4.11 Private Fostering

AMENDMENT

This chapter was amended in September 2010 to clarify the definition of a close relative. See Section 1, Definition of a Private Fostering Arrangement

Definition of a Private Fostering Arrangement
Notification of Proposal to Foster a Child Privately
Definition of “Appropriate Local Authority”
Action to be Taken on Receipt of Notification of a Proposal to Foster a Child Privately
Action to be Taken on Receipt of Notification About a Child Being Fostered Privately
Un-notified Private Fostering Arrangements
Child Protection
Supervisory Visits to Privately Fostered Children
Advice and Support

1. Definition of a Private Fostering Arrangement

A private fostering arrangement is one that is made privately without the involvement of the City Corporation.

It is an arrangement made for the care of a child under 16 years, or 18 years if disabled, by someone other than a parent or close relative for 28 days or more. A close relative is defined as 'a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or by civil partnership) or step-parent.

Private foster carers may be from the extended family such as a cousin or great aunt.

However a person who is a relative under the Children Act 1989 i.e. a grandparent, brother, aunt, (whether by full blood or half blood or by marriage), or a step-parent, will not be a private foster carer.

A private foster carer may be a friend of the family, the parent of a friend of the child, or someone previously unknown to the child’s family who is willing to privately foster the child.

The period for which the child is cared for by the private foster carer should be continuous. That continuity is not broken by the occasional short break.

The private foster carer becomes responsible for providing the day to day care of the child in a way which safeguards and promotes his welfare.

Overarching responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child remains with the parent or those with parental responsibility.

It is the responsibility of the City Corporation to ensure that the welfare of the privately fostered child is safeguarded and promoted by determining the suitability of all aspects of the private fostering arrangement.

2. Notification of Proposal to Foster a Child Privately

A person who proposes to foster a child privately must notify the City Corporation of the proposal:

At least six weeks before the arrangement begins; or
Where the private fostering arrangement is to begin within 6 weeks, immediately.

Any person who is involved in arranging for a child to be privately fostered must notify the City Corporation of the arrangement as soon as possible after the arrangement has been made.

A parent or anyone else who has parental responsibility for a child who is NOT involved in arranging for a child to be privately fostered but who knows that the arrangement is being made, must notify the City Corporation of the proposal as soon as he becomes aware of it.

A person who is already privately fostering a child and who has not notified the City Corporation must give notification immediately.

A person who has given notification must notify the City Corporation within 48 hours of the start of the arrangement.

A parent or anyone else who has parental responsibility and who has given notification must notify the City Corporation within 48 hours of the start of the arrangement.

3. Definition of “Appropriate Local Authority”

NB: The City of London Corporation is the appropriate Local Authority in the circumstances listed below:

Appropriate Local Authority means:

The Local Authority within whose area the child is being privately fostered; or
The Local Authority within whose area it is proposed that a child will be privately fostered.

Thus if a child is privately fostered within the City Corporation and the parent or others with parental responsibility reside outside of the City Corporation, the duty to assess the suitability of arrangement rests with the City Corporation.

4. Action to be Taken on Receipt of Notification of a Proposal to Foster a Child Privately

Notifications regarding the proposed arrangements should be dealt with by the Children's Social Care Service and a Referral and Information Record must be completed.

The premises where the child is to be cared for must be visited within seven working days of the receipt of the notification and an Initial Assessment Record must be completed.

During the Initial Assessment the social worker should:

Visit and speak to the proposed private foster carer and to ALL members of the household
Visit and speak to the child, alone unless the social worker considers it inappropriate to do so
Speak to and, if it is practicable to do so, visit every parent or person with parental responsibility for the child.

It is the duty of the City Corporation to determine that the proposed arrangements will provide a safe and stable environment for the child.

The information that should be sought includes the following:

The intended duration of the proposed arrangement and whether this is understood and agreed by the parents (or others with parental responsibility) of the child and the proposed private foster carer;
The relationship between the proposed private foster carer and those with parental responsibility for the child.
The wishes and feelings of the child, taking into account his or her age and understanding;
The suitability of the accommodation;
The capacity of the proposed carer to look after the child;
Their understanding of the child’s cultural heritage, religion or faith and language;
The suitability of other members of the household;
The arrangements for contact between the child and his parents and other significant people to the child, and whether these have been agreed and understood;
Whether the contact arrangements will be satisfactory for the child;
Whether those who have parental responsibility for the child have agreed financial maintenance for his care;
Whether arrangements have been made to ensure health care;
Whether arrangements have been made for the child’s education;
How decisions about the care of the child will be taken;
The private foster carer’s views regarding discipline;
Whether further information and advice should be offered to either those with parental responsibility for the child or the proposed private foster carer;
Whether further information and advice should be offered to the child.

