Placements with Connected Persons - Emergency and Non-Emergency Placements: Procedure and Practice Guidance

Regulation 24 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010, which became effective from 1 April 2011, replaced Regulation 38 (2) of the Fostering Services Regulations 2002, which related to immediate placements of children with relatives and friends not previously approved as foster carers.

Regulation 24(1) provides that where the local authority is satisfied that an immediate placement with a Connected Person is the most appropriate placement for the child notwithstanding that the proposed carers are not approved as foster carers, the carers can have temporary approval for a period of up to 16 weeks provided that an assessment of their suitability under Regulation 24(2) has taken place.

A Connected Person is defined as ‘a relative, friend or other person connected with a child. The latter is someone who would not fit the term 'relative or friend', but who has a pre-existing relationship with the child. It could be someone who knows the child in a more professional capacity such as (for example) a child-minder, a teacher or a youth worker’.

Relative is defined as ‘a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership) or step-parent’.

The deciding factor should be the child’s best interests, the rational for the placement being that the child is placed with a familiar figure in reassuring surroundings. The proposed placement must also be the most suitable for the child.

Regulation 24(2) also provides that the local authority must commence an assessment of the carers as foster carers to be completed before the temporary approval expires, if the placement is to continue beyond the period of the temporary approval – see Section 3, Assessment and Approval of Connected Persons as Foster Carer.

Schedule 4 of the care planning legislation sets out the information that should be gathered during the assessment of a Connected Persons carer. (See Appendix A: SCHEDULE 4 Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010).

This temporary approval can be extended for up to 8 weeks (in addition to the original 16 weeks) (if it is likely to expire before the assessment is completed) or until the outcome of the independent review (if the outcome of the assessment is that the Connected Person is not approved and seeks a review via the Independent Review Mechanism).

Before deciding whether to extend the approval, the Local Authority must consider if the placement is still the most appropriate placement available, and it must be considered by the Fostering Panel.

The provision for the making of emergency placements with Connected Persons and the granting of temporary approval is done on the basis that such placements are made in exceptional circumstances, where the need for a placement ‘could not easily have been foreseen’ and it has not been possible to conduct a full fostering assessment prior to placement. This may include the need for an immediate placement where a child is or would be at risk of Significant Harm if he or she is not removed from home immediately and/or any situation where proceedings are to be instituted.

This means that where an immediate placement is necessary, if a close relative or friend is available the local authority should place the child with them within Regulation 24(2) for a period not exceeding sixteen weeks, provided that the proposed placement is also the most suitable for the child. The person need not be an approved foster carer provided that he or she has signed an agreement and the placement is necessary for the child's welfare.

However, whilst the Connected Persons provisions are designed to cover emergency situations, the legislation also makes clear the duty of the local authority to plan as far as possible, where a placement may be needed. Ideally this process should start as soon as the local authority is aware that a placement may be needed.

Emergency placements should be avoided if at all possible and where temporary approval is granted to carers not yet approved, this is to be strictly time limited. The risk of a child being moved from the placement in which s/he has become settled must be minimised by careful consideration of the appropriateness of a placement before full approval. In some circumstances it may be preferable to use a short term placement with an alternative foster carer which includes appropriate contact between the child and the prospective carer pending the completion of the full foster carer approval process.

The deciding factor should be the child’s best interests, the rational for the placement being that the child is placed with a familiar figure in reassuring surroundings. The proposed placement must also be the most suitable for the child.

In circumstances where a potential carer is known to the child’s parents but not to the child, a child must be introduced to the potential carer and the potential accommodation so that their views can be sought.

A home visit must also be conducted by the child’s social worker in order for the arrangements to be assessed.

The child’s wishes and feelings also need to be obtained as do those of the child’s parents.

A decision should also be made as to there being no obvious barrier to the carer undertaking and completing a foster carer assessment. This should be made on the basis of what information is available, including the information provided by the police, an assessment of the property and taking into account the information set out in schedule 4 (see Appendix A: SCHEDULE 4 Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010), a view must be taken as to whether this information will be available within the time scales, and whether or not it is likely to favour the carer's full approval.

