Agenda item

Report of the Director of Social Care and Health

Further to Minute No. 20 of 26 September 2017, the Committee considered the report of the Director of Social Care and Health providing information about the Fostering Service and outcomes for children and young people looked after by Sefton M.B.C, from 1 April 2017- 31st March 2018. The purpose of the annual report was to inform the public, Elected Members, partners and staff of the progress and developments in the Service during this period.

The report outlined the regulations and legislation that governed fostering practice; the numbers of fostering households within Sefton; and the difficulties encountered in recruiting sufficient foster carers in order to meet demand.

The Sefton Fostering Service Annual Report, covering the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 was attached to the report.

Members of the Committee asked questions/raised matters on the following issues:-

·         Reference was made to the fact that foster carers received a payment. Was the financial incentive lost when adoption took place?

Adoption was more likely to occur for younger children under the age of 5 and although some foster carers did adopt the children they cared for, this was not the norm. Where adoption or Special Guardianship did occur, the Service often committed to continue with payments until the child reached 18 years of age. Finance would not be a barrier to securing permanency for children.

·         Where large numbers of siblings became available for fostering, were placements vetted to assess their suitability for such a challenge?

It was often a challenge to keep siblings together and this could present a dilemma for the Service as, where appropriate, the Service would want to do this. Support workers were available for foster carers. Sometimes emergency situations could exacerbate problems and the Service endeavoured to plan and match placements appropriately.

·         What was the age range for fostering to take place?

0-18 with “staying put” arrangements for post-18, to enable care leavers to continue to live with their foster carers.

·         What support and guidance was available for children in foster care in schools?

Legislation required a looked after children designated lead in schools and there was now more of an onus on schools to provide support to looked after children. Pupil premium was used to provide support to looked after children, e.g. additional tuition could also be available. The Council had a Virtual Head Teacher and staff to provide support to schools and ensure their duties to looked after children were met.

·         Reference was made to “staying put”, where young people remained living with their foster family after they were 18 years of age.

There was limited statutory guidance in relation to such arrangements, although the Service continued to offer support, as appropriate, as technically, such young people were deemed to be adults.

·         Were young people who were “staying put” able to access support if they chose to enter higher education?

Such young people were automatically entitled to financial support as the foster carers’ income was not taken into consideration. Universities were now becoming more pro-active in their arrangements, supporting care leavers to access places.

·         What arrangements were put into place where there were insufficient numbers of foster carers and what was the cost of this?

Independent fostering agencies were used before residential care was considered and this was likely to cost in the region of £700-800 per week.

RESOLVED:

That the activity that has taken place in relation to fostering in the year 2017 -18 be noted.