Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report :

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) Summary of Decision Area:

1.1. National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services require that the registered provider (in the case of a local authority, the elected members) formally approves the Statement of Purpose of the Fostering Service, and reviews, updates and modifies it where necessary, at least annually.

2) Issues Covered in Report:

2.1. The aim of this report therefore is to present the updated Statement of Purpose of Hampshire's Fostering Service (see Appendix 1) for approval by the Executive Member, highlighting the key parts of the document that have been revised since it was last presented.

2.2. Provision of fostering services in Hampshire supports the Corporate Priorities and enables and encourages all children and young people who are looked after by Hampshire Children's Services to stay safe, be healthy, enjoy and achieve, provide a positive contribution, and achieve economic well-being, in line with the Every Child Matters five outcomes (Children Act 2004).

3) Recommendation:

3.1. It is recommended that the Executive Member for Children and Families approves the updated Statement of Purpose of the Fostering Service.

MAIN REPORT

1) Purpose of the Report:

1.1. To agree the updated Statement of Purpose of the Fostering Service and highlight the key parts of the document that have been revised since it was last presented.

2) Contextual Information:

2.1. The Fostering Services Regulations (2002) state that "The fostering service provider (in this instance, Hampshire Children's Services Department) shall compile, in relation to the fostering service, a written statement, referred to as The Statement of Purpose, which shall consist of:

i. A statement of the aims and objectives of the fostering service; and

ii. A statement as to the services and facilities to be provided by the fostering service.

2.2. The fostering provider is responsible for providing a copy of the Statement of Purpose to Ofsted, the body which inspects the fostering services, and the following key stakeholders:

i. Any person working for the purposes of the fostering service;

ii. Any foster parent or prospective foster parent of the fostering service;

iii. Any child placed with a foster parent by the fostering service; and

iv. The parent of any such child.

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

2.4. The proposals in this report are expected to support the County Council's corporate priorities as follows:

"Making Hampshire safer and more secure for all" - by enabling as many of Hampshire's children as possible, who are looked after, to remain in their local communities and to fully participate in and contribute to the life of those communities.

"Maximising well-being" - by ensuring that Hampshire's children who are looked after are provided with good quality family based care placements that meet their needs and enable them to move successfully through their transition to independence.

"Enhancing our quality of place" - through provision of high quality services that target those children who are the most vulnerable.

2.5 Provision of fostering services, as described within the Statement of Purpose, supports all five outcomes of the Children Act 2004 by ensuring every child or young person who is looked after in Hampshire is securely attached to a carer who has the skills to meet their needs and encourage each child to reach their full potential.

3) Key Issues:

3.1. Revisions to the Statement of Purpose are highlighted within section 4 below.

4) Revisions to the Statement of Purpose:

4.1. The Fostering Service benefits from having staff with a range of appropriate qualifications relevant to the work they are undertaking within the service. Staff also have considerable experience of working with children and families. This is now reflected in the Statement of Purpose.

4.2. There has been a gradual increase in the number of foster carers approved over the last year, with 520 sets of carers now fostering for Hampshire. Of the current population of 520 carers, 155 are family and friend's carers who are registered to care for specific children known, or related, to them. In addition, there are currently 97 family link carers, which is a slight decrease over the period.

4.3. There has been a substantial increase in the number of children placed with Hampshire's foster carers (from 544 to 629) since the publication of the last Statement of Purpose. However, since then, there are only an additional 10 children in care, so this demonstrates a shift, whereby a greater proportion of children are now placed with foster carers.

4.4. Fostering Allowances are now based on The Fostering Network Recommended Rates rather than the national minimum rates. The Fostering Network Recommended Rates are based on the real costs of looking after someone else's child. Family Link allowances are based on an hourly, overnight or weekly rate depending on the child's individual care plan.

4.5. Hampshire Fostering Service operates a skill fee scheme designed to attract and retain foster carers by recognising their skills and competencies. From April 2008 a new skill fee scheme came into operation which replaced the existing scheme.

5) Consultation:

5.1. The Fostering Service in Hampshire prides itself on the level of consultation that takes place on an ongoing basis with key stakeholders. Liaison with the Hampshire Fostering Network (HFN) for example, referred to in the Statement of Purpose, is regular and ongoing to ensure that any developments take foster carer's views into account. General comments and compliments are always welcome from foster carers and are fed back through Household Reviews of carers, via Family Placement Social Workers, through Children's Social Workers or children themselves. All feedback assists the department in building on good practice and developing the service.

6) Outline of Options:

6.1. Not applicable

7) Option Analysis / Comparison:

7.1. Not applicable

8) Conclusions:

8.1. This report presents the updated Statement of Purpose of Hampshire's Fostering Service (see Appendix 1).

8.2. Ongoing work is taking place to develop Hampshire's Fostering Service and the Statement of Purpose will be revised at appropriate times in order to reflect these developments.

