3.1.2 Family and Friends Arrangements for Children in Care

RELATED CHAPTERS

RELEVANT LEGISLATION AND GUIDANCE

Children Act 1989 (as amended)

Human Rights Act 1998

Adoption and Children Act 2002

Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 – Regulations 24 and 25

Standard 30, National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services 2011

Framework for Assessment of Children in Need and their Families, 2000

Family and Friends Care: Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities

AMENDMENT

This chapter was amended in September 2011 to incorporate the changes made by the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 and associated Statutory Guidance in relation to placements of children in care with family and friends (now referred to as Connected Persons) – as set out in the Placements with Connected Persons Procedure.

Decision to Look After and Place with Family, Friends or Connected Person Carers
Becoming or Remaining Looked after in Family, Friends or Connected Person Care Arrangements
Duty to Place Child in Care with Family, Friends or Connected Person Carers
When to Consider Family Friends or Connected Person Care

1. Decision to Look After and Place with Family, Friends or Connected Person Carers

1.1	Under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities shall provide accommodation for a child in need who appears to them to require it as a result of there being no person with Parental Responsibility for him, or because he is lost and abandoned, or because the person who has been caring for him or her is prevented from providing suitable accommodation or care.
1.2	A local authority may not provide accommodation under this section for any child if any person objects who – Has Parental Responsibility for him: and Is willing and able to – Provide accommodation for him: or Arrange for accommodation to be provided for him (Section 20 (7) CA 1989)
1.3	The exceptions to this are: Section 20(8) of the Children Act 1989 which provides for a young person aged 16 and over to be accommodated at their own request and without the possibility of removal by their parents; Where a person with Parental Responsibility by virtue of a Residence Order or Special Guardianship Order agrees to voluntary accommodation.
1.4	Regardless of whether the arrangement for family and friends care existed prior to the involvement of Children’s Social Care or subsequent to involvement in an assessment of need, a Threshold of Care Panel must be held before any decision can be taken that the child should become accommodated. Prior to accommodation status being agreed, support - financial and practical - may be provided under Section 17 Children Act 1989.
1.5	Only in circumstances where an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) is taken or accommodation is provided by agreement of the parent(s) as a direct alternative to seeking an EPO may the child become looked after and an immediate placement with a Connected Person be made in accordance with the Placements with Connected Persons Procedure. In such circumstances, an urgent Threshold of Care Panel must be convened. See Threshold of Care Panel Procedure.

2. Becoming or Remaining Looked after in Family, Friends or Connected Person Care Arrangements

2.1

As a guide, a child in family and friends care may need to become or remain Looked After: -

Where a birth parent may be untraceable, or incapable of giving agreement to the arrangements; therefore Section 20 may apply.
Where the parent is capable of giving agreement but refuses to do so or is inconsistent in maintaining cooperation, and care is deemed necessary to safeguard the welfare of the child and prevent Significant Harm; in these circumstances authority for an EPO may be necessary – see Application for Emergency Protection Order Procedure - and/or a Legal Planning Meeting may be required – see Legal Planning Meeting Procedure
Where the parent and carer are unable to come to an agreement about the arrangements for the child’s care in the child’s best interests; or parental agreement has been withdrawn to existing arrangements and an assessment shows that the parent is unable to meet the child’s needs if returned to their care. The legal planning process must apply in such circumstances – see Legal Planning Meeting Procedure
Where a carer may feel threatened, or unsafe, in managing contact between the child and their birth parents.
Where the carer is unable or unwilling to continue caring for the child or adequately meet their needs without the degree of social work and financial support that fostering regulations confer. This should only apply in exceptional circumstances and where other means of providing such support have been fully explored. It is unlikely to be the only reason and will most usually arise because of the need to provide intensive support to address complex family dynamics. Such cases could involve the prospective carer in complex tasks over a significant period of time which would necessitate the continuing involvement of Children’s Social Care Services.
Where it has been concluded that the local authority needs to share Parental Responsibility with the birth parent/s, in order to promote the child’s welfare and to secure their placement with the Connected Person as a foster carer. However, care status must be kept under review and alternative orders which would secure permanence for the child must be sought by agreement with the carers if at all possible. Perceived reliance on ongoing support of the fostering services must never become a reason where sufficient support may be provided within Special Guardianship arrangements.

2.2

If the child needs to become accommodated or subject to Care Proceedings, his/her carer/s must be assessed and approved to become foster carers – see Placements with Connected Persons Procedure.

