Contact Name: Sue Kocaman 01962 847263 [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report summarises activity within the Hampshire fostering service within the last twelve months, and includes, at Appendix A, an update of the action plan following the inspection of the service by the Commission for Social Care Inspection in December 2005, and, at Appendix B, an updated Statement of Purpose for the service.

1.2 A children's version of the Statement of Purpose is available in two age appropriate booklets provided to all children who are looked after.

1.3 The statement of purpose is also available to parents of children who become looked after, and is referred to in a guide for parents which has recently been produced by the service.

1.4 The Care Standards Act 2000 made provision for an annual inspection of all Fostering Services, whether managed by a Local Authority or managed by an Independent Fostering Agency ( IFA). Services are inspected against a set of standards which accompany the Fostering Services Regulations.2002.

1.5 Hampshire's Fostering Service was first inspected in February 2003, then in February 2004, in March 2005 and in December 2005. The most recent inspection was the first time that the service had been inspected against the five outcomes of the Children Act 2004, and, took place only nine months after the previous inspection. The next inspection is due to take place in August 2006.

1.6 The results of the Inspection were favourable, with three areas of the service being commended, and only one statutory recommendation for improvement, and one good practice recommendation. These results were reported to the Policy Review Committee and the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services in March 2006, along with the resulting action plan.

1.7 The purpose of the inspection is to ensure that the fostering service meets the needs of our mosr vulnerable children. The service supports aims one, four and five of the Corporate Strategy by:

1.7.1 Maximising life opportunities for children who are looked after by ensuring that good quality family based care placements are provided for Hampshire's children resulting in good outcomes for children who are looked after.

1.7.2 Building strong and safe communities by enabling children who are looked after to remain in their local communities and to fully participate in and contribute to the life of those communities.

1.7.3 Improving services by providing a benchmark against which Hampshire can improve its performance and continually develop the service.

1.7.4 The service supports all five outcomes of `Every Child Matters' and the Children Act 2004, by ensuring that services are managed safely and provide safe and secure care for children; that children's health needs are met and promoted, and that they are encouraged and enabled to achieve their educational potential, at all stages of their lives and into adulthood. The service promotes the development of leisure and social activities which enable all children to participate fully in the life of the community, and enables children who have special needs, physical or emotional. to access services which will enhance their independence and support them to take up careers and employment which are rewarding and fulfilling.

2 Background

2.1 The County Council's fostering service comprises of a strategic and an operational service manager and four team managers who in turn manage in the region of 85 staff, made up of qualified and unqualified personnel. One team takes a lead role in recruiting and assessing foster carers across Hampshire, whilst the remaining 3 district teams support and supervise existing foster carers.

2.2 The service also employs a marketing and recruitment officer, a training officer, and a fostering panel co-ordinator who oversees the six fostering panels across the County. An independent service is commissioned to support foster carers who have an allegation or complaint made against them, and the County also commissions placements from Independent Fostering Agencies (IFA's) in response to specific need (such as a young person at risk of being sent to a young offenders institution requiring a family based placement or a mother and baby requiring placement together), or in response to a general pressure on placements in the County.

2.3 Hampshire's fostering service has 590 children placed with foster carers and 120 children using the Family link service at any one time. Foster carers may be recruited into a general pool of `County carers' or be recruited as `Family or friends' carers, to care for a specific child or children.

2.4 In addition the County Council supports relatives who offer to care for vulnerable children outside of the care system, through its kinship care scheme.

2.5 99% of children under the age of ten and 87% of all children who are looked after, are placed with families as opposed to living in residential care. The ability of the County to offer stable placements which last as long as required by the child or children, is directly related to the number of families who are available to foster, and the degree of choice which can be exercised in placing a child or children.

2.6 The stability of a placement has a direct impact on the child's educational, health, social and emotional needs being met. Making the right placement is therefore pivotal to the child achieving the desired outcomes, and moving successfully into adulthood.

2.7 In 2004, following a review of the service by the Treasurer's consultancy team, recommendations were made to invest in the fostering service. This was in recognition of the fact that the ability to recruit and retain foster carers had to be strengthened if the County was going to be able to meet the needs of children who are looked after without relying increasingly, on the Independent Fostering Agencies.

2.8 A series of pilot developments were agreed, and some of these have now been embedded permanently in the service. Others are still being evaluated and one ( to provide a distinct Out of Hours service for foster carers ) is still to begin.

2.9 The initial investment plan seems to have brought some stability to the service. Over the last 3 years, the number of looked after children has remained stable, the number of foster carers has increased slightly, with a net increase in the number of foster carers of about 40 per annum. This is a significant improvement on the previous situation, where there was a net decrease each year in the number of foster carers.

2.10 Foster carers have worked diligently, through local support groups and the county wide, Hampshire Fostering Network (HFN), to improve services and systems, which in turn has led to improved morale and a feeling from foster carers that their contribution to the outcomes for looked after children are fully valued.

2.11 A bi annual award ceremony, to which all foster carers who have fostered for the County for between 15 and 35 years for the County were invited, was held earlier this year at Hillier's Arboretum. Various social events organised and funded by the HFN and supported by senior managers, the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services and other elected members, have taken place. Foster carers very much appreciate such recognition of their contribution, as well as the more tangible rewards of improved skill fees, a reasonable level of allowances, access to training, support during difficult times, and ultimately, the reward of seeing children move on to a permanent family, or returning home, or becoming independent.

