Contact: Sue Kocaman Ext: 7263 email: [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 This report seeks to inform The Policy Review Committee about key matters relating to the performance and development of the Hampshire County Council Fostering Service, and refers to the recent statutory inspection by the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

1.2 This report focuses on Hampshire County Council's own fostering service (sometimes referred to as the `in-house' service), as distinct from fostering services provided by the independent sector (from private or voluntary not-for-profit organisations), generally called Independent Fostering Agencies (IFA's), from which Hampshire County Council Social Services, in common with other local authorities, purchase placements when necessary.

1.3 The most recent statutory Inspection took place in February 2005 with its Report published in April, followed by the Social Services Department's Action Plan. The 2005 Annual Inspection and Action Plan have been made available in the Members' Room.

1.4 The Statement of Purpose is a key requirement for all registered fostering agencies; a revised Statement is included in this report. (Appendix 1).

1.5 A Children's Guide which sets out what children can expect whilst in foster care, approved by the Executive Member for Social Care in December 2003, is included for Members information.

1.6 An investment programme was agreed in December 2004, and six new developments are being piloted across the County, the progress of which will be reported to members later this year. The theme of those pilots are to increase the number of foster carers approved each year by the Fostering Service, and to enhance the support services for existing foster carers in order to improve retention

2 Impact Assessment

2.1 In compiling this report account has been taken of the requirements of the Corporate Equalities Plan and Race Scheme. The Government's Regulations and Inspection arrangements specify requirement concerning racial (and other forms of) discrimination. Compliance with the Act in terms of carrying out an Impact Assessment is confirmed, forming part of the programme of work relating to the Department's Service Plans.

3 Children Act 2004

3.1 The Children Act 2004 underpins the five key outcomes described in `Every Child Matters', and in doing so has set out new statutory responsibilities for local authorities. The annual report for fostering in Hampshire needs to be seen in this context, and all five outcomes for children are positively affected by the adoption service.

4 Consultation with Local Members

4.1 N/A

5 Background

5.1 There are around 1, 036 Children Looked After by Hampshire Social Services Department.

5.2 Around 120 of those children are cared for within the Family Link Service- a fostering service which specialises in supporting children with disabilities in a family based environment by offering them regular respite care. Children are linked to their respite families for a number of years.

5.3 Of the remaining children some are living with their families to `trial' a return home, and others are placed in adoptive families awaiting their Adoption Order.

5.4 The Social Services Department aims to ensure that 99% of its Looked After Children who are 10 years old or younger, are cared for in a family rather than in residential care ( a children's home) .

5.5 Of the overall population of Looked After Children, the aim of the Social Services Department is for 85% of children to be living in family based care.

5.6 In addition, those children should expect to be able to live with the same family for as long as possible, and to benefit from stable schooling, appropriate contact with their families; they should be encouraged to participate as fully as possible in the life of the Community, to `enjoy and achieve', socially, culturally, and in terms of employment and further and higher education opportunities .

5.7 Their health- both physical and emotional, should be monitored and improved wherever possible, and their development in all areas, encouraged and supported by the County Council.

5.8 It is Foster Carers who ensure, on behalf of the County Council, that these outcomes for children are achieved.

5.9 The Government has increased its scrutiny of fostering arrangements overall, adding new legislation and regulations to existing requirements. Local authority fostering services, such as the Hampshire Fostering Service, and those in the independent sector, are subject to regular Government inspection in order to establish if the National Minimum Standards are being met. Legislation covering these arrangements is to be found in the Care Standards Act 2000, the Fostering Services Regulations 2002.

5.10 The recruitment of new foster carers to Hampshire's Fostering Service continues to be an area which receives close attention. The continued achievement of government key targets could be jeopardised unless key elements in the service can be strengthened. A common group of key messages emerged from service reviews commissioned over 2002-2004 which informed plans for improvement, and led to a recommendation by PRC and an agreement by the Executive Member, Social Care, to invest in the fostering service over a three year period.

5.11 The service reviews include:

5.11.1 `Priorities for Changes for the Foster Care Service', audited against the UK National `Standards for Fostering'. Carried out by an independent consultant.

5.11.2 Internal audit of foster carer payments, carried out in conjunction with County Treasurer's Financial Services Unit in Social Services.

