2.2 Private Fostering

Definition
Notifications to the Local Authority
Action to be Taken on Receipt of Notification
Initial Visit to Foster Carers
Allocation and Inter-team Working
Assessment of Foster Carers
Imposing Requirements on Foster Carers
Limit on Number of Children
Prohibition and Disqualification
Non-compliance With Requirements
Visits to the Foster Home
Review of Foster Carers
Local Authority Foster Carers who Privately Foster
After the Placement
Death of a Privately Fostered Child

1. Definition

A privately fostered child is a child under 16 (or 18 if disabled) who is cared for by an adult who is not a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sister or brother (whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership) where the child is to be cared for in that person's home for 28 days or more. A child who is Looked After by a local authority or placed in any residential home, hospital or school is excluded from the definition. In a private fostering arrangement, the parent retains Parental Responsibility.

The Designated Manager (Private Fostering) in Richmond is the Fostering Team Manager.

2. Notifications to the Local Authority

Notifications of any private fostering arrangement are required from:

Any persons who propose to foster a privately fostered child;
The Parent or persons with Parental responsibility for the child; and
Any person, including a Parent or persons with Parental responsibility for the child.

Whether or not directly involved in arranging a privately fostered arrangement, who knows it is proposed that a child is to be fostered privately must notify the authority as soon as he/she becomes aware of the arrangement. This may include teachers, health or other professionals.

Notification should be given to the local authority

At least 6 weeks before the private fostering arrangement is to begin (but not more than 13 weeks before an arrangement begins); or
Immediately, in cases where the private fostering arrangement is to begin within 6 weeks.

A person who is fostering a child privately and has not given notification to the local authority must inform them immediately he/she becomes aware that notification is required.

A person who has given notification, as above, (i.e. Carer and/or Parent) must notify the local authority within 48 hours of the start of the placement of the child.

The private fostering arrangement is deemed to have begun at the point at which the local authority becomes aware of it

Notifications should be made to the Initial Response Team (IRT).

The person making the notification should be asked to provide the following information:

The name, gender, date of birth and address of the child;
The racial origin, cultural and linguistic background and religion of the child;
The names and address of the person giving the notice and any previous address within the last five years;
The name and addresses of the child's parents and any previous addresses within the last 5 years;
If different, the name and address of the person from whom the child was or is to be received;
The name and address of the private foster carers and any previous addresses within the last 5 years;
The name and address of any other person who is involved in making the arrangement;
The purpose and likely duration of the arrangement;
The intended date when the child is to be placed with the private foster carers or the date when the placement began;
Any other significant information about the child /parent / foster carer e.g. disabilities, poor mental or physical health, criminal matters?
What are the financial arrangements?

Notifications must also be made to the local authority by the foster carer of any change in circumstances for example a change of address, a change in the household, a criminal conviction of any person in the household or any intention to foster another child privately.

Parents also have a duty to notify the local authority of the ending of the placement including the name and address of the person into whose care the child has moved.

Any agency that becomes aware of a private fostering arrangement must notify the local authority of the arrangement and must inform the parent and private foster carer of their intention to do so.

3. Action to be Taken on Receipt of Notification

When notification or information is received from any source that a child is privately fostered, this information must be passed to the Initial Response Team (IRT).

The notification will be recorded on a Referral and Information record.

A social worker from the IRT will be allocated to carry out the following initial tasks:

Inform in writing the Designated Manager (Private Fostering) and the Principal Manager for Children Looked After and Leaving Care of the notification;
Contact the parents to ascertain the purpose and likely duration of the private fostering arrangement, involve them in planning for the child and explore whether the child's needs may be more appropriately met by providing services to the child and parent at home;
Encourage the parents to draw up a written agreement (it may be helpful to use a Placement Information Record as a guide) with the foster carers as to their respective expectations and responsibilities in relation to the fostering arrangement, including contact arrangements;
Notify the relevant health and education agencies of the child's placement or proposed placement including the health visiting service where appropriate;
Ensure that any necessary links are or will be established with other agencies for example because of the child's disabilities and/or special educational needs;
Visit the foster carers prior to the child's placement or, if notification is not received until after the placement, within one week of the notification.

