Contact: Sue Stewart Ext: 5598

1 Summary

1.1 The following decisions are sought:

(i) That approval be given to extend the current `Payment for Skills Scheme' to include Family Link Foster Carers, as appropriate, from 1 October 2003.

(ii) That approval be given for a new , higher rate of allowances to be introduced for children who use the family link scheme, on a sessional / day care basis, with effect from 1 October 2003.

2 Reason(s)

2.1 To enhance the family link foster care service, to ensure that there is increased capacity to support children with disabilities in the community.

3 Other options considered and rejected

3.1 Not to increase and enhance current payments

4 Conflicts of Interest declared by the decision-maker or a Member or Officer consulted

4.1 None

5 Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee

5.1 None

6 Reason(s) for the matter being dealt with if urgent

6.1 Not Applicable

Approved by: Date of decision:

Councillor Felicity Hindson

Contact: Sue Stewart Ext: 5598

1 The payment for skills scheme was introduced to reflect the additional skills offered by experienced foster carers, and to recognise the demands placed on foster carers by children with special needs.

2 To date this scheme has excluded children with disabilities, even though in some cases their needs are greater and they require special care and attention to manage their challenging behaviours.

3 Family link care is a key element of a strategy to support children with disabilities in their own homes by providing regular respite to their parents / carers.

4 It is not logical nor appropriate that family link carers should be excluded from the payment for skills scheme, and it is also counter productive to the recruitment of new family link carers, at a time when a new recruitment campaign is being planned to enhance the Department's capacity to provide family link care.

5 Families who offer this service often have a background of working with children with special needs, with experience in settings such as schools, hospitals or specialist play or respite schemes. Until now, there has been no financial recognition of those skills. This proposal would be a public recognition of those skills, which enable many children with complex disabilities to be supported within their own families through provision of family based respite care.

6 It is therefore proposed that family link foster carers become eligible for assessment for inclusion in the Payment for Skills scheme. The FTE increase in April 2003 anticipated this development and family link carers have been advised of this proposed development.

7 It is proposed that fees be payable on a daily basis rather than a weekly basis, to recognise the fact that many family link arrangements operate on a part week basis.

8 To develop family link care, it is important to be able to provide flexible support packages to include any day care, after school care, weekend care according to the needs of the child and his / her family. Payments based on a daily rate are therefore consistent with this strategy.

9 The cost of introducing this scheme would be met from specific grant funding from central government which the County Council has made available to support the fostering service.

10 The introduction of payments for skills to family link carers would mean that the daily rate payable would be as follows:

Level	1	Standard Fostering Allowance
Level	2	£56 per week	£8 per day
Level	3	£76.30	£10.90 per day

11 The calculation of projected costs has been done on the basis that all carers would wish to be assessed and that 50% would be eligible for level 2 and 50% for level 3.

12 In fact probably not all carers would wish to be assessed but in this way it is possible to calculate the maximum costs of the scheme.

13 On this basis the additional costs of the payments for skills would be £88.9 thousand per annum based on an average of pattern of family link carers which is 84 days care per annum. In the current financial year the cost would be in the region of £20 thousand.

14 It is proposed that in future a review of allowances to carers who look after children with disabilities is undertaken. This would include family link as well as longer term foster care.

15 However in the meantime, it is proposed to make some changes to the allowances paid for children receiving family link care on a day care / sessional basis (up to 12 hours).

16 The current rate of allowance for family link carers is £2.05 per hour with a one-off payment of £18.80 for overnight stays. The rate is not banded by age as it is for non-disabled children. The rate works out at £43.40 per 24 hours and £303.80 per week.

Current rates of payments for day care are based on the hourly rate and offer very little to carers providing sessional care. Examples are:

2 hours	£4.10
6 hours	£12.30
10 hours	£20.50
12 hours	£24.60

17 It is recognised that both the allowance rate and the ability to pay for daytime as well as overnight care makes this different from the way in which mainstream fostering allowances are calculated. However, it enables flexibility of use which is critical to the scheme continuing to meet the needs of children with disabilities and their families.

18 It is proposed to increase the day care rates in order to develop this service and increase its availability to children with disabilities by encouraging more carers to come forward.

19 The proposed new rates are:-

0-4 hours	£12	Increase of £3.80 on 4 hours	(27%)
4-8 hours	£22	Increase of £5.60 on 8 hours	(25%)
8-12 hours	£30	Increase of £5.40 on 12 hours	(18%)

20 It is difficult to calculate the costs of introducing the proposed new allowances, since current recording systems do not allow for identification of separate numbers of children receiving sessional care. However these numbers are currently quite low.

21 Calculations have been done on the basis of 12 children in each of 6 teams, each child having one day's care per month (12 hours), at an increased lost on current rates of £5.40.

22 On this basis the projected costs of changing these allowances would be an additional £4,665 per annum.

23 It is anticipated that through recruitment and a higher profile for this scheme that usage will increase.

24 However the budget for family link care was underspent by £31,000 in 2002/03. The family link schemes are almost entirely joint financed with Health and any underspend on this service thus affects Hampshire's income from Health.

25 It is therefore proposed that the increases in these allowances would be funded from within the existing budget provision for this service.

26 These proposals are being made to recognise the invaluable contribution that foster carers make to the lives of children who are looked after by Hampshire County council, and to enhance the support available to children with disabilities.

27 Family Link carers are supported in their work not only by the Social Services Department but increasingly through collaborative arrangements with other County Council services. In particular the Recreation and Heritage Department are committed to extending access to leisure facilities for all of those children and families who participate in the family link fostering scheme.

28 Following the increase to allowances and skill fees additional family link carers will be invited to join the service starting wit a recruitment drive in the north of the county.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. That approval be given to extend the current `Payment for skills scheme' to Family Link foster carers for inclusion as appropriate, from 1 October 2003.

3. That approval be given for a new , higher rate of allowances to be introduced for children who use the family link scheme, on a sessional / day care basis with effect from 1 October 2003.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act