5.11.3 Review of management arrangements in the County Family Placement Service by the Performance Management Unit in Social Services.

5.11.4 `Review of HCC In-House Foster Care Provision' by the County Treasurer's Consultancy Service.

5.12 Information has also been used from the earlier Best Value `Review of Services for Looked After Children', as well as the most recent Inspection by the NCSC.

5.13 The Hampshire Foster Care Service:

5.13.1 There are 450 foster carers registered with the Hampshire Foster Care Service, and some 120 Family Link scheme carers. Approximately 10% of foster carers are not actively caring for a child at any one time due to personal or family circumstances, which is in line with the national position.

5.13.2 Some 550 children looked after are placed with Hampshire foster carers at any one time.

5.13.3 Another 120 Children Looked After are placed with independent fostering agencies (IFA's).

5.13.4 The current position in Hampshire in terms of in-house vis-à-vis external placements is similar to that experienced by other local authorities, as is the trend; which has seen in recent years a decrease in capacity of the Hampshire service and an increase in placements made in the independent sector. The number of children looked after has not increased significantly nor has the rate in comparison with other similar local authorities.

5.13.5 In the last year the service has recruited 53 new `County Foster Carers' and has increased the number of Family and Friends Foster Carers by 25. Foster carers continue to retire or reduce their capacity as they become older, or their circumstances change. The net increase in County foster carers over the year was therefore 15.

5.13.6 In April 2005 a new financial support scheme was introduced to enable more foster carers to consider adopting or offering a permanent home to their foster child by way of a Residence Order, by removing financial disincentives. In the year 2004-05, 11 children were adopted by 9 foster carers- almost identical to the previous year. The outcome of the new policy will be this will be reported at the end of the year 2005-06.

5.13.7 The net increase in foster carers is still low and means that children cannot always be placed in the family most likely to meet their needs.

5.13.8 Fewer children are being placed in placements which are over the registered number, and these arrangements are very closely monitored. However, the overall capacity of the fostering service must increase, if children's needs are to be met by foster carers who are matched to that child.

5.13.9 The first phase of the investment plan has begun, with a number of pilot developments well underway, but the impact has not yet been felt, and it is intended to have a long term effect on our foster service rather than an immediate one.

5.13.10 Decisions will have to be taken later in the year, as to which areas of the service are likely to benefit from continued investment.

6 The Annual Inspection

6.1 The Inspection in February 2005 was the first to be carried out by the Commission for Social Care Inspection, and was described as a 'light touch' inspection, in that it took a targeted approach, rather than covering every Standard.

6.2 The Report concluded that the "Local Authority fostering service satisfies the regulatory requirements".

6.3 In general terms the Inspection confirmed the steady progress being made by the Department to develop its fostering service, which reflects the efforts, and practice standards and commitment by foster carers, practitioners and managers, as well as the support of elected Members.

6.4 There were no serious matters or shortcomings (termed "not substantial" or "substantial" in the Regulations) which will need to be reported upwards to the Secretary of State.

6.5 There were three primary areas requiring attention. The first was in respect of recruitment practices where evidence of checking of qualifications and references was not as efficient as it needed to be. This has now been rectified and an audit of files will take place periodically to ensure continued compliance.

6.6 The second area was in respect of formal supervision, reviewing and informal support of foster carers. The fostering Service will ensure that priority is given to these matters, which have sometimes been overtaken by the urgent requirement to carry out assessments on children in unapproved , Regulation 38 placements.

6.7 Thirdly the issue of communication and good working relationships between children's social workers and foster carers was recognised. Where social workers are experienced in this work, and work with foster carers as co-professionals, good outcomes are achieved for children. Where social workers are less experienced, and particularly if the foster carer is also inexperienced, information sharing and communication is not always as good as it should be.

6.8 This is an area that managers and staff worked on last year with foster carers, setting up a series of workshops around the County to educate and inform as many social workers as possible about good practise in working together. It is proposed that some key elements of these workshops are identified and form an induction session for social workers when they first start to work with children who are looked after in foster care.

7 Statement of Purpose

7.1 The Statement of Purpose, is a key document which all fostering agencies are required to produce and make available. It is of necessity a summary of information. It is written in a way which is intended to be readily accessible to all foster carers, families of children in foster care and children looked after in foster care.

