3.2.3 Placements with Connected Persons

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This chapter covers the immediate placement of a Looked After child with a Connected Person who is not approved as a foster carer; and the steps that are required before such a placement can be made.

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."

Regulation 24 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 provides that where a Local Authority is satisfied that the most appropriate placement of a child is with a Connected Person, notwithstanding that the Connected Person is not approved as a local authority foster carer, and it is necessary for the child to be placed with the Connected Person before his or her suitability to be a local authority foster carer has been assessed, the child may be placed for a temporary period not exceeding 16 weeks provided that they first undertake an assessment under Regulation 24(2).The chapter also covers the procedure to be followed to carry out the required assessment and approval of the Connected Persons as foster carers if the placement is to last longer than 16 weeks.

The arrangements for the placement may arise as an outcome of a Family Group Conference or it may be appropriate to convene a Family Group Conference once the placement has been made to consider whether there are any other options within the family for the child.

NB 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. If this placement continues for 28 days or more, the child may come within the definition of a Privately Fostered child, in which case the local authority's duties in relation to the placement are set out in the Private Fostering Procedure.

AMENDMENT

This chapter was amended in July 2011 to reflect the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 and Associated Guidance, in particular the use of the term 'Connected Person' to describe family or friends cares who are not approved as foster carers at the point of placement and the change in the length of 'temporary approval' of such carers from 6 to 16 weeks. The chapter also now includes more detail as to the assessment of suitability that must be undertaken prior to the placement.

Actions Required in Week One
Assessment of Connected Person - Actions Required in Weeks Two to Fifteen
Post Fostering Panel

Appendix 1 - Specification for Feasibility Assessment of Connected Persons

1. Actions Required in Week One

Where a social worker identifies an appropriate placement with a Connected Person for a Looked After child (which is not already approved as a foster home), the following steps must be followed before the placement can be made.

Matters to be taken into account when assessing the suitability of a Connected Person to care for the child are:

The nature and quality of any existing relationship with the child
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.
State of health (physical, emotional and mental), and medical history including current or past issues of domestic violence, substance misuse or mental health problems
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
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
Any criminal offences
Past and present employment and other sources of income
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.

An information pack is available for social workers to assist them in this process.

An information pack is also available and should be handed to the proposed carer, containing information about the assessment process which will follow if the placement is to last longer than 16 weeks. This includes:

Explanatory Letter
Health forms.
Fostering application form.
Bank Details Form

Where the social worker is in any doubt as to the suitability of the placement, s/he should consult the Fostering Service for advice before the placement is agreed.

The social worker should complete the following paperwork/admin processes for the placement:

FF1 form (containing information about the child, prospective carers and members of the household, consent for initial checks to be made with the police and any other relevant agencies and consent to the placement)
CRB forms for the prospective carer/s and any member of the household aged 16 or over
Health and Safety Checklist (in relation to the accommodation)
Obtain verbal agreement to the placement from the Nominated Officer (Service Manager or person with delegated authority in his or her absence).

Before any placement with a Connected Person who is not already approved as a foster carer is made, the approval of the Nominated Officer (Service Manager) is required.

Any such approval can only be given for 16 weeks from the date of the placement. After that period of time, further assessment must be carried out and further approval sought - see Section 2, Assessment of Connected Person - Actions Required in Weeks Two to Fifteen.

Once the agreement has been given by the Service Manager, 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.

Immediately following the child's placement, the social worker should then carry out the following actions:

Fax bank details form to Service Manager for signature (then to be forwarded to Operational Manager, Fostering).
Update the child's electronic record.
Complete a Placement Agreement/Plan in conjunction with the carer
Forward the FF1 to Nominated officer (Service Manager) for signature.
If the child was not previously Looked After, send notification of the child's placement and a request for the child's first Looked After Review to the Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Manager.
If the child was already looked after, the social worker will send notification of the placement to the child's Independent Reviewing Officer.
Notify all family members consulted and involved in the decision-making process of the placement.
Notify the relevant local authority's Children's Services Department in writing if the placement is in a different local authority area.
Notify 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.
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.

