4.7.3 Assessment and Approval of Foster Carers

RELATED CHAPTERS

Assessing Prospective Foster Carers Guidance

AMENDMENTS

This chapter was amended in October 2011 to reflect the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and National Minimum Standards 2011 - in particular the maximum timescale for completing the assessment of applicants for fostering and presenting the assessment to the Fostering Panel has been increased from 6 to 8 months.

Responding to Requests for Information
Initial Contact with Applicants and Criteria for Foster Carers
Case Files and Checks
Health
Preparation Groups
Home Study/Assessment
Personal References
Portfolio and Profile
Presentation to the Fostering Panel
After the Fostering Panel's Recommendation
Representations and Independent Review
After the Approval
Register of Foster Carers

1. Responding to Requests for Information

In relation to every request received, a record will be kept containing the following information:

Full name, date of birth, address and telephone number;
Date of request;
Brief details including the source of interest.

All requests for information made by telephone or letter will be acknowledged by letter within 5 working days. The letter will invite the prospective applicant to an information event, or offer an information visit. An information pack will be provided at the information event or visit.

Where the prospective applicant does not attend the information event, attempts will be made to contact the person making the request to learn why they decided not to pursue their interest. A further invitation will be sent, or the case will be considered closed. Where a prospective applicant does not attend following a second invitation the request will be closed.

2. Initial Contact with Applicants and Criteria for Foster Carers

The manager of the Fostering Service will arrange for an initial visit to be made to those who return a completed Enquiry Form.

This will take place within 14 days of receipt of the application form.

Prior to the first visit, a check will be made to see if the prospective applicant is known to the Children's Social Care.

The manager of the Fostering Service will consider all initial visit write-ups and applications will proceed without the written agreement of this manager.

Monthly statistics will be kept by the Fostering Service of the number of enquiries made and the outcomes of these enquiries.

In considering applications to foster, all applicants will be judged against the competencies needed to foster as set out in the BAAF Form F.

Marital Status

Applications will be considered from married couples, unmarried couples or single people. In the case of couples, there is no minimum requirement on the length of the marriage. In all cases however, the Panel will need to be satisfied about the stability of the relationship.

Religion

Applications will be considered from people of any or no religious persuasion.

Race

Applications will be considered from people of any race or culture

Age

The minimum age for foster carers is 21 years. There is no set maximum age, and applicants' suitability will depend on the type of resource they are offering. In normal circumstances foster carers will be expected to retire at age 70, and applicants aged 68 or over will not be deemed suitable.

Sex

Application will be considered from people of either sex.

Sexuality

Applications will be considered from people of any sexuality.

Employment

Applicants do not need to be in part or full-time employment and no one will be excluded solely on the grounds that they are unemployed. If both applicants work full-time then consideration will need to be given to whether they have time to foster.

Health

All applicants will be required to have a full medical and undergo any further tests/checks that may be required by the agency's medical adviser.

Where individuals smoke it will be necessary to assess how this would impact on children placed, and could mean that an applicant is not suitable to foster.

Criminal Convictions

Anyone who has been cautioned or convicted of an offence against or involving a child, including a specified offence under Schedule 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, will be precluded from fostering.

Other convictions will not necessarily preclude an application, but this will depend on the seriousness of the offence, how long ago it was committed and the context of the offence.

Employees

Applications will not be accepted from employees of the borough's Children's Social Care.

Residence in the United Kingdom

Applicants do not have to have British Citizenship, but should normally be resident in the United Kingdom and must have a right to work in the UK.

Child Minding

In determining the number of children a prospective foster carer should be approved for (up to a maximum of three), the number and ages of children being child-minded will be taken into account.

Accommodation

Children aged 10 years and over must only share bedrooms with children of the same sex. Ideally, all children should have a separate bedroom. However, consideration will be given to room sharing depending on the age of the children, their needs, the size of the room, their views and wishes and other factors.

Pets

In determining the suitability of the household, the question of whether any household pets pose a danger or health risk to a child, will be taken into account. Where a dog comes within the definition of a dangerous dog as defined by the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (as amended), this will automatically disqualify a household from being approved.

Preparation Groups and Training

All applicants will be expected to attend preparation groups before their application is presented to Panel. In addition all approved applicants will be expected to attend a minimum of 3 days training each year.

Attendance at Panel

All applicants will be invited and actively encouraged to attend Panel, when their application is being presented. The decision to attend rests with the applicants and a wish not to attend will not prejudice fair consideration of an application.

All these checks should be recorded, including the outcome and the date when each check was made.

