4.2.9 Support Care |
SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER
Support care is available for Children in Need regardless of whether they have a disability.
The last sentence of this chapter was revised in January 2010 to explain the duration of support care arrangements.
Contents
1. Introduction
Support Care is a short break fostering scheme. Its primary purpose is to maintain young people at home by helping to prevent family breakdown. It meets this aim by recruiting families and individuals as support carers who then offer a variety of flexible short breaks to children in need .The ability to provide a variety of responses is reflected by the different types of referral directed to the team. Parent and adolescent conflict and children involved with CAMHS are the largest groups but third party abuse; ADHD and offending are also significant. The service operates under the Fostering service Regulations 2002 and children would normally be placed under sec 20 of the Children Act 1989.
2. Approval of Support Carers
Support Carers are the subject of the same assessment process as other foster carers and their approval is considered and reviewed at the Fostering Panel The procedure for their approval is also the same. See Assessment and Approval of Foster Carer Procedure
3. Accessing the Service
The need for the service is identified by an Assessment on the child/young person. The Social Worker making the referral should discuss this with the scheme and if it is felt to be appropriate the scheme will ask the SW to complete a further information form .The referral then goes to a meeting to identify a suitable carer and discussions will take place with that carer, this is followed by a joint visit to the carer by the child’s SW and a scheme SW. The child’s SW would then arrange a visit for the child and its parent to the carer and then if all are in agreement to continue there is a placement meeting, which draws up a placement agreement. If the plan is for overnight stays LAC forms are completed (support care form).
A review date would be set at the placement meeting .The scheme will only accept a referral if there is a commitment by the child's SW to continue support for the length of the agreement . The majority of placements are for one year in exceptional circumstances a three year agreement can be made.
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