3. Duty to Place Child in Care with Family, Friends or Connected Person Carers

3.1	Local authorities have a duty to consider whether Children in Care may be placed with relatives and friends. Prior to any accommodation being agreed with an unrelated carer, vigorous attempts to have identified and ruled out potential friends and family carers must be evidenced.
3.2	Exercising this duty requires that the local authority takes all reasonable steps to seek out and identify suitable relatives and friends with whom a Child in Care may be placed. The use of a Family Group Conference or Threshold of Care Panel meeting must address this, including as many members as possible of the family network who are significant to the child and who can assist in planning for the child.
3.3	Details of relatives and a full genogram should be recorded at an early stage of involvement.
3.4	Many parents will recognise the potential benefits of placing a child with a person known to them and will therefore agree to such arrangements directly or provide the child's social worker with details so that they can make such enquiries.
3.5	In cases where parents do not cooperate in providing contact details and addresses for relatives or friends who could be considered as potential carers, action must be taken to trace relatives via other means such as use of the electoral roll and legal advice sought.
3.6	In some instances, the duty to seek out Connected Persons as potential carers may conflict with the parent's wishes in respect of the child's placement. In these circumstances, before pursuing a placement with a Connected Person, careful consideration should be given to the potential consequences of placing the child with carers against the parents’ wishes.
3.7	In practice a balance must be struck between the benefits of the child living with a person he/she knows and the negative impact that action may have on partnership with parents and implementing both immediate and long term plans for the child.
3.8	However, bearing in mind the potential benefits for the child of placements with family, friends or Connected Persons, the circumstances in which the local authority would choose not to place with such a person, upholding the birth parents’ wishes, should only be when the level of conflict between the birth parents and potential carer is deemed to be detrimental to the child.
3.9	In practice it is not unusual for parents to oppose placement with friends and family initially but to change their view over time. Professional judgement about which course of action will best promote the child's welfare should take account of any available legal advice, particularly important where pursuit of a placement with a Connected Person could lead to the child's premature discharge from accommodation.

4. When to Consider Family Friends or Connected Person Care

4.1	A decision for a child to become Looked After must be informed by a Core Assessment involving multi-agency engagement, unless action needs to be taken within child protection processes to immediately safeguard the welfare of the child; in such cases the Core Assessment must immediately follow that action. This is the responsibility of the child’s social worker
4.2	The Core Assessment must be presented by the child’s social worker to a Threshold of Care Panel prior to the child becoming accommodated and where accommodation has been agreed in an emergency within 72 hours thereafter - see Threshold of Care Panel Procedure.
4.3	A decision to take Care Proceedings to secure the child’s welfare can only be taken following a Legal Planning Meeting and must be informed by a Core Assessment. In the event that an Emergency Protection Order is required, the authority of the Designated Manager (EPO Applications) is required and a Legal Planning Meeting must follow before any further applications to court – see Legal Planning Meeting Procedure
4.4	Where a assessment concludes that a child needs to be Looked After away from home, the child’s social worker must consider: Whether arrangements other than formal looked after status would meet the child's needs more appropriately Whether friends, family or Connected Person care arrangements are available and suitable as a first consideration.
4.5	Where looked after status has been agreed and a Connected Person is available to care for the child, an immediate placement under the Placements with Connected Persons Procedure may be appropriate and as set out in that chapter the approval of a Service Manager to the placement must be obtained.
4.6	NB A Family Group Conference, Threshold of Care Panel, Child Care Review or Child Protection Conference may result in a proposal that a particular family member be considered to care for a child. However, the usual delegated authority and formal procedure to assess and approve will be required to implement the arrangements. These meetings do not in themselves confer authority to make such a placement.
4.7	When making a decision regarding the potential placement of the child with a Connected Person, the assessing social worker should consider: The carer’s ability to provide both short and long-term care, their motivation and their capacity to work within the child’s care plan and the support they will require. The impact on family relationships. If the Care Plan is for a short-term arrangement before the child returns to the parents, there is a risk that a placement with a Connected Person, including payment of a fostering allowance, may distort family relationships, or the carers may expect that arrangement to become long-term. Clarity at the outset of the purpose of the placement must be provided for all parties. The carer’s own history of raising children. This is always a significant factor in assessing Connected Persons as foster carers. However if there are any doubts about the suitability of the potential placement, another placement should be sought whilst further enquiries are made and/or evidence of their capacity to change is provided. Whether the placement is the most suitable means by which the local authority can discharge its duty to the child.

End