4. Initial Visit to Foster Carers

During the initial visit, the social worker should:

Explain the assessment process;
Obtain the written consent of the foster carer and all members of the household over 16 to checks being made with the Criminal Records Bureau and ask the foster carer for the names of 2 personal referees;
Establish the foster carer's child care experience, access to support and views and intentions regarding behaviour management of the child;
Establish the plans for contact between the child and his or her parents;
Give the carers and the privately fostered child the relevant information packs.

In the event of a refusal of any person to cooperate with the making of the necessary checks the social worker will advise the foster carers that they will discuss the refusal with his /her manager. The manager will write to the foster carer reminding them of the local authority duty to assess the care of children in private foster care and request that the foster carer complies with the assessment. If the foster carer continues to refuse to cooperate with the assessment they will be advised about legal steps that will be taken by the local authority to ensure the child is safeguarded. The manager should refer to the legal document that set out the steps to be taken (Sec 67 (5); Children Act 1989) and should ensure that the required action is put in place. Decisions should be made promptly bearing in mind that delay is usually contrary to the best interests of the child.

If the child is deemed in need as defined by Part 3 Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, the local authority may consider whether temporary help, including financial help, should be made available in the short term to allow for the child to be prepared for any move or for the arrangement to be brought up to standard should a move be contrary to the best interests of the child. The parent should be advised of the situation at every stage if that is possible.

If the initial visit takes place after the child's placement, the social worker should also:

Ensure that the parents have fully informed the foster carer of the child's medical history and any current need for ongoing professional monitoring and medication, and has handed the child's personal child health records to the foster carer;
Encourage the foster carers to draw up a written agreement with the child's parents as to their respective expectations and responsibilities in relation to the fostering arrangement including the contact arrangements;
Ensure that the child is registered with a GP, dentist and, if necessary, optician local to the foster home;
Ensure that a school place has been arranged for the child if of school age;
Ensure the parent provides the foster carer with a written general consent to cover any necessary medical treatment and that a copy of this consent is given to the GP, dentist, optician and retained on the child's file;
Advise the foster carer to arrange a medical examination of the child with the GP as soon as practicable after the start of the placement.

5. Allocation and Inter-team Working

Following the initial visit, the IRT social worker will complete an Initial Assessment Record.

Should the Initial Assessment identify the child as being In Need the case will be allocated within the IRT for the identified work to be carried out, and consideration given to the completion of a Core Assessment.

Should the child's needs be ongoing the case will be transferred on to the Family Support Team (FST) or Adolescent Resource Team (ART) as appropriate, in line with practice for any other Child In Need. Responsibility for visiting the child within the statutory timescales will rest with the allocated social worker.

Where the Initial Assessment has not identified the child as being In Need the case will transfer to the Fostering Team, and the allocated worker in the Fostering Team will be responsible for visiting the child within the statutory timescales.

In all cases responsibility for assessing and reviewing the suitability of the private foster placement will lie with the Fostering Team. Where the Fostering Team is also responsible for the statutory visits to the child, any concerns the Fostering Team social worker has about the child's welfare must be raised with the Initial Response Team within 24 hours and a plan drawn up between the two teams to address these. This plan must be clear about joint working arrangements.

Similarly, where responsibility for the statutory visits lies with a social worker from the IRT, FST or ART and this worker has concerns about the suitability of the placement, these workers must be raised with the Fostering Team within 24 hours and a plan drawn up between the two teams to address these; this plan must be clear about joint working arrangements.

6. Assessment of Foster Carers

An assessment of the private foster carers will be carried out by a social worker doing the initial visit.

Enhanced CRB checks on the foster carers and all members of the household, and frequent visitors over 16 years, will be carried out. These checks will be replaced by checks with the Independent Safeguarding Authority when that is operational. The manager is also responsible to ensure that local, and other relevant checks are carried out in keeping with the guidance. The fostering manager is responsible to ensure that those checks have been carried out and the outcomes are recorded correctly and acted upon. The social worker should also seek written references and arrange to visit the personal referees.

