or more, in addition to the assessment and checks set out in Section 1, Assessment and Checks before Placement, the Connected Person will have to be assessed as a foster carer and the child’s social worker should start this process as soon as practicable after the placement is made - see Section 6, Assessment of Connected Person below. Responsibility for the fostering assessment remains with the child’s social worker until the placement is approved by the Fostering Panel, at which point the case can be transferred to the Family and Friends Team who provide ongoing monitoring and support to such placements.

1. Introduction

Before any placement with a Connected Person made, the child's social worker must assess its suitability including the level of support likely to be required and the effect of the proposed placement upon the child's contact with parents, siblings and other relatives and friends who are significant to the child. The assessing social worker should also check the prospective carer/s willingness to work to Fostering Standards.

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 his/her 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; in relation to the child's age and developmental stage, to  promote his/her  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 particulars 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
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.

The home must be visited by the social worker as part of the assessment of the suitability of arrangements.

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.

The views of parents/ those with Parental Responsibility must also be obtained.

2. Assessment and Checks before Placement

Before any placement with a Connected Person is made, the child’s social worker must assess its suitability including the level of support likely to be required and the effect of the proposed placement upon the child’s contact with parents, siblings and other relatives and friends who are significant to the child. The assessing social worker should also check the prospective carer/s willingness to work to Fostering Standards.

In making such an assessment of suitability:

• The proposed carer must be interviewed
• The accommodation must be inspected and
• Information must be obtained about other persons in the household. 
• The proposed carer and all members of the household aged 16 and above must be checked with the Police Family Protection Team, the family’s GP and Children's Social Care Services records for the area where they live including The List of Children Subject to a Child Protection Plan.
  
  The social worker must arrange for the carers to complete applications for Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks and obtain all the required documents to verify their identities and submit this as soon as practicable.

Once this assessment has been completed the Social Worker must obtain the signed agreement of the Service Manager.

The placement may only continue after six weeks if the relative or friend is approved as a foster carer - see Section 6, Assessment of Connected Person.

3. Relevant Plans

The child’s placement with a relative or friend must be part of the Care Plan, which should be drawn up before the placement begins or, in exceptional circumstances, within a maximum of seven days of the placement starting.

For the required documentation, see Decision to Look After, and Care Planning Procedure.

In addition, prior to the placement, a written agreement must be completed by the child’s social worker for signature by the carer.

4. Approval of Placements

Prior to any placement with a non-approved Connected Person, the child’s social worker must complete a written report to be signed by his or her Senior Care Manager; approval for the placement and  must then be signed by the Service Manager Any additional finance to support the placement must be agreed by the Senior Care Manager Family and Friends Team.

5. Notification of Placement

In order to ensure the appropriate arrangements to pay carers are in place, the child’s social worker must notify the Placement Coordination Officer of all new placements within one working day, by sending the following information:

• The child’s name
• The date of the placement
• Reason for placement (e.g. risk of Significant Harm, breakdown of previous placement)
• The child’s legal status
• Name and address of new carer

In addition, the child’s social worker must provide the necessary information to the relevant administrative staff so the child’s records can be updated. 

Notification of the placement must also be sent by the social worker to all those consulted and involved in the decision-making process.  The notification must advise of the placement decision, the name and address of the new carers, details relating to the child’s contact with parents and the arrangements related to the care and welfare of the child. The Child’s Social Worker should complete form C250 to initiate payments to the carers 

If the placement is outside Bradford, the Social Worker must notify the local authority for the area where the child is placed.

The social worker must also ensure that the child is registered with a GP, Dentist and Optician, and that a Health Care Assessment takes place.

6. Assessment of Connected Person

The placement may only continue after 6 weeks, if the carer is approved as a foster carer. If the placement is planned to be permanent, the Senior Care Manager in the Family and Friends service must be notified for information by sending copies of the relevant Looked After Review meeting minutes and Core Assessment.

In exceptional circumstances temporary approval can be extended.

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 the 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 Approval of Foster Carers Procedure).

Before deciding whether to extend the approval, the Local Authority must consider if the placement is still the  most appropriate placement available, and it must be considered by the Fostering Panel before the above approval is given.

This manager will nominate a member of the Family and Friends Team to accompany the child's social worker on a visit to the prospective carers. The purpose of the visit will be to explain the role of a Connected Persons carer, the role of the supervising social worker and the national minimum fostering standards to which the carer will need to adhere.

The child's social worker should contact the Administrator to the Fostering Approvals Panel to arrange a time and date for presentation of an interim assessment report on the carers to the Panel to meet the sixteen weeks time-scale.  As much information as possible on the carers, and a brief report on the child, written by the child's social worker must be included in the assessment report and copies of the report must be sent to the Fostering Panel Administrator ten working days before the Panel meeting.

The social worker should attend the Panel meeting when the report is considered and the carers should also be invited. They are not obliged to attend.  Panel will be requested to consider temporary approval of the carers pending their full assessment. The Panel’s recommendation will be presented to the Designated Manager (Foster Carer Approval and Review) for a decision to be made. 

The Designated Manager (Foster Carer Approval and Review) will notify the carers in writing of the decision, and the process by which the full assessment will be carried out.  The carers will also be sent a letter outlining the terms of their temporary approval and the Foster Carer Agreement for their signature and return to the worker allocated to undertake the assessment.

However, having regard to the existing relationship between the child and the carers, the requirement for the carers to attend preparation and training groups prior to their approval may be waived. Wherever possible carers will be expected to attend preparatory as well as other identified training to meet the needs of Looked After children.

The procedure for approving the assessment via the Fostering Approvals Panel is the same as the procedure for the approval of all local authority approved foster carers.

The timescale for the presentation of the full assessment is 3 months from the date of the temporary approval.

See Assessment and Approval of Foster Carers Procedure.

7. Support and Monitoring of Placement

The child’s social worker must visit the child in the placement at least once each week during the first 6 weeks of the placement and thereafter at intervals of no more than 16 weeks during the first year of the placement. Once the Fostering Panel have approved the carer(s) the Family and Friends Team will appoint a supervisory social worker to offer guidance, support and training to the carer. The child's social worker will continue to supervise the placement of the child.

In the second year of the placement and subsequent years, the child should be visited at least every three months and whenever reasonably requested by the child or the carer. 

Wherever possible, the child must be seen with the carer and alone.  If this is not possible, a further visit must be made at short notice in order that the child can be seen alone and observed with the carer.

The social worker must ensure that Placement Plan is reviewed.

8. Further Placements with a Connected Person

If any subsequent placements are proposed for a current Connected Person carer this should first be discussed with the family's supervising social worker. If there is agreement to proceed a joint report should be prepared for presentation to the Foster Panel. Both the child's social worker and the family's supervising social worker should attend panel.

If there is not an agreement over a proposed subsequent placement the matter should be passed to the relative line managers for resolution.

9. Ending of Placement

All those notified of the placement should be notified also when a placement is ended.

End