These notifications of the placement must be made in writing before the placement wherever possible or within 5 working days of the placement, advising of the placement decision and the name and address of the person with whom the child is to be placed.

The prospective carers, who should be given a copy of the completed Form FF1, need to be made aware that any approval is only temporary and does not imply continued approval beyond 16 weeks.

(NB This temporary approval can only be extended in exceptional circumstances 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).

If the placement is likely to last more than 16 weeks, the social worker should then immediately send a copy of Form FF1 with the CRB and application forms (if completed), and health and safety checklist, to the Operational Manager, Fostering so that the further assessment process can be started straight away.

The child's social worker must visit and see the child alone in the placement (unless she/he refuses) within the first week (and thereafter each week until the first Looked After Review and thereafter every 4 weeks during the temporary approval - see Section 2, Assessment of Connected Person, Actions Required in Weeks Two to Fifteen). The visits are to be fully recorded as statutory visits.

In relation to a first Looked After placement it will also be necessary for the social worker to arrange a Health Assessment - see Health Assessment Procedure.

The social worker must also arrange for the completion of a Personal Education Plan - see the Education of Looked After Children Procedure. Every effort should be made to enable the child to remain at the same school unless there are reasons which mean this would be detrimental to his or her well being.

2.Assessment of Connected Person - Actions Required in Weeks Two to Fifteen

2.1 Week Two

The following actions will be taken:

The maintenance payments to the carers will be activated, backdated to the date of the placement.

An assessing social worker will be allocated from the Fostering Service.

Statutory checks on the carers and members of the household will be instigated.

The CRB forms will be sent to the CRB.

The child's social worker and the assessing social worker will undertake a joint visit to the carers/applicants.

2.2 Weeks 2-15

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 every 4 weeks during the temporary approval. The visits are to be fully recorded as statutory visits.

The assessing social worker will complete a Feasibility Assessment during three weekly visits - see Appendix One for the detailed specification of this assessment, which will include 2 telephone references.

2.3 Week 16

The assessing social worker will present the Feasibility Assessment to the Fostering Panel with the child's allocated social worker. The carer will also be invited to attend.

The recommendation of the Fostering Panel will then be submitted to the Agency Decision Maker in accordance with the usual procedure for any Panel recommendations - see the Assessment and Approval of Foster Carers Procedure.

NB This temporary approval can only be extended in exceptional circumstances 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).

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.

3. Post Fostering Panel

Upon completion of the feasibility assessment, if the carers are approved as foster carers, a supervising social worker will be allocated to the foster carers from the Fostering Support Team - see Supervision and Support of Foster Carers.

A grant is payable by the Fostering Service towards furniture/equipment for the child. Any payments that have been made previously by the local authority for such purposes will be deducted from this grant.

What happens next will depend on the Care Plan of the child in the placement.

If the plan is that the child is likely to remain in the placement for the foreseeable future and that the best way for this arrangement to continue will be for the carer to continue as a foster carer, a further assessment may be required by the assessing social worker. See also Permanency Placement Policy for Looked After Children as to the further approvals required for such a plan.

The social worker will continue to visit the child in the placement as set out in Social Worker Visit to Child Procedure.
If a Residence Order is the plan, any further assessment work required will be undertaken by the child's social worker, e.g. for the purposes of a Court report. Consideration should be given to the payment of Residence Order Allowances. See also Permanency Placement Policy for Looked After Children as to the further approvals required for such a plan.
If a Special Guardianship Order is the plan, the applicant will be required to make an application to the Court and the social worker will provide a Court report - see Court Reports in Adoption/Special Guardianship Guidance. See also Applications for Special Guardianship Procedure for details about assessments for financial and other support to Special Guardians.
If adoption is the plan, see the Placement for Adoption Procedure for the required procedure

Appendix 1 - Specification for Feasibility Assessment of Connected Persons

The assessment will provide an overview of the following areas in this respect and identify areas for further work/assessment depending on the immediate/future plan that is envisaged for the child.