3. Case Files and Checks

Once an initial visit has been signed off by the manager of the Fostering Service, a new case file should be opened for the prospective foster carer.

The checks on the applicant and all members of the household and frequent visitors over 10 will be actioned by the clerical staff in the Fostering Service who will write to the Health Trust, Education Authority and Children's Social Care for the area where the applicants live. The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure form will also be completed and sent.

Where the applicant has made a previous application to foster or adopt, the relevant agency must be asked to confirm in writing the outcome of the application.

The staff of the Fostering Service will record the dates when the checks were sent and the dates when replies were received.

The replies to the checks should be placed in the confidential section of the case record.

4. Health

All applicants must agree to have a medical with a written report being obtained from the GP on their health and any other relevant health issues. Written advice from the Medical Adviser to the Fostering Panel should be obtained and referred to in the report to the Fostering Panel. Where the applicant's GP has expressed concerns or where clarification of the implications of any health issues is required, detailed advice must be sought from the Medical Adviser to the Fostering Panel at an early stage and the implications fully discussed with the applicant and in the report.

5. Preparation Groups

The attendance of applicants at preparation groups will form part of the assessment of their suitability as foster carers.

The Fostering Service will set up a calendar of meetings which will provide a rolling programme of preparation.

Preparation meetings will usually be planned to enable applicants to have at least 4 weeks' notice of their date and venue so as to encourage extensive participation.

Written invitations will be sent out to applicants.

Preparation groups provide an opportunity for the Fostering Service to find out more about the applicants and have a clearer idea of their strengths, areas for further work and any concerns which need to be clarified as part of the assessment process.

The groups are also aimed at self-assessment in that they enable applicants to find out more about fostering and help them discover their own strengths and weaknesses.

Applicants are expected to attend all the preparation groups offered before being considered for approval as foster carers. If they miss more than two sessions they will be expected to repeat the entire course. If they miss only two sessions and have shown a good understanding of the issues covered in the other sessions it may be possible, if the manager agrees, for this material to be covered in the remaining home assessment.

A report by the facilitators of the groups will be included in the assessment report presented to the Fostering Panel.

6. Home Study/Assessment

A family placement worker will be allocated to carry out a home study/assessment of the applicant.

The time taken to complete the assessment and present the report of the assessment to the Fostering Panel after the applicant has completed a formal application will be no more than eight months unless the need for additional work with the prospective foster carers is identified.

The home study/assessment can run in parallel with the applicant's attendance at preparation groups.

Applicants may withdraw from the assessment process before it is completed. In addition, where an issue arises during the course of an assessment which requires a decision as to the future direction of the assessment and this cannot be resolved by discussion between the family placement worker and the applicant or by reference to the manager of the Fostering Service, this can be referred at an early stage to the Fostering Panel for advice.

All assessments of potential foster carers will follow the format of the BAAF Form F assessments, including the competency element. The suitability of the accommodation must also be assessed and a health and safety checklist completed including an assessment of risk posed by any pets in the household. Any issues that arise from the check should be recorded on the Form F with an agreed plan of action established.

For detailed guidance in relation to the assessment, please see Assessing Prospective Foster Carers Guidance.

The completed Form F (which should contain all material that will be presented to Panel) should be shared with and signed by the applicant.

7. Personal References

Two written personal references must be obtained from adults who have known the applicant(s) for at least two years, who are not related to them and who live within a reasonable travelling distance of them.

The assessing family placement worker will seek written references and also interview the referees personally. A third, written reference must be sought from a wider family member, who will also be interviewed.

A written reference must be obtained from the applicant's current employer and from past employers where the applicant has been employed (or volunteered) to work with children in any capacity.

A written reference must also be sought from previous partners (who have lived at the same address in a one-to-one relationship). Consideration will be given to waiving this where undertaking it could place someone at risk, or reasonable efforts to locate a previous partner have proved unsuccessful.

Where there are school-aged children in the applicant's household a written or verbal reference must be sought from their school.

References are confidential and should not be shared with applicants unless specific permission has been given to do this.

8. Portfolio and Profile

As part of the assessment process applicants will be expected to put together a small portfolio to evidence how they meet the fostering competencies. This will be done in partnership with the family placement worker.

Applicants will also be asked to provide a written profile to introduce a fostered child to members of the foster family and the foster home. The information should also contain house rules, routines, names of pets, information about how the foster family has fun and any other information to convey what it would be like for a child coming into the household. Applicants may choose to do this in the form of a family book with visual and written information.