The assessment will consider the following:

The suitability of the foster carer and all members of the household;
The suitability of the accommodation.

A report on the assessment using the pro-forma for Kinship Carers should be presented to the Designated Manager (Private Fostering) for a decision to be made. Reports will be taken to the Private Fostering Panel for final decision making.

Financial support by the local authority to sustain an otherwise satisfactory placement may be considered and where appropriate, the social worker must seek the approval of the Designated Manager (Private Fostering) for such assistance to be given.

If, at any stage of the assessment of the foster carers, information is obtained which suggests that a child already placed with the foster carer may be a child in need, this should be discussed with the Initial Response Team Manager so that a decision on further involvement by the Initial Response Team can be made.

In the event of a refusal of any person to cooperate with the making of the necessary checks, the social worker should advise the foster carers that they cannot be recommended as suitable and advise the parents of the reason why alternative arrangements should be made for the child. Any action required by the local authority to secure the child's safety should be considered and legal advice sought as necessary.

If any information comes to light during the course of the foster carer assessment, for example as a result of the Criminal Records Bureau checks, which may preclude the person from fostering a child, the social worker should prepare a report to the Designated Manager (Private Fostering). Immediate consideration should also be given to the arrangements for the child and if necessary child protection procedures should be followed.

See Section 9, Prohibitions and Disqualification.

In the event that the parents decline to make alternative arrangements or where the parents cannot be found, the social worker should consider whether any action may be required by the local authority to secure the child's safety, for example, under the London Child Protection Procedures, and legal advice should be sought as necessary.

7. Imposing Requirements on Foster Carers

Where appropriate, reports to the Designated Manager (Private Fostering) or the Private Fostering Panel can include recommendations for requirements to be imposed on the foster carers, for example to restrict the approval to an individual child or to limit the number, age or gender of children who may be cared for privately. Requirements may also relate to the standard of accommodation, health and safety matters and/or practical matters such as equipment. A requirement may include a time-scale within which the foster carer must take the necessary action.

Any requirements imposed must be specified in writing, together with reasons. Written notice of any requirements imposed, together with the reasons, will be sent to the foster carer and to the parent by the social worker responsible for the assessment.

8. Limit on Number of Children

The maximum number of children privately fostered in any one household must not exceed 3 unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Any application for exemption from this limit must be made to the Designated Manager (Private Fostering). The application must contain the following information:

The number, names and ages of the children;
The proposed arrangements for the care and accommodation of the children;
The intended and likely relationship between the children and the foster carers;
The proposed length of the placement;
Whether the welfare of the children in the placement will be safeguarded and promoted.

Exemptions will only be granted in relation to named children and will cease when the named children leave the placement.

Where an exemption is granted this will be confirmed in writing to the foster carers.

9. Prohibition and Disqualification

A decision can be made to prohibit the proposed foster carer from fostering on the basis that they are not suitable and/or the premise is unsuitable. The fact that a foster carer is disqualified is a good reason upon which to seek a prohibition.

Where the social worker considers that it would be appropriate to approve a foster carer despite the fact that he or she or a person in the household is disqualified, a written report must be presented to the Designated Manager (Private Fostering) for consideration.

Where a decision is made to prohibit a foster carer from caring for a child, reasons for the decision must be recorded. Written notice of the decision, together with the reasons, must be sent by hand or recorded delivery post to the foster carer and to the parent by the social worker responsible for the assessment. Discussion should also take place with the parent as to the making of alternative arrangements for the child.

10. Non-compliance With Requirements

Where requirements which have been imposed are not complied with, the social worker must consider whether support should be provided to ensure compliance and/or consider whether to report further to the Designated Manager (Private Fostering) recommending that the foster carer be prohibited from caring for the child, in which case the procedure for prohibitions as set out above must be followed.

11. Visits to the Foster Home

11.1 Frequency

Visits by the allocated social worker must be made to the child and the foster carer at the foster home within one week of the placement and then every six weeks in the first year. In subsequent years, visits must be at least three monthly. The need to visit more frequently must be considered depending on the circumstances and the need to visit unannounced and/or to choose times when all members of the household are likely to be present should also be considered.