Visit one

(Preferably joint visit with child's social worker)

Discuss the applicant's relationship with the specific child(ren) and/or their family. What is the applicant's knowledge of the child(ren)?

(NB: The child development dimensions of Assessment Framework Triangle may provide useful framework.)

What is the applicant's knowledge/experience of the child's background, family/cultural/religious circumstances if an unaccompanied asylum seeking minor (in broader context if not directly specific to that child)?

What is the applicant's perception of his or her relationship with the child? What interests/experience do the applicant and child have in common? How do they spend time together, what does the applicant like/ like less about the child?

What is the applicant's view of how the child expresses emotions: anger, sadness, joy, worry; and what has been the applicant's experience of how the child manifests his or her emotions in behaviour?

What is the applicant's view of the child's education/health/social needs /aspirations?

Is the applicant aware of the possibility that a child who is an unaccompanied asylum seeker may be returned to his or her identified country of origin?

Tasks

Begin to complete Form F2 Part 1 and identify the documents for the applicants to locate for the assessing social worker's next visit. Leave a chronology for applicants to complete as homework.

Check that health appointments are being made/progressed.

Check that all CRB forms have been completed for all relevant persons.

Check that the applicants have discussed and informed the identified referees, and discuss the suitability of the referees in terms of their ability to give a picture of both applicants.

Ascertain details of the schools that the applicant's children attend and agree to send off a letter to the named teacher.

Discuss any issues/actions arising from health and safety checklist.

Visit 2

(If possible see applicants separately but otherwise, both together if a partnership)

Social history/current family structure/functioning

(Suggested areas of exploration)

Who did the applicant live with as a child, how would the applicant describe their own childhood and the significance of culture/ethnicity religion and language in their upbringing?

Outline family structure (including extended family as relevant with deaths of parents and siblings including dates of birth/ages of death).

Current pattern of family relationships and contact - link to applicant's support network and who is/will be involved.

If a single applicant, does he or she have a current partner? If so what level of involvement does/will the partner have with the child who is Looked After?

Is there any contact from ex-partners? If so, is this problematic in any way?

Has the applicant experienced bereavement or a significant life change such as divorce/separation, move, change or job loss which is still affecting him or her?

Are there any significant changes planned e.g. immigration issues/change of job/ housing/ plan to have another child?

Is this a calm/settled period in the applicant's life?

Visit 3

Parenting/Child Care Experience

What is the applicant's experience of caring for children?:

As a parent.
With friends/family.
In a professional/voluntary capacity.

How does the applicant describe his or her experience of parenting their own children/caring for other children (if applicable)? What patterns of parenting/child care would they repeat and what would they change?

How do they describe the personality and development pattern of the child/children/ young persons they have cared for?

How do they discipline the child/children they have cared for? Have they ever used any form of corporal punishment? What is their view about the use of corporal punishment in general?

What is their understanding of the difficulties that may have led to breakdown and of the quality of parenting that the child they are caring for has experienced? What is their understanding of the reasons why the child is not being cared for by their parent(s)?

What are the implications and what is the applicant's understanding of safe caring in regard to the circumstances of this particular child being cared for?

Task

Phone referees

Visit 4

Current life style and the fostering task

Outline the applicant's current work/other time commitments e.g. church.

What are the applicant's interests/activities?

General life style patterns, meals, routines, weekday, weekends, holidays, celebration of special occasions etc.

Outline details of current support network (if not already covered).

Outline applicant's understanding and attitude regarding the plan for the child and the fostering task.

What is the family's income and what will the impact of fostering be? Comment upon the availability/relevance of other payment sources i.e. Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit etc.

Summary

Outline what risk and protective factors have been explored and any initial conclusions reached.

Comment upon the applicant's capacity to care for a child from any particular origin or cultural or linguistic background.

Note any health and safety considerations.

Identify area of further assessment work.

Make recommendation in regard to above in relation to specific plan for the child.

End