9. Presentation to the Fostering Panel

10. After the Fostering Panel's Recommendation

After the Fostering Panel has considered the report and made a written recommendation, this will be sent to the Designated Manager (Foster Carer Approval) who will make a decision as to the approval of the foster carers based on the Panel's recommendation. Where the application is approved, the nature and any terms of the approval must be also specified in writing.

If a decision is made to approve a foster carer, written notice of the decision and the terms of the approval will be sent to the foster carer as soon as practicable by the staff of the Fostering Service. A copy should also be placed on the foster carer's case record.

11. Representations and Independent Reviews

11.1 Early Decisions not to Proceed

Where a decision is taken not to proceed with an enquiry from the outset, or at the early stages of an application, the applicant(s) should be informed in writing of the decision and the reasons for not pursuing their enquiry.

If they wish to appeal they should put their appeal in writing to the Fostering Service Manager, setting out the reasons why they consider their application should proceed.

The Fostering Service Manager may then:

Confirm the original decision;
Overturn the original decision;
Agree to a re-assessment;
Agree to meet the applicant(s) before deciding on (a), (b) or (c).

If the applicants remain dissatisfied with the way the appeal was handled, they may complain using the Council's Complaints Procedure.

Where an application has progressed to the point of completion or near completion before a decision is taken that the applicant(s) would not be suitable, the applicant(s) can request that a full report is completed and presented to the Fostering Panel.

11.2 Decision to Refuse made by the Fostering Panel

For further information, see also Fostering Panel Procedure.

If a decision is made to refuse an application for approval, written notice of the decision together with the reasons and a copy of the Fostering Panel's recommendation will be sent to the applicant within 7 days of the decision being made. The applicant will be advised that if he or she wishes to challenge the decision, representations should be submitted either in person or in writing to the next available Fostering Panel or to apply for an Independent Review (undertaken by BAAF). See Appendix 6, Independent Review Mechanism Protocol of Fostering Panel Procedure.

If the applicant decides to challenge the decision via the Fostering Panel, the Panel Clerk must receive notification of the applicants wish to attend Panel or any written representations from them within 28 days of the date of the written notice of the decision.

If no written notification or representations are received within this period, the decision to refuse the application can be confirmed.

If written representations are made within the period, the matter must be referred to the Fostering Panel for further consideration - see Fostering Panel Procedure

After considering the representations, the Panel will make further recommendations either confirming or amending their previous views and the Agency Decision Maker will consider these before a final decision is made.

Written notice of the final decision, together with reasons, must be sent to the applicant within 7 working days of the Panel meeting. A copy of the report to the Panel, the Panel's recommendation and the decision to refuse an application must be retained on the applicant's case record.

12. After the Approval

Where an application is approved, the foster carer will be allocated a Supervising Social Worker (Fostering) who may not be the same as the social worker who completed the assessment.

The allocated Supervising Social Worker will request the foster carer to sign a Foster Care Agreement between the Fostering Service and the foster carer, which contains the information the foster carer needs to carry out his or her functions as a foster carer effectively. The foster carer will be given two copies for signature, and will retain one signed copy. The other will be kept on the foster carer's case record, together with the report and supporting documents presented to the Fostering Panel, a copy of the Panel's recommendation and a copy of the approval decision.

The Foster Care Agreement will contain the following information:

The terms of the foster carer's approval;
The support and training to be provided to the foster carer;
The procedure for the review of the foster carer's approval;
The procedure for placements of children;
The procedure for making representations and complaints;
The requirement to inform the fostering service of any change of circumstance, address or in the household composition, or of any registration as a childminder or application to adopt or of any offence;
The requirements in relation to confidentiality;
The procedures for behaviour management and unauthorised absences of children placed with the foster carer including the ban on corporal punishment;
The procedures for informing the family placement worker of the child's progress and any significant events relating to the child;
The need to give 28 days' notice in writing of they wish to cease fostering.

New foster carers will also be given their personal copy of the Foster Carer Hand-Book, which covers policies, procedures, guidance, legal information and insurance details.

The allocated Supervising Social Worker will continue to provide support to the foster carer up to, during and after all placements.

13. Register of Foster Carers

The manager of the Fostering Service will maintain a register of all approved foster carers containing the following particulars:

The name, address, date of birth, sex and ethnic origin of each foster carer;
The date of approval and of each review of the approval;
The current terms of the approval;
The name, address, date of birth of each person with whom a child is placed who is a relative or friend (but not an approved foster carer) and who has entered an agreement to provide care for the child placed, together with the date and terms of the agreement.

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