7.2 The Statement of Purpose is attached at Appendix 1.

7.3 It is issued together with what may be considered a companion document, a `Children's Guide' intended specifically for the use of children, which sets out for children the services they can expect, whilst in foster care, including information about the `Complaints & Comments' procedure in Hampshire. This was originally approved in December 2003 by the Executive Member for Social Care.

8 Key Messages and Common Factors

8.1 As outlined above in section 3 which describes the background, a range of key messages and common factors have been identified regarding areas for development which need to be tackled in order to secure necessary improvements in Hampshire's Fostering Service.

8.2 The Hampshire Fostering Service carries out three key functions:

8.2.1 Recruitment of foster carers through a recruitment and marketing specialist, who supports the county's recruitment team;

8.2.2 Support for foster carers and their families, primarily through the three District Fostering Teams, providing formal supervision and informal support, a full training programme, independent support regarding `complaints' and safe care practice, partnership work through it's Hampshire Fostering Network, opportunities for active involvement in local and national development and service development initiatives e.g. the National Fostering Taskforce;

8.2.3 Operation and support of the six Fostering Panels across Hampshire, which functions include oversight of the approval of applications to foster and to approve placements. Composition of these panels includes elected Members. The responsibility is significant and wide-ranging and panel members have access to an expanding training programme in recognition of this. New members are given preliminary training to enable them to fully participate in the duties covered by the panels

8.2.4 It is critical to achieve stability and choice of placement for children (PAF A1 and D35), proper planning for children (through properly constituted and regulated Fostering Panel), to listen to children and to support children and young people in the achievement of their life chances, irrespective of ethnicity, religion, disability, culture or geographical location.

8.3 The fostering service continues to require additional investment in the infrastructure and in the level of allowances and fees to carers. In order to produce the necessary outcomes both of these strands are of equal importance and need to be developed together.

8.3.1 Both the report by the PMU (on management and organisational arrangements), and that of the County Treasurer's Consultancy (on the HCC in-house fostering service) stress the importance of this integrated approach to service development, and initial work with the National Fostering Taskforce has emphasised it. Investment in infrastructure leads to improved support services for foster carers, enhancing retention, whilst investment in the allowances and fees structure leads to improved financial support and recognition for foster carers, enhancing recruitment and retention. Neither action can deliver an improved service of itself. The Treasurer's Consultancy report makes clear recommendations about the need for improvement to fees and allowances, and the development to the service which are critical to foster carer retention.

9 Conclusion

9.1 The Hampshire Foster Care Service provides a good service for Hampshire's Children Looked After, and the commitment of the county's foster carers is impressive. The annual inspection report identified areas of strength with some other areas of development, which have been addressed in the Action Plan; there were no areas of serious weakness.

9.2 The reorganisation of the fostering service three years ago which was part of the remodelling of the Department has brought significant benefits.

9.3 These two factors provide secure foundations on which to build.

9.4 Improvements are required in order to increase the capacity and scope of Hampshire's Foster Care Service and its infrastructure. The capacity of the service has been in decline with an associated increase in the use of independent sector providers. There are serious implications for performance in a number of areas as measured by Government, as well as significant, and rising budget pressures.

9.5 The first phase of investment has started with the development of some pilot projects. The impact will not be significant or immediate, but will provide valuable information to inform the next phase of investment.

10 Recommendations

PRC is invited to advise that the Executive Member for

Children's Services

10.1 Notes the conclusions of the Annual Inspection, the Action Plan, and the progress made in fostering services overall in Hampshire.

10.2 Confirms approval of the Statement of Purpose.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

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

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Ref/Initials/5-Jul-05

Appendix A

Hampshire Fostering Service Statement of Purpose

Aims and Objectives and Principles of Care

Hampshire County Council Social Services Department has a family placement service which covers the whole of Hampshire. The purpose of the family placement service is to provide a range of good quality family based care for children of all ages in Hampshire, who are unable to stay in their own families, either within our own resources or through independent fostering agencies in the Hampshire area.

Families are provided for children and young people who need to be cared for, for short or long periods of time, or for a planned series of short breaks. Where possible a child will be "matched" with a family who is from the same cultural or religious background, and who has the skills and training to care for the child, including children who have specific health, dietary, educational, physical or emotional needs.

Where this is not possible training, advice, equipment, and access to specialist help is arranged to support foster carers and children.