9) Recommendations:

Please see Executive Summary for recommendations

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

COMPREHENSIVE RISK & IMPACT ASSESSMENT:

A race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

Hampshire Fostering Service Statement of Purpose

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 Providers 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 operationally led by a County Services Manager for Fostering. Under this role, there is a county wide recruitment team and three district teams. The fostering recruitment team receives information about specific children requiring family placements, and general information about the needs of children requiring family based care, in order to achieve a strategic approach to recruitment.

The three district teams are located in offices across Hampshire. Each team covers the following geographical areas:

North & East Area - Basingstoke, Alton, Aldershot and Petersfield

South East Area - Fareham, Gosport and Havant

Western Area - 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 Primary Care Trust 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 a 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 Provider.

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 a child's link for long term fostering to specific carers. Fostering panel membership is strictly regulated.

Enquiries from the public about fostering, including enquiries from people who are interested in becoming a foster carer, are received by staff at Hantsdirect, a Customer Contact Centre. All calls are answered by trained staff who are able to respond quickly and efficiently. Assessment of prospective foster carers is undertaken by qualified social workers.

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. There is also a Service Level Agreement with an external organisation to provide independent support for carers in the event of an allegation or complaint being made against them (see Comments and Complaints).

Out of office hours support and guidance is available through foster care support workers and Hampshire Out-of-Hours Service.

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 the chair and deputy have quarterly meetings with the Deputy Director (Children and Families), Head of County Services, and Family Placement Service Manager 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 enabling foster carers to develop their skills and knowledge. Foster carers are also supported in accessing the NVQ3 in childcare. Hampshire Fostering Service has a dedicated trainer for foster carers who is responsible for providing a comprehensive programme of training ensuring that foster carers receive the training they require in order to provide high quality care.

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.

The Fostering Handbook, which is in the process of being updated, provides a comprehensive guide for all foster carers in the county, including providing access to all relevant procedures and guidance.

Staffing

1 Head of County Services

1 Operational Service Manager

4 Team Managers (3 of whom are full time)

4 Senior Practitioners

38 Qualified Social Workers (25 of whom are full time)

1 Training and Development Officer

1 Marketing Co-ordinator

1 Commissioning Officer/Panel Adviser (at Team Manager Level)

11 Social Services Assistants

8 Family Link Co-ordinators (2 of whom are full time)

13 Foster Care Support Workers (all of whom are part time)

Administrative Support Staff

Please see staffing chart attached.

Staff at Hampshire Fostering Service hold a range of appropriate qualifications relating to the work they are undertaking within the service. The majority of staff also have considerable experience working with children and families in local authority and/or voluntary sectors. In addition to the Service's permanent staff, there is a pool of qualified social workers who carry out work such as foster care assessments. All casual or self employed workers have the necessary qualifications and experience relevant to the work they are undertaking.

Foster Carers

There are currently 520 foster carers registered with Hampshire Fostering Service (of whom 155 are Family and Friends carers), and an additional 97 Family Link foster carers who offer planned, family based respite care to children with disabilities. About 10% of foster carers are not fostering at any one time, due to personal or family circumstances. This reflects the national position.

As at the end of January 2009 there were 629 children placed with Hampshire fosters carers. Of these 629, 200 children were placed with Family and Friends carers. There were another 166 children placed with Independent Fostering Providers, and 86 children receiving regular respite care with the Family Link Scheme.

Comments and Complaints

All foster carers are aware of the Hampshire County Council Comments and Complaints procedure should they need to use it. If foster carers wish to complain or comment to an outside body they are invited to contact Ofsted on 023 8082 1300.

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.

Since January 2008, 51 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. In the last year 20 foster carers have used the Independent Complaints Support Service.

Allowances and Fees

All foster carers receive an allowance to meet the expense of caring for a child. Fostering Allowances are based on The Fostering Network Recommended Rates reflect the real costs of looking after someone else's child.

Family Link carers receive an allowance based on either an hourly rate if providing day care, an overnight rate, or a weekly rate depending on the child's individual care plan. These rates are reviewed annually, and published in order that all foster carers and family link carers are notified.

Hampshire Fostering Service also operates a skill fee scheme designed to attract and retain foster carers by recognising their skills and competencies. As from April 2008 there are three skills levels, level 2 and level 3 attracting a fee per child, each aligned to criteria and evidenced outcomes for children in placement.

Hampshire Fostering Service

Who is Who?

Vanessa Courtney, Head of County Services

Ashburton Court East, Winchester T: 01962 846539

Cathi Hadley , County Operational Service Manager - Fostering

Four Chimneys Family Centre, Winchester T: 07718 146838