2.12 Continued investment in the service is crucial to the ability of the County Council to meet the needs of looked after children by offering a choice of placements, in order that children can be found the placement which best meets their needs. Good matching of child to foster carer means that placements are more likely to be stable because the right placement can be made in the first instance. Current performance indicators show that placement stability is an area which requires considerable attention and an important element of that improvement will be our ability to continue increasing the number and range of foster placements.

2.13 The fostering service now has a firm foundation on which to build, with all the key elements in place to recruit, train, support and supervise foster carers. This was confirmed by the recent inspection by the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

3 Inspection outcomes

3.1 The inspection summary concluded that the service performs well in the following areas:

`The service offers a good level of support to all its carers. Regular supervision sessions are undertaken by family placement social workers and young people are appropriately placed in safe and secure environments in which carers promote young peoples mental and emotional wellbeing. The service promotes the health development and educational achievement of young people. The service values diversity, promotes equality for the children, young people and their families. Case records were viewed and were comprehensive. The foster service provides respite care for children with disabilities and is positive in recognising that parents remain the main carers for these young people. The kinship care service supports young people and families and enables them to remain out of the Looked after Children system. The service promotes contact between young people and their families. The service has sufficiently qualified and experienced staff to ensure that the needs of children and young people are met.'

3.2 The service is deemed to have made improvements in the following areas since the last inspection in March 2005.

`Since the last inspection the service has recruited a significant number of foster carers, at the time of the inspection there was a recruitment drive to recruit and approve another 150 carers to enable better placement choice. The staff recruitment process now ensures that documentary evidence of qualifications are on file and that references are verified with direct contact. Carers said that they were provided with all the relevant information before a young person is placed. Supervisions of carers were being undertaken routinely. Carers reported that payments were being made in a timely manner. Young people spoke of being visited by their social workers, although they were not being routinely consulted by the services family placement social workers. The matching process has improved with new forms being in place to ensure appropriate placements are sought.'

3.3 The service was considered to be able to make improvements in the following areas:

`The foster service needs to ensure that annual reviews of foster carers approvals take place in accordance with the regulation. The service was aware that this was not being met and managers spoke of prioritising this. The service should ensure that young people are being consulted routinely by family placement workers and record any contact or consultation with children and young people. The service managers informed the inspectors that safe caring booklets would be provided to all carers, in addition to the guidance and training already provided.'

4 Conclusions

4.1 An action plan was developed and presented to Policy Review Committee and the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services in March 2006. The plan has been progressed so that the statutory requirement, to ensure that foster carers reviews are carried out within required timescales, has now been met, and monitoring arrangements put in place to ensure continued compliance. The good practice recommendation has also been acted upon and will be monitored at children's and foster carer's statutory reviews. The updated action plan is appended to this report (Appendix One)

4.2 The Statement of Purpose has been updated to reflect increases in staffing and is appended to this report (Appendix Two)

5 Legal Implications

None

6 Financial Implications

6.1 There are no financial implications resulting form the inspection, which have not already been taken into account in considering the programme of investments to the service. These investments are part of a strategic budget plan to develop and improve family placement services for children and include such initiatives as enhanced fee paying schemes for foster carers.

7 Personnel Implications

None

8 Impact assessment

The inspection of Hampshire's fostering service confirms that issues of diversity and equality are appropriately valued and promoted.

9 Crime prevention issues

None

10 Views of the Local County Councillor

Not applicable. This report refers to County wide services and there are no specific issues relating to any one Councillor's Electoral Division.

11 Recommendations

It is recommended that the Executive Member for Children's Services notes:

11.1 The contents of the report which provides key information about activity within the Fostering Service provided by Hampshire County Council in the last year.

11.2 Notes progress in respect of the action plan resulting from the inspection carried out by the Commission for Social Care Inspection in December 2005, and presented to Policy Review Committee and the Executive Lead Member on 14 March 2005.

11.3 Approves the Statement or Purpose of the Fostering Service.

11.4 Asks for a further report in due course on progress in respect of investment in the fostering service

Appendix A

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL FOSTERING SERVICE

ACTION PLAN IN RESPONSE TO INSPECTION

Update: Two additional Senior Practitioner posts have been recruited. Monthly reports have been presented to the family placement managers meeting which demonstrate continued improvement in reviews being carried out on time. In two districts no reviews are outstanding. In the third district reviews in respect of 30 cases are still overdue. This is due to staff vacancies, senior practitioner vacancy and a move of managers.

All outstanding reviews in this district are to have a review date allocated before the end of July, and will be carried out as a matter of priority by the newly appointed Senior Practitioner.

Overall performance will continue to be monitored by the managers meeting.

Update: Managers and staff have now been notified of this action and carers' supervision forms have been amended to incorporate reference to visits to children. The role of the fostering service in keeping children safe has been emphasised through this and other, related actions. Compliance will be monitored at children's Statutory Reviews and Foster carers household reviews.

Hampshire Fostering Service Statement of Purpose Appendix B

Aims and Objectives and Principles of Care

Hampshire County Council Children's 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. Such a person, if suitable, could care for the child as an approved foster carer.

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 is 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

3 senior practitioners

34 qualified social workers

1 training officer

1 marketing co-ordinator

1 commissioning officer/panel adviser

10.5 social services assistants

7.25 family link co-ordinators

17 foster care support workers

Administrative support staff

Please see staffing chart attached.

Foster carers

There are 490 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 590 children placed with Hampshire Fosters carers, which represents a slight increase on last year's capacity. There are another 120 children who are placed with Independent Fostering agencies, and 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 B

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 rel2ied 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