Note: if the child is not seen alone the reasons why the social worker did not consider it appropriate to see the child alone must be recorded.

Further enquiries must be made, with the consent of the private foster carer, in respect of:

Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)
Local records
Other Local Authority records if the proposed carer has lived outside of the City of London Corporation
Health
Education

The information must be clearly recorded for a decision to be made regarding the suitability of the proposed arrangement. Any information which raises concern about the proposed arrangement must be brought to the attention of the appropriate Team Manager.

The Initial Assessment must be signed by the Team Manager.

the parents of the child or those with parental responsibility
the proposed private foster carer.

In the event that the proposed arrangement is considered satisfactory the written confirmation should also include details of the City Corporation's responsibilities for the child, including the duty to visit the child and the private fostering household at regular intervals.

If the conclusion of the Initial Assessment is that the placement is to be prohibited and/or the private foster carer is a disqualified person, the social worker should offer the parent the opportunity to discuss alternative arrangements for the care of the child.

5. Action to be Taken on Receipt of Notification About a Child Being Fostered Privately

A person who is fostering a child privately and has not given notification must notify the City Corporation immediately.

A person who has already given notification must inform the City Corporation within 48 hours of the child going to live with a private foster carer.

Where information is received as described above, the premises where the child is being cared for must be visited within seven working days and a Core Assessment Record should be started, with specific reference to the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families.

The Core assessment must address the following:

That the intended duration of the private fostering arrangement is understood and agreed between the parent and the private foster carer
The wishes and feelings of the child about the arrangement (where appropriate)
The relationship between the private foster carer and those with parental responsibility
Where the arrangement has already begun, that the child’s physical, intellectual, emotional, social and behavioural development is appropriate and satisfactory
That the child’s needs arising from his cultural and religious background are being met
The financial arrangements for the child are understood and agreed by the parents and private foster carer, and, where the arrangement has begun, that the financial arrangements are working
The capacity of the private foster carer to look after the child
The suitability of all members of the household, including whether anyone in the household is disqualified from privately fostering
That arrangements have been made for the child’s health care and, if the private fostering arrangement has already begun, that he is on a GP’s list
That steps have been taken to make arrangements for the child’s education, and, if the private fostering arrangement has already begun, that the arrangements are in place
The standard of care provided for each privately fostered child
Whether contact arrangements have been agreed and understood and will be or are, satisfactory for the child
How decisions about the child’s day to day care will be or are taken
The forms of discipline which will be or are used
Whether any member of the household, including children, pose any form of risk to the child, and
Whether the privately fostered child poses any form of risk to children already living in the household.
Whether the privately fostered child would benefit from the provision of additional services (e.g. referral to a Family Support service).

The Core Assessment Record must be completed within 35 working days and agreed and signed by the Team Manager.

Any concerns raised during the assessment must be brought, at the time, to the attention of the Team Manager.

A copy of the Core Assessment Record should be given to the parent of the child and to the private foster carers.

In the event that the arrangements are satisfactory written confirmation should be sent to:

The parent or those with parental responsibility for the child
The private foster carers.

Written confirmation should also include the City Corporation's responsibilities to the child, including the duty to visit the child and private fostering household at regular intervals.

In the event that the arrangements are not considered to be satisfactory the social worker should discuss alternative arrangements for the care of the child with his parents.

If the child is deemed to be a child in need, it may be possible to explore the alternative arrangements under S.17 Children Act, that would enable the parents to care for the child themselves.

6. Un-notified Private Fostering Arrangements

Where a private fostering arrangement comes to the attention of Children’s Social Care Service and notification has not been given, the private foster carer and the child must be visited within seven working days and an Initial assessment Record started.

It may be appropriate at this early stage to commence a Core assessment Record, which should be completed within 35 working days.

The Assessment must include all the relevant information as outlined in Section 8.5: Action to be taken on receipt of notification about a child being fostered privately.

Upon completion of an Initial assessment or Core assessment a decision must be taken about what is in the best interests of the privately fostered child even where it appears that an offence has been committed.