Structure of the Service

The service is made up of a county wide recruitment team and 3 district teams. The fostering recruitment team receives information about specific children requiring family placements, and general information about children's needs, in order to achieve a strategic approach to recruitment.

The three district teams are located in six offices located across Hampshire. Each team covers a district as follows:

North Team - Basingstoke, Alton and Aldershot

South East Team - Fareham, Gosport, Havant and Petersfield

South West Team - New Forest, Eastleigh, Romsey, Andover and Winchester

These teams receive information about children and young people who need to live in a family setting, on a short or long term basis or about children who need a family to offer regular short stays to a child with a disability, in order to support that child and its family. This is the family link scheme which is partly paid for by the health trusts in Hampshire.

Family and Friends Carers

The district family placement teams will work with the child's social worker, in the first instance, to see if anyone who is in the child's extended family or kinship network could, with support and financial assistance, look after that child.

Only when that is not possible, will the family placement social worker look for suitable placement with an already approved foster carer, or ask the recruitment team to try to recruit a foster carer specifically for that child. The foster carer may be a Hampshire foster carer, or may foster for an Independent Fostering Agency (IFA).

Recruitment of Foster carers and the Fostering panel

The Fostering service recruits and assesses foster carers, offers training and advice, and operates the fostering panels, of which there are six in Hampshire. These each meet monthly and they recommend on the approval of foster carers, and oversee regular reviews of foster carers, to ensure a high quality of care. They also approve the quality of plans made for children who need permanent care away from home. Fostering panel membership is strictly regulated.

Supervision and Support

Foster carers, on approval, receive regular supervision and support, during the working week from the family placement social workers, social services assistants and foster care support workers.

Out of office hours support and guidance is available through the Hampshire Out of Hours Service. In addition to this there is a dedicated Foster Carer Support line which is run in conjunction with the Carers Support line.

Hampshire Fostering Network

Hampshire foster carers have a local network of support groups represented on a central committee, which receives a small grant to enable it to support foster carers in consultative roles or to provide representation on working groups around the County. The Committee meets monthly with managers and family placement staff, and regularly with senior managers, to ensure that issues of mutual interest and importance are addressed. The Fostering Network are also integral to the recruitment of new foster carers.

Information and Training

Access to specialist information is available to all Hampshire foster carers through the Hampshire Social Services library and a programme of specific training is also available, enabling foster carers to progress through several "skill levels". Foster carers are also supported in accessing the NVQ3 in childcare. A specific trainer has been recruited to ensure that foster carers receive the training they require.

A foster carers website has been developed so that foster carers can access information more easily. There is also a website for looked after children which links to the foster carers website.

A Fostering Handbook provides a comprehensive guide for all foster carers in the county.

Staffing

2 service managers (one operational/one strategic)

4 team managers

1 senior practitioner

27.5 qualified social workers

1 marketing co-ordinator

12.5 social services assistants

7.25 family link co-ordinators

3.5 foster care support workers

Administrative support is provided by social services resources team.

Foster carers

There are 450 Foster carers registered with Hampshire Fostering Service, and around 120 family link Foster carers. About 10% of Foster carers are not fostering at any one time, due to personal or family circumstances. This reflects the national position.

There are around 550 children placed with Hampshire Fosters carers, and another 120 children who are placed with Independent Fostering agencies. This is the same capacity as last year.

There are in the region of 120 children receiving regular respite care with the Family Link service.

Comments and Complaints

All foster carers are aware of the Hampshire County Council Comments and Complaints procedure should they need to use it. Should foster carers wish to complain or comment to an outside body they are invited to contact the Commission for Social Care Inspection on 02380 8213000.

All children who are living in Hampshire foster care placements are provided with information about how to comment or complain about any aspect of their care or supervision.

In the last year, 30 complaints were made against foster carers which were all investigated. Hampshire have an Independent Support Service for Foster carers who are the subject of a complaint or allegation, in recognition of the fact that such an experience can be very stressful for the whole family. The number of complaints has decreased in the last year, and foster carers have increasingly used the complaints support service

Allowances and Fees

All foster carers and family link carers receive an allowance to meet the expense of caring for a child which is based on the national recommended rate. These rates are reviewed annually, and published in order that all foster carers are notified.

Some foster carers and family link carers also receive a fee in recognition of their skills.

Appendix 2