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Contents

1. Placement Criteria - General
2. Residential Placement Criteria - within the Borough
3. External Placements Criteria
4. Secure Accommodation Criteria

1. Placement Criteria - General

To be considered for a placement in a Children's Home or Foster Home, the social worker should demonstrate the child meets one of the following criteria (for placements in Children's Homes, there are additional criteria, below):

1. That a child is assessed as in need and requires accommodation to preserve the child's welfare and the whole range of available resources has been considered or previously employed to maintain the child in the community and there is no one who has Parental Responsibility prepared;
2. Or able to provide care and there is no alternative placing possibilities with Connected Persons;
3. That the child will be at risk of harm if he or she is not Accommodated and there are no alternative possibilities with Connected Persons;
4. That the parents, in order to support them where there are difficulties in providing care, require occasional or regular respite and that community based assistance is insufficient to provide the required level of respite and there are no alternative possibilities with Connected Persons;
5. That the child may need to be accommodated by virtue of the requirements to accommodate in the criminal justice system through:
   • P.A.C.E. 1984 regulations,
   • Remands to the local authority,
   • Being subject to a supervision order with a residence requirement.

2.  Residential Placement Criteria - within the Borough

In order for the child to be considered for a residential placement, the social worker must be able to demonstrate the accommodation criteria as outlined above are satisfied; and that one of the following Residential Criteria are also satisfied.

This will only determine that the child is suitable for a residential placement, not for a specific Children's Home. Once the child seems suitable for a residential placement it will be necessary to seek a particular home to meet the child's needs.

1. That a foster placement will not meet the child's needs and the child has an assessed need for a specialist therapeutic service and that such services can only be adequately provided in residential settings.
2. That the child is demonstrably a danger to him/herself or others and the child requires a level of supervision and help that can only be provided in a Children's Home.
3. That residential care is the only alternative to a potential remand in custody, as an alternative to a placement in secure accommodation or as part of a range of alternatives to custodial sentence.
4. That a child or his/her carers has need of short periods of respite and that such respite can best be delivered to meet assessed need in a residential setting.

3. External Placements Criteria

The following criteria apply to the placement of children outside the borough. The criteria should be considered alongside recommendations from Looked After Reviews.

An incident has occurred or a set of circumstances exist that mean that:

Priority 1:

The inborough care network has collapsed or is incomplete or is temporary - leading to the immediate danger of one of the risk factors being met.

Priority 2:

The in borough care network is deteriorating, is incomplete or is temporary - leading to the imminent danger of one of the risk factors being met.

Priority 3:

The in borough care network is fragile, is incomplete or is temporary - leading to the probable danger of one of the risk factors being met.

And there is evidence to suggest that only an external provider can effectively reduce or eliminate the risk factor.

Risk Factors

• Serious risk of Significant Harm to self or others.
• Serious risk of custody.
• Significant, key elements of Care Plan cannot be met by in borough resources (e.g. in respect of cultural, educational, disability or permanency issues).

The decision is to place the child out of area must be approved by the [Nominated Officer], who must be satisfied of the following:

• That the child's wishes and feelings have been ascertained and given due consideration;
• That the placement is the most appropriate placement available for the child and consistent with the Care Plan;
• That relatives have been consulted where appropriate;
• That the area authority has been notified;
• That the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) has been consulted (usually the IRO will discuss with the child after the child has visited the proposed placement).

See External Placements Procedure.

4. Secure Accommodation Criteria

Section 25 of the Children Act 1989 sets out the 'welfare' criteria which must be met before a child Looked After by the local authority may be placed in secure accommodation. There are other, 'criminal', criteria which may apply under section 38(6) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and under section 23 of the Children and Young Person's Act 1969 (remanded to local authority accommodation).

The 'Welfare' criteria are:

• That the child has a history of Absconding (see note below) and is likely to abscond from any other description of accommodation and
• If the child absconds, s/he is likely to suffer Significant Harm, or that
• If the child is kept in any other description of accommodation s/he is likely to injure her/himself or others.

The Designated Manager (Secure Accommodation) may approve such placements for up to 72 hours in an emergency. Only a Court can grant permission for placements beyond 72 hours.

A placement of a child under the age of 13 years can only be made with the approval of the Secretary of State for Education. The case should first be discussed with the Department for Education.

End