Where it appears that an offence has been committed Legal Services should be consulted.

7. Child Protection

Where there are concerns about the welfare and safety of a privately fostered child the Team Manager must be informed immediately.

Consideration must be given to conducting an enquiry under S.47 Children Act, or making an application to the Court for an Emergency Protection Order.

The London Child Protection Procedures must be followed and advice sought if necessary from a Child Protection Advisor and Legal Services.

Legal Services must be consulted if an application to the Court is deemed necessary to safeguard the child.

Where there are concerns about the safety of a child the parent (or those with parental responsibility) must be informed immediately unless this would not be in the child’s best interests.

If it is appropriate to do so, those with parental responsibility for the child should be given assistance to make alternative arrangements for the child, including assistance to care for the child themselves.

8. Supervisory Visits to Privately Fostered Children

Children who are privately fostered must be visited every 6 weeks (or more frequently if circumstances warrant this) during the first year of the arrangement.

Visits must take place at 3 monthly intervals after the first year.

Social workers must also visit if requested to do so by the child, the child’s parent or anyone with parental responsibility, or the private foster carer.

When visiting the child the social worker must speak to the child alone unless there is a clear reason why it is not appropriate and this should be recorded on the child's file.

All visits must be recorded in writing and include whether the child was seen alone, and if not, the reason.

Some visits should also take place when all members of the private foster carers’ household are at home.

The purpose of the visits are to clarify relevant information as outlined in section 5 above and specifically to:

Ensure the child is protected from harm
Ensure that an adequate standard of care is provided
Provide a link with Children’s Social Care Services
Ensure that the private foster carer receives information and advice about all services for children, including health, education and other support services locally
Ensure that contact arrangements are working
Ensure that any requirements are being met (for example, registration with a GP) and whether they need to be changed or cancelled.

Any concerns noted about the safety or well being of a privately fostered child must be brought to the attention of the Team Manager immediately.

The social worker must inform the private foster carer of their responsibility to notify the City Corporation about any change in their circumstances. These include:

Change of address
Any offences of which s/he, a member of the household or employee at the household has been convicted
Any further disqualification imposed on him, a member of the household or employee at the household (S.68 and S.69 Children Act)
Any person who ceases to be a member of the household.
The ending of a private fostering arrangement, including the name and address of the person now caring for the child and the person’s relationship with the child
The death of a privately fostered child.

If the private foster carer moves with the child to another Local Authority the social worker must inform that Authority about the arrangement and provide details about the child, his parent and the private foster carer.

9. Advice and Support

Social workers should provide advice and support to private foster carers to help them meet the needs of, and to enhance their ability to care for, privately fostered children.

In addition privately fostered children should be able to access information and support so that their welfare is safeguarded and promoted.

Private foster carers should be enabled to obtain information about their entitlement to child and other financial benefits, and any other support which will assist them to care adequately for the child.

Private foster carers should be encouraged and supported to promote and facilitate contact between the child and those with parental responsibility, siblings, extended family members and anyone else who is significant to the child, where this is in the child’s interests.

Social workers may need to give advice to private foster carers about the child’s needs in respect of his cultural, religious and linguistic background.

A child who has a disability or learning difficulties may require additional services and support and the private foster carer should be helped to access appropriate services and information, and if necessary, training to help them care effectively for the child.

The social worker should provide contact details so that both the private foster carer and the child know who to contact if necessary.

Parents (or those with parental responsibility) are also entitled to the provision of information and support.

Of particular importance is whether the provision of services or referral to another agency would remove the need for the child to be privately fostered.

In this event their consent should be obtained to provide the services or make a referral to another agency.

Parents should also be encouraged to maintain regular contact with their child and the private foster carers.

In the event that a private arrangements breaks down or has been prohibited the social worker should advise and support the parents in making alternative arrangements for the care of the child.

The social worker should provide contact details to the parents so that they know who to contact if concerns arise.

Privately fostered children should, according to their age and understanding, be given information about the responsibilities of their private foster carer.

They should also be given information about the role of the social worker, frequency of visits and how to contact the social worker.

If a privately fostered child is being assessed as a child in need they should be provided with information about advocacy services.

If a disabled, privately fostered child is approaching 18 years of age, the social worker should contact the adult community care services so that assessment of their needs can be conducted and appropriate resources planned.

End