Additional visits should be arranged at the request of the child or the foster carer.

The child must be seen alone by the social worker on each visit unless this is not appropriate having regard to the age and level of understanding of the child and his or her wishes and feelings in this regard.

11.2 Purpose

The purpose of and matters to be discussed at the first visit after the child's placement is set out in the procedure on Initial Visit to Foster Carers. The overall purpose of all visits is to encourage the maintenance and improvement of child care standards and check that the child's needs are met within the foster placement and in particular:

To observe the overall standard of care including visiting the child's bedroom;
To speak to and ascertain the wishes of the child;
To review the purpose and likely duration of the placement and ensure that arrangements with the parents are working. The parent and the foster carer should be encouraged to plan the ending of the placement and prepare the child for the change;
To check that any requirements imposed are being met and check whether they need to be changed or cancelled;
To ensure that the arrangements for the child's education are satisfactory;
To advise or arrange advice for the foster carer as necessary, for example in relation to the maintaining of the child's links with his or her cultural heritage or in relation to appropriate travel arrangements for the child visiting family abroad;
To ensure that the child remains registered with a GP and dentist and that any necessary health care has been provided to take account of any special health needs;
To ensure that the child has access to services as required as a result of any disabilities;
To enquire as to the contact arrangements for the child with the parents and siblings;
To encourage the foster carer to keep a record of the child's development, including accidents, illnesses, immunisations, school reports, achievements and any contact with parents or significant others.

11.3 Reports On Visits

A written report on every visit must be made by the social worker. The report must state whether the child was seen and if so, whether the child was seen alone. If the child was not seen, the reasons must be recorded. The record must comment on the child's welfare and how the placement is progressing including any views expressed by the foster carer and the child. It must also contain a recommendation about the continued suitability of the fostering arrangement and whether any action should be taken and/or requirements on the foster carer.

The report must be reviewed and signed by the manager, and placed on the child's file.

11.4 Unsatisfactory care

Where there are concerns about the child's care, the parents should be advised and consideration should be given to invoking the Assessment Framework and/or London Child Protection Procedures in consultation with the manager of the Initial Response Team.

12. Review of Foster Carers

The suitability of the foster carer should be reviewed annually by the social worker using the Annual Review of Foster Homes form and reported to the Designated Manager (Private Fostering). The first annual review, and every subsequent third review, of the private fostering arrangements will be presented to the Private Fostering Panel. If there are any significant changes in the arrangements that may impact on the quality of care of the child the Private Fostering Panel can be requested to review the arrangements sooner.

13. Local Authority Foster Carers who Privately Foster

Where local authority foster carers notify their intention to privately foster a child, the above procedure should be followed.

In these circumstances, a family placement worker will normally carry out the assessment.

The foster carers should be advised of the differences between their two roles.

Consideration will need to be given to the implications for any Looked After child already placed with the foster carer and contact should be made by the family placement worker involved with the social workers for such children in order that their views, and the views of any Looked After child can be incorporated into assessment reports.

Consideration should also be given to the future placement of any Looked After children particularly having regard to the usual fostering limit of three children.

14. After the Placement

Parents have a duty to notify the local authority of the ending of the placement including the name and address of the person into whose care the child has moved.

A disabled child who has been privately fostered after the age of 16 falls within the definition of a Qualifying Young Person for the purposes of the Leaving Care procedures.

See Ending (Disruption) of Adoptive Placements Procedure.

15. Death of a Privately Fostered Child

Where a privately fostered child dies the Designated Manager (or a Principal Manager) must be notified as soon a possible. If the child had died unexpectedly the procedures for responding to the unexpected death of a child must be followed. The unexpected death of a child procedure is contained in Section 12, Unexpected Death of a Child, of the London Child Protection Procedures

If the death of the child is expected support should be offered to the foster parents and to the birth parents. After the death support and advice will continue if that is needed. The Designated Manager is responsible to ensure that the Child Death Overview Panel is notified of the death of a child where that death was expected.

End