HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
Agenda Item
No.
FOSTERING SERVICES TOPIC GROUP
FRIDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2008 AT 2.00PM
3
KINSHIP CARE
Report of the Head of Placement & Provider Services
Author:
Jonathan Fisher, Head of Placement & Provider Services
[Tel: 01992 588043]
Executive Member: Jane Pitman
1.
Purpose of the report
To provide a progress report on the development of Kinship care and
proposals for the team.
Following the report by Hilary Seal on Placements Provision in Hertfordshire
(March 2007), which proposed a number of developments in Family
Placements, agreement was reached to use funding from the so-called
“Mumby money” previously set aside for kinship allowances to set up Family
Group Conferences and a Kinship team.
The term “kinship” has been used in different ways to mean different things.
Kinship care refers to a wide range of arrangements by which a child can be
cared for without being looked after. This will include Private Fostering,
Special Guardianship Orders, Residence Orders as well as much less
formalised arrangements which may or may not be supported by Section 17
funding. Family and Friends care is care provided to children who are looked
after by members of the child’s extended family and friends’ network who have
been approved as foster carers.
The Care Matters/Time for Change White Paper and subsequent Bill presently
going through Parliament stresses the need for local Children Services and
Trusts to support children within their wider family and community network if
they are not able to live with their birth parents. The Bill is expected to provide
improved frameworks for assessing families and friends as carers as well as
broadening the use of Section 17 funding.
Hertfordshire is currently using the term “Kinship” to include the LAC
placement aspect of kinship care which could be misleading as this is
regarded as Family and Friends. However as the intention is to develop the
full kinship service at some stage the term will continue to be used to cover
LAC and non LAC arrangements.
106734183
1
2.
Final outcome
A consultant has been employed to assist in the development of the kinship
team. A workshop was held early in January 2008 and her reports are
attached.
The expected outcome of the service will be
1. Greater use of extended family to care for children as an alternative to
being looked after.
2. Greater proportion of looked after children placed with Family and
Friends foster carers
3. More efficient and expert assessment of Family and Friends carers
where children are in care proceedings leading to more timely court
process.
4. Better support to Friends and Family carers
5. Better outcomes for children particularly in terms of placement stability.
6. Reduced need for Independent Provider Placements
The proposed service is intended to have close links with the new Family
Group Conference service. Families exploring possible solutions will be able
to access advice as to the benefits of the options available to them within
kinship care.
3.
Decision/Action required by the Portfolio Management Group

To note progress and agree the incremental development of the service
as resources become available (see short medium and long term plans
below).

Identify a representative ‘standing group’ of policy and operational
staff/managers to continue development discussions with links to
FGCs
Present levels of funding will provide for a team manager with a small team of
social workers who will operate across the county from the three main office
sites, co-located with the fostering team but closely linked with Assessment
and Locality teams where much of the focus of this work is. The team will take
responsibility for the majority of Family and Friends Foster carers and the
assessment of prospective family and friend carers in Care Proceedings (see
short term plan below)
It must be stressed that the potential for this service to grow is immense and in
deed it may well challenge many of our accepted ways of working, as families
are empowered and social workers take on a more facilitative approach. For
this reason it is important to keep the service under review and consider its
future management structure
106734183
2
4.
Background information
A number of practice, policy and legislative initiatives are combining so that
Hertfordshire CSF needs to provide a more proactive Kinship service and
provision to support children and young people within their families and
communities.
Funding is provided which is intended to achieve better outcomes for children
as well as reducing the need to purchase independent provider placements.
This will link with Family Group Conferences.
A consultant report was commissioned which was followed by a workshop of
senior and middle managers
5.
Main body of Report
The following is adapted from the workshop report:
What the team will need to do?
 Assess potential carers, with the capacity and skills to ‘fast-track’
assessments when there are proceedings
 Present carers to panel where children are looked after and carers
need to be approved.
 Support /monitor/ review carers where appropriate and /or required
 The Public Law Outlines, and the anticipated increase in costs of
proceedings in public law, are likely to mean that more ‘kinship’ or
relative arrangements will be explored before proceedings are
instituted.
Planning for the short to long term
In the short term
 It will complete assessments, including viability assessments working
closely with and in support of assessment and Locality teams
 Private Fostering Assessments and monitoring
 Support, train and monitor Friends and Family Carers
In the medium term
 Undertake assessments for Residence Orders and complete
Residence Order reviews
 SGOs are currently held in Adoption Support—(-if Kinship Team has
support function, could they transfer also?)
106734183
3
In the Long term
 There will be stable on-going arrangements, where children are not
looked after, where this team could be case holding.
 Consistency and clarity of remit needed.
What tools/