Summary

The following decisions are sought.

1.1 That the proposals for evaluating the impact of the recent investment in Hampshire County Council's fostering service be noted.

1.2 That the Executive member for Social Care invite a final evaluation report in September 2005, in order to consider recommendations for further investment.

1 Reason(s)

1.1 To continually improve and expand the County Council's foster care service, thus improving outcomes for children, by providing a range of family placements which meet the needs of children who are looked after.

1.2 To increase the choice of available placements, thus enhancing stability and enabling more children to have permanent care arrangements arranged for them.

2.3 These improved outcomes assist in achieving the Corporate aims of the County Council by maximising life opportunities, improving services, and building strong and safe communities in which children who are looked after can participate and to which they can contribute.

2 Other options considered and rejected

3.1 A full evaluation of the first phase of investment is the only way in which a decision can be taken about the extent to which further investment should be made, and the outcomes expected as a result of further investment.

3 Conflicts of Interest declared by the decision-maker or other Executive Member consulted

None

4 Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee

None

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

Not applicable

Approved by: Date of decision:

Councillor Felicity Hindson

1 Summary

1.1 This report outlines the ways in which the impact of initial investment in the Hampshire Fostering Service is to be evaluated against anticipated outcomes.

1.2 The Executive Member for Social Care and the Policy Review Committee approved investment in the service in principle in 2004, following consideration of a number of reviews of the service.

1.3 Specific pilot developments were agreed in December 2004, and Appendix A outlines the pilots and their costs.

2 Hampshire County Council Corporate Strategy

2.1 The developments support the strategic aims of the County Council, in particular:-

2.1.1 Maximising life opportunities for children who are supported at home by the provision of regular respite care, and by providing safe and secure family placements for children who are in the care of the County Council.

2.1.2 Improving services by improving and building upon the quality of training, assessment and support available to foster carers.

2.1.3 Building strong and safe communities where the most vulnerable children can be included and fully participate in the life of that community.

3 Race Relations ( Amendment) Act

3.1 An initial assessment of the impact of these pilots on children, families and foster carers has been carried out.

3.2 The placement of children with foster carers who can meet their religious, racial and cultural needs is particularly important in a community which is primarily and predominantly white and British.

3.3 The proposed pilots support the general aim of the Fostering service and the County Council . It is confirmed that a programme of work is underway in the Fostering Service to ensure that the confidence and understanding of all those who receive a service, and deliver that service, are developed more fully.

4 Evaluating the new schemes

5 Enhanced Skill fee scheme; benefits and risks.

5.1.1 The criteria for a foster carer to become part of the enhanced scheme have already been developed. It is likely that a combination of existing foster carers and new foster carers will be part of the scheme.

5.1.2 The control group is so small that the impact on overall placement numbers in Independent Fostering Agency placements will not be significant. However, on a case by case basis, the children who will benefit from such a scheme are likely to fall into one of two categories

5.1.3 A child might, without the pilot scheme, have been placed in an Independent Fostering placement, with the attendant risk of that placement being outside of Hampshire.

5.1.4 A child will already have been in an Independent placement, and been enabled to return to Hampshire as a result of the pilot scheme being established.

5.1.5 In the final analysis, ten children who would otherwise have been placed in Independent Fostering placements will have been enabled to remain in a Hampshire based placement instead.

5.1.6 Existing foster carers will be asked to comment on the effectiveness of the scheme, which, on the positive side, will potentially become part of a menu of options available to the foster carer who wishes to progress through a career in childcare.

5.1.7 On the other hand, restricting the scheme to a very limited number of foster carers for any length of time, carries the risk of alienating foster carers who meet the defined criteria, and who will expect an opportunity to be made available to them at the end of the pilot period, to become a salaried foster carer.

5.1.8 The outcomes in financial terms should be demonstrable savings, as an average placement under the salaried scheme will be in the region of £20,400 per annum, compared with the annual cost of an Independent Foster placement of £37,000 per annum.

6 Emergency Payments

6.1 This development has been piloted for some time and is now being adopted as a substantive service. Already the scheme has had an impact on the ability of social workers to find family based placements for children in an emergency.