It is important that throughout this process there is a dialogue between the child’s social work team and the family placement team regarding the placement and the suitability of Regulation 24 being used in that particular instance. The family placement team manager, or senior practitioners will be able to assist in this.

If a decision is made to place a child in an emergency placement the child’s social worker must be able to demonstrate the following:

1. The legal avenue being pursued is the most appropriate, and that the other options such as Special Guardianship, Child Arrangements Order or informal arrangement have been considered;
2. The circumstances leading up to the request for the placement have been unforeseen;
3. The child has a pre-existing relationship with the carers or has been introduced to them;
4. The proposed accommodation is suitable, there is enough space and it is known to the child, or the child has had an opportunity to visit the accommodation.

If the above criteria are met, then the Social worker must seek and receive the child’s views about the proposed placement and record these in the Regulation 24 Placements Report (see Appendix B: Regulation 24 Placements Report).

The child’s parents’ views must also be sought about the proposed placement and recorded in the Regulation 24 Placements Report.

The home where it is proposed that the child or young person will live must be visited by the child’s social worker and information obtained about all of the household’s residents and the “nature and quality of the of the relationships between the residents” as well as their views about the proposed placement. This information should be recorded on the Regulation 24 Placements Report.

A vetting and disclosure check from the police must be sent for concerning all of the adults in the house (aged 16 +) and any regular visitors to the property. Any information received must included in the report.

At this stage, full statutory checks, including full DBS checks must be sent for by the child’s social worker, in order to minimise the delay in the time taken to complete the assessment. The DBS forms and the Consent to Disclosure forms must be completed, signed and handed to the business support officer with responsibility for statutory checks for Connected Persons carers.

Appended to the Regulation 24 Placements Report is information that carers taking placements under regulation 24 should be aware of, this should be given out whilst the Regulation 24 report is being completed. A written agreement for Regulation 24 carers is also available and should be signed by the carers and placing social worker (see Appendix B: Regulation 24 Placements Report).

Once the regulation 24 placement report has been completed it must be sent to the Joint Director (Children, Young People and Families) or the Corporate Director, CYPS to agree temporary approval for a maximum of 16 weeks. No emergency placement can be made without a Regulation 24 report being completed and written agreement to temporary approval being granted.

Once the report has been signed and temporary given, the report should be forwarded to the Family Placement Team Manager.

The report will be presented to the next available fostering panel for noting and the placement will be allocated for full assessment.

Once the full assessment is completed, this will be presented to the panel by the child’s social worker and the assessing supervising social worker jointly. This assessment must address all of the issues outlined in schedule 4 of the care planning legislation (see Appendix A: SCHEDULE 4 Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010). The carer will also be invited to attend the panel.

After 16 weeks, the assessment must be presented to panel. If the assessment is completed then the panel can recommend approval in the normal manner. If the assessment is not complete then the panel can recommend an extension of approval for a further 8 weeks only.

If the assessment is not complete by this second deadline then the placement must end and an alternative found.

If the carer being assessed has made a referral to the IRM then approval will continue until the matter has been heard by the IRM (Independent panel).

Unless the circumstances fit the definition of a legitimate Regulation 24 (2) placement as defined above, a child should not be placed with a family member or relative until a full form F assessment has been completed by the fostering service, a positive recommendation having been made by the relevant Panel, and that recommendation having been signed off by the appropriate Agency Decision Maker.

This process will place additional pressure on children's social workers to ensure that plans for their children are robust, up to date, and above all proactive. This may include assessment of relatives for contingency placements, if such placements are seen as the best contingency plan for the child.

Above all, please be aware that any placement made which does not comply with the above is unregulated, and will place the local authority in an indefensible position.

The following examples of poor practice have previously been presented to Fostering Panels as Regulation 38(2) placements and would not and should not be regarded as covered by Regulation 24(2):

• The status of a legitimate private fostering placement being changed to a Regulation 24 placement in order to access fostering allowances;
• A child moved from a local authority carer to a family member as part of the child's Care Plan, but without the fostering service having been notified or requested to undertake an assessment prior to the placement having been made.

The decision to accommodate a child with Connected Persons should not be made for financial reasons, and consideration should be made to other legal options that are available such as Special Guardianship Orders, Child Arrangements Orders or informal arrangements.

In all cases where an assessment is being undertaken under these procedures, social workers must be clear with potential carers that all assessments could be requested for submission for court, and submitted to all relevant parties if proceedings are underway.

Carers should receive the same standard fostering allowances as approved foster carers from the time it is agreed that the placement is a Regulation 24 Placement. Placing social workers should inform the Family Placement Team Manager or Team Leader who will ensure the financial payments are made.

Connected Persons foster carers are entitled to the following allowances:

• Basic foster care allowance (at band 1);
• Initial clothing grant;
• Additional payments for special circumstances;
• Holiday, birthday and Christmas allowances;
• Once fully approved carers will be able to progress through the payments bands as other foster carers can once they have attended initial training.

Connected Persons have the right to the same level of support as all other foster carers approved by Trafford, including:

• Allocated Supervising Social Worker;
• Access to training;
• Support groups;
• Membership of fostertalk on full approval.

Children placed in Connected Persons placements are subject to the same statutory reviewing procedures as other children in care – see Looked After Reviews Procedure.

When a Connected Persons placement is reviewed, consideration should be given as to whether accommodation continues to be in the child’s best interests or whether the placement might, more appropriately, be supported under a Child Arrangements Order or Special Guardianship Order.

Where a viability study is required either as a result of court proceedings or as a consequence of the local authority's decision to consider the requirement to place a child with Connected Persons carers at a later date, the child’s social worker should complete a Viability Request Form (see Appendix C: Viability Request Form) and send this to the fostering inbox and the Fostering Team Manager and Fostering Team Leader. A duty Supervising Social Worker will complete a telephone screening call and record this on the telephone screening form. This will be discussed with the Team Manager / Leader and the child’s social worker and a decision made about whether to proceed to a viability visit.

If a decision is made to proceed with the viability assessment the child’s social worker will arrange a viability visit with the prospective carers and inform the fostering team of the date. This will be allocated to a SSW on duty on the date of the arranged visit so that they can attend the visit along with the child’s social worker. Part A of the Connected Persons Viability Study report (see Appendix E: Connected Persons Viability Study) should be completed by the child care social worker and then sent to SSW allocated prior to the visit so that they have to the case. The child’s social worker will then complete the remaining sections apart from section D. The Supervising Social Worker from the family placement team will complete section D of the report and their part of section G.

If the decision is made not to proceed with a viability visit then a letter must be written to the prospective carer within 10 days of the information being gathered.

It is intended that this will be a collaborative piece of work and the social worker and supervising social worker will need to ensure that they discuss their recommendation with each other at as early a date as possible so as to address any differences that may arise.

When all of the sections of the viability study have been completed, and a recommendation made, the full viability study report should be signed by the assessing social workers.

If the recommendation is to proceed to a full assessment, the assessing supervising social worker will then complete the assessment in consultation with the child’s social worker – see Appendix F: Connected Persons Assessment (For Fostering, Special Guardianship and Child Arrangements Orders). The supervising social will complete sections IV – VIII and their part of section IX. The child’s social worker will complete section I and II and their part of section IX.

Note: the health and safety assessment of the home environment should include, where relevant, an initial risk assessment of any pets together with the environment in which the pet is kept.

If the decision is made not to proceed the prospective carers must be informed in writing within 10 days of the information being gathered.

If conducting a full assessment once all of the information has been collected, the report written and all the checks and references completed, the full report should be presented to the next available fostering panel by both the child’s social worker and the supervising social worker. The applicants must be invited to attend panel.

Once the panel have made a recommendation, the agency decision maker will make the final decision as to whether or not to approve the applicants as carers for the specific child. Notification of the decision will be sent in writing.