3.2.6 Placements with Connected Persons

A decision to assess a potential immediate placement of a child with a Connected Person may be taken by a team manager, providing that Service Manager approval has been given for the child to become Looked After – see Decision to Look After and Care Planning Procedure - and subject to approval by the Service Manager of the Regulation 24 assessment prior to placement.

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’.

The placement can only commence provided the local authority is satisfied that: -

1. The most appropriate placement fir the child is with a Connected person, notwithstanding that the Connected Person is not approved as a local authority foster carer; and
2. It is necessary for the child to be placed with the Connected Person before the Connected Persons’ suitability to be a local authority foster carer has been assessed; and
3. The requirements relating to the assessment of the suitability of the Connected Person prior to the granting of temporary approval (including the suitability of the proposed accommodation and all other persons aged 18 and over who are members of the household where the child will live) have been met.

If a Regulation 24 placement is being considered the child's social worker should initiate the enquiries and tasks as follows:

• carry out a check of RAISE and or a check with the local authority in whose area the prospective carer lives making careful note of any referrals/previous involvement of the children’s social care services;
• obtain, as far as is practicable the views of the child* and their parents about the proposed placement;
• interview the prospective carer(s) - the issues that should be covered in this interview are set out in Section 3, Enquiries when Interviewing the Prospective Carer. If the carer is married or in a stable relationship, it is expected that they will be assessed as joint carers
• inspect the accommodation – areas to be considered in this inspection are set out in Section 4, Inspection of Prospective Carer’s Accommodation
• obtain information about any other person living in the carers household and frequent visitors and consent for urgent police checks for anyone aged 18 and over – seeking in particular the information set out in Section 3 below.
• obtain the carers signature on the placement agreement.

When interviewing the prospective carer the child’s social worker should enquire about the prospective carer’s personal details and history (dates of birth, marital status and previous relationships), which should include as much of the following information as is available:

1. The nature and quality of any existing relationship with the child
2. 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.
3. State of health (physical, emotional and mental), and medical history including current or past issues of domestic violence, substance misuse or mental health problems
4. 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
5. 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
6. Any criminal offences
7. Past and present employment and other sources of income
8. Nature of the neighbourhood and resources available in the community to support the child and the Connected Person.

A foster home must be warm, adequately furnished and decorated and maintained to a good standard of cleanliness and hygiene. It must comfortably accommodate all those who live there. Avoidable hazards are removed as is consistent with a family home.

When inspecting the prospective carers’ accommodation the child’s social worker should ensure that the following are considered:

• the proposed sleeping arrangements for the child. The usual requirement for foster carers is that a child over the age of 3 years should have their own bedroom. It may however be appropriate to be more flexible for family and friends carers. However, as a minimum each child should have their own bed or cot, and any room sharing should be appropriate to the age and gender of those concerned. If the arrangement includes the foster child sharing a bedroom with any person, a risk assessment should be completed. In any such assessment, account must be taken of any potential for bullying, any history of abuse or abusive behaviour, the wishes of the children concerned and all other pertinent facts.
• whether the kitchen meets basic standards of hygiene and safety,
• the safety of the garden e.g. whether there is a pond, gates etc.
• any need for equipment e.g. fireguard or safety gate; and
• any issues relating to household pets.       

The child’s social worker should carry out the following steps:

• Ensure that the foster carers(s) complete parts 1 – 3 of the FRG ‘Consideration of kinship carer/s emergency/immediate placement of a child or children’.
• Complete part 4 of the above form with as much detail as possible given the emergency nature of the placement. Completion of the above parts 1 – 4, including signing of the Regulation 24 agreement contained in part 3 of the form, fulfil the criteria for the Regulation 24 immediate placement.
• Provide the carers with a copy of the Placement Plan/Placement Information Record
• Ensure that there is clear agreement about the contact to be allowed with family members - including any limitations and whether overnight stays are permissible. This should be in writing and a copy given to the carer and anyone else affected.
• Initiate foster payments
• Initiate enhanced CRB checks as soon as possible on every member of the household aged 16 or over.
• Visit the child in the home and ensure that the child is seen alone at least weekly until the first Child Care Review and thereafter every four weeks during the period of the temporary approval – see Child Protection Visits and Children in Care Statutory Visits Procedure.
• Ensure effective planning for the child, notifying the child care reviewing service to ensure that the first statutory Child Care Review is arranged within 20 working days of the placement.
• Where the placement is intended or likely to last more than 16 weeks, refer immediately to the Fostering Team in order to commence the assessment of the carer to present to Fostering Panel for approval – see Section 11, Completion of the Full Fostering Assessment.
• Ensure that statutory notifications are completed to the area of a local authority where the child is placed outside the city. However, in such circumstances, assessment of the household remains the responsibility of the placing authority. 

A placement made under Regulation 24 can only continue beyond sixteen weeks if during that period the relative or friend is approved as a foster carer, unless there are exceptional circumstances which require an extension of the temporary approval. The temporary approval can be extended 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.

As part of initiating the fostering assessment, the following references and checks on the family must be obtained by the assessing social worker from the Fostering Team:

• A reference from the family’s G. P. (standard letter)
• CRB checks on all members of the household aged 16 and over (CRB disclosure form)
• Three references from people who have known the applicants for two years or more obtained in accordance with the fostering service procedures for obtaining references. Applicants also need to be aware that all prospective foster carers may be required to consent to references being sought from their ex-partners in relationships where there have been children. This applies whether or not the partners were married.
• Education – a standard letter should be sent to schools/nurseries attended by applicant’s children.
• Health authority – a reference from health visitor if there are any pre-school children in the household.
• A check of the List of Children with a Child Protection Plan
• Local authority checks – if the applicant has lived outside the city at any time in the last 5 years, the assessing social worker will write to each Children’s Services Department responsible for the area in which he/she has lived, seeking their views on the application.
• Employee references if working with children.
• Contact adult children where applicable.

In order to obtain permission for these enquiries to be carried out, the following forms must be completed and signed by the carers without delay:

1. FRG form section 1 - 3
2. Prospective foster carer application form.
3. foster carers declaration of heath form –  (A separate form to be completed by each applicant)
4. Criminal Record Bureau disclosure forms (one for each person aged 16 or over).

Key principles to bear in mind     

The Public Law Outline governing the conduct of Care Proceedings specifies that where the local authority considers a child should not remain with his or her parents, before reaching a decision to issue proceedings, the local authority should take such steps as are possible, perhaps through a Family Group Conference or other meeting to explore whether care for the child can safely be provided by a relative or friend, have assessed the suitability of possible arrangements and have considered the most suitable legal status for such arrangements. The court will therefore expect the local authority to have considered family members and friends as potential carers unless this would jeopardise the child’s safety and wellbeing – see Public Law Outline and Care Proceedings - What does it mean for Local Authorities?.                

It is important that relatives and/or friends are involved in discussions and planning for the child from the earliest stage, so that arrangements for the child do not become set by default or a final hearing delayed by late application from relatives.

All prospective family and friends carers for the child must be identified at an early stage in the permanency planning process and included or eliminated through careful assessment. If the intention is for a relative or friend to care for the child they should be advised by the child’s social worker about the possibility of becoming party to the proceedings.              

The Permanency Planning Procedure should be followed when considering the proposed Care Plan for the child.

It should not be assumed that a Care Order is necessary to secure permanent care with a relative or friend, even where Care Proceedings have been initiated. Other orders should be considered within the planning process which do not require looked after status in the longer term. The suitability of such must be addressed within the Legal Planning Meeting prior to initiation of proceedings or subsequently during Care Proceedings prior to final hearing.            

Assessment of relatives and friends carers within Care Proceedings requires close partnership working between the team responsible for the child and the fostering team. Social workers and/or team managers from each team must jointly plan within the timescale set by the court. Whilst the placement may be initiated with Regulation 24 arrangements, a full assessment will be required before a final order is made. During this period, planning , in most aspects involving Legal Services, will need to address the following:

• assessment of the parents resulting in decisions as to whether the child may be returned to their care
• parallel planning for permanence outside the family
• where kinship arrangements are being assessed:
  • which relative(s) is/are viable for full assessment – an initial assessment of a number of relatives may be required, addressing the criteria set out in Regulation 26 and Schedule 3 of the Fostering Services Regulations 2011, followed by a decision within a legal planning forum as to which relative should be offered a full assessment.
  • whether the Care Plan should be for permanent foster care, Special Guardianship, Residence Order or Adoption.

For further details in relation to these options, see the Permanence Planning for Children in Care - Guidance

• What information should be presented in the court arena to support the local authority’s case, including whether any information relating to the parents or carers should not be disclosed to the other party. For example, highly confidential information may arise within the assessment of the carers which the carer(s) would not wish other parties to the proceedings to know. Legal advice and potentially a direction from the court may be necessary on this point. It should not be assumed at the outset that the whole assessment report will be disclosed to all parties within the proceedings and where this is required by the court, the prospective carers must be made aware of this in advance to be able to assess the implications for their application and seek their own legal advice should they feel it necessary. As a guiding principle, all Connected Persons undergoing assessment must be advised that assessments may need to be disclosed into court proceedings at some stage.      

Use of independent social workers within proceedings to assess potential relative carers                

The Public Law Outline requires that in most cases, full assessments have been completed prior to issuing proceedings. Where assessments are nevertheless required within proceedings, duplication of assessments can cause delay for the child, be unnecessarily burdensome for families and wasteful of resources. Therefore, whenever an independent social worker has been engaged within the Care Proceedings on behalf of the local authority to assess relatives’ suitability to provide care of the child, they must:

• be suitably qualified and experienced to undertake fostering, special guardianship and adoption assessments within the requirements of the National Minimum Standards for Fostering. Fostering Services Regulations 2011 and the Adoption and Children Act 2002 and associated regulations;
• understand that their appointment is being made in respect of the local authority’s statutory duties relating to assessment and planning for the child and providing fostering services and adoption services;
• understand at the outset that any recommendation will require the recommendation of the Fostering Panel and approval of the Agency Decision Maker
• be prepared to present their assessment to the Panel for recommendation of approval;
• understand at the outset that information from their assessment will inform any recommendation to the court for special guardianship and therefore must address all relevant areas in Section 14 Children Act 1989 and the schedule and Regulation 21 Special Guardianship Regulations 2002 – see Court Reports in Adoption/Special Guardianship Guidance           

The terms of reference for the independent social worker’s engagement in such circumstances must clearly specify at the outset the potential scope of their work should their assessment prove favourable. Where it is not envisaged that the independent social worker’s task will extend to assessments of the relatives as foster carers or special guardians, the terms of reference for their work must be confined to a viability assessment with a clear understanding that subsequent more detailed fostering or special guardianship assessments may not support the original assessment of viability.               

It is likely that an independent social worker would only be engaged to undertake assessments of viability where differentiating the relative merits of a number of relatives (particularly where there are conflicting and competing interests) is deemed to warrant an assessment independently of existing local authority services. In such circumstances, the court must be advised that local authority assessments for fostering and/or special guardianship will need to be undertaken subsequent to the independent social worker completing the viability assessment.           

The above does not apply to jointly instructed appointments of independent social workers as expert witnesses within proceedings. However, joint instruction would not be consistent with the local authority’s duties in relation to fostering and adoption services and therefore joint instructions to an independent social worker in these circumstances would be confined to making recommendations to the court as to the suitability of a prospective carer. The local authority must in these circumstances nevertheless conduct its own assessment for the purposes of fostering approval or special guardianship.               

In practice it would be unhelpful to all parties for more than one assessor to be involved in recommendations to court and to the Fostering Panel and therefore a position is preferable, when it is necessary to appoint an independent social worker, that the task includes completion of an assessment which meets the local authority’s statutory duties relating to fostering or special guardianship.            

Family and friends placements outside the area of the local authority

In a case involving Care Proceedings, where a family and friends carer lives in the area of another local authority, early discussion needs to take place with that authority regarding the final responsibility for a Care Order, should that be the final plan. It would be usual to seek for the order to be made to the local authority in whose area the child lives.

When a child is already Looked After and in a placement and a relative or friend comes forward and offers a potential placement, the social worker must carefully consider the situation and the available options:

• Is the child's Care Plan aimed towards her/him returning to live with his/her parents in the foreseeable future? If so the social worker should weigh up the advantages of a placement with a Connected Person against the disruption of a move. It is rarely appropriate to start an immediate placement in these circumstances.
• Is the current placement stable, confirmed as permanent and meeting the child’s needs; in such cases, a placement change is unlikely to be in the child’s best interests and existing carers may also in law have rights to apply for an order to secure the child’s placement.
• Is the current placement fragile and likely to disrupt?; immediate placements should only be made in an emergency. If the child is already in a foster placement it would be more appropriate to support the placement wherever possible, whilst carrying out a full assessment of the proposed placement with a Connected Person and to arrange a planned move following approval.

In the case of Regulation 24 placements, a full fostering assessment will be completed and submitted to Panel within 16 weeks. A social worker from the fostering team will be allocated to complete the assessment. The assessment will follow the format of the FRG kinship assessment which covers the requirements of the Fostering Services Regulations 2011:

• A joint visit to introduce the assessing social worker will be made as quickly as possible if required.
• Further background information on the child will be sought throughout the assessment as needed.
• The assessing social worker must be informed of and where appropriate included in meetings about important developments in the care planning for the child.
• NB The assessing social worker’s visits are not a substitute for statutory visits by the child’s allocated social worker. In the case of emergency placements, the child is required to be visited weekly until the child’s first Child Care Review and thereafter every four weeks during the temporary approval of the carers.

The assessment will cover the following areas:

• Basic details of applicants and family members, including health
• Household and community details
• History and needs of the child/ren
• Education, learning and leisure
• Emotional, behavioural and social development
• History and views of the parents
• Individual profile of the carer(s)
• Household income and employment
• Applicants' relationships and partnerships
• Children and other adult members in the household
• Housing
• Parenting Capacity and family lifestyle
• Special issues for the children concerned
• Involvement of other relatives or friends
• Legal context
• Contingency planning
• Contact
• Working with professionals
• Analysis of benefits, risks and issues
• Plans for preparation and support
• Review process
• Individual profile of each applicant

This report will then be signed by the assessing social worker and their team manager and submitted to the Fostering Panel along with the following paperwork.

• Health and Safety Checklist
• Dog Assessment Questionnaire (where applicable)

If the agency decision is not to approve, the Agency Decision Maker will inform the applicants in writing of the reasons, inviting them to submit representations within 28 days of the letter. In addition, as an alternative, they may exercise the right to apply to the Secretary of State to request a review of the decision by an Independent Review Panel. Any such application must be made in writing within 28 days of the decision and supported by reasons.

If the applicant decides to refer the matter to an Independent Review, the relevant Panel reports, any new information obtained since the Panel meeting, a record of the decision made and reasons, a copy of the written notification of the decision and a copy of the Panel minute, if different, will be sent to the Independent Review within 10 working days of their written request.

The procedure for the Independent Review is carried out by BAAF; the applicant and two representatives of the fostering agency will be invited to attend the Independent Review.

In practice this means:

• the relevant requirements of the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and the Fostering Services Regulations 2011 will be applied and they will be subject to the same supervision, support and regulation and policies as local authority carers
• they must sign a foster carer agreement and will be provided with a copy of the foster carers handbook and any other literature normally received by other carers
• a social worker from the fostering team will be allocated to offer supervision, advice and support and to identify training needs – see Supervision and Support of Foster Carers

Supervision and support will be provided to kinship foster carers by the fostering team social worker through:

• Home visits, including at least one unannounced visit annually
• Phone contact (minimum of 1 monthly)
• Attendance at statutory Child Care Reviews (when appropriate)
• The annual fostering review- see Review of Foster Carers Procedure
• Group events e.g. support groups, training and social events exclusively with mainstream and kinship carers as appropriate
• Buddying (linking carers to provide informal support to each other)
• Access to out of hour support/advice through the foster carers help line

For further detail, please refer to the Support and Supervision of Foster Carers Procedure.

Payments of fostering allowances may be terminated or suspended in the event that:

• The kinship carer does not co-operate fully with the assessment process
• On receipt of information that indicates that the carer could not lawfully be  approved as a foster carer
• Following a formal decision not to approve the applicants as foster carers
• Following termination of the child's placement with the carers.      

Judicial review of Manchester City Council (Mumby Judgement)

The Honourable Mr. Justice Mumby ruled that payments to kinship foster carers should be on the same basis as local authority mainstream carers, whether it be a short or long term arrangement.

R and LB Southwark and Lambeth 2007