6.2 It is proposed to increase the amount paid to each foster carer, to be part of the service, from £25 to £30 per period. The cost of this can be met within current budget allocations, and recognises the significant contribution that foster carers make to this 24 hour service.

6.3 Establishing the service on a more formal footing, in conjunction with the development of improved rate of pay and improved Out of Hours support, means that young people are even more likely to be found a foster placement within their local area, as a first placement of choice.

6.4 This would be evidenced by a decrease in the number of occasions when children have to be placed in the one remaining children's home which retains an out of Hours bed as part of its Statement of Purpose.

6.5 The continued success of this scheme will enable the service to be developed in the future so that children who currently have to move on very quickly to their next placement, will be able to remain for a short period of time. This arrangement would be much better for children who are understandably confused and upset by their sudden change of circumstances, and would certainly benefit from a short period of stability at this traumatic time.

7. Recruitment Incentive Bonus

7.1 The measure of the success of this scheme will be confirmation from those recruited that they would not have been attracted to the fostering task, had their friend not explained the work of a foster carer to them.

7.2 In addition, it will enhance the morale of current foster carers, many of whom already give time and energy to the task of explaining their role to others . The recruitment incentive bonus, will indeed represent a bonus, and really value the contribution that foster carers make to the recruitment of new foster carers.

8 Re-designate additional staff to the Fostering Recruitment Team

8.1 The ability of the team to train and recruit new carers will be enhanced by the addition of three staff. The team keep detailed records of the number of prospective foster carers who express an interest info stering, through to the number of foster carers who are finally approved to foster.

8.2 In addition, the timescale for each component of the recruitment process is measured. Additional staff will lead to an improvement in the average length of time of an assessment ( from the current 10 months to a period closer to the recommended average of 6 months).

8.2 In addition, the current ratio of those expressing an interest, to those finally approved is 18.9:1. Whilst this represents an improvement on the previous year's ratio ( 19.52:1), additional staff should have a greater impact on this figure, over the nine month period of the pilot.

9. Out of Hours Support

9.1 The development of this service, in conjunction with the formalising of the Emergency payment, and the increase of that payment, will together contribute to more foster carers being confident and willing to offer a placement to children out of hours.

9.2 It will contribute to foster carers feeling confident to take children who have complex behaviour or whose circumstances are complex, even in planned circumstances. It will give foster carers access to very practical, hands on support, whether those foster carers are experienced or new to the task.

9.3 The most effective way to evaluate the impact of this service is by asking foster carers themselves, to indicate firstly, whether the service has been of practical value to them, and secondly, to comment on the extent to which the existence of the service directly affected a decision to offer a child a foster placement, or enhanced their ability to continue caring for a child after a crisis or difficulty out of office hours.

10. Enhancing foster care support by recruiting `mentors'

10.1 The value of employing current foster carers to support and `mentor' their colleagues is well documented in Hampshire. The new pilot will enable the Fostering Service to evaluate the impact of very much reduced hours for this task.

10.2 The effectiveness of the pilot will be measured through consultation with those employed in the role, those foster carers supported through the scheme, and the social workers of children whose placements are supported through the scheme.

10.3 As with other pilots, it will be difficult to evaluate the impact of this pilot in isolation, but together with other developments, the expected outcomes are:-

10.4 Improved confidence amongst foster carers leading to greater stability for children.

10.5 Improved morale amongst foster carers employed in the role, which recognises the valuable contribution that foster carers can make to the work of the `professional team'.

10.6 Improved morale amongst foster carers in the North of the County who have fewer foster carers currently employed in this role, and will feel a particular benefit from the development of the service.

10 Recommendation

That the proposals for evaluating the impact of the recent investment in Hampshire County Council's fostering service be noted.

That the Executive member for Social Care invite a final evaluation report in September 2005, in order to consider recommendations for further investment .

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have 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

NONE

APPENDIX A

Priorities for Pilot Schemes to be Introduced before 1^st April 2005

PAYMENTS TO CARERS

INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE TO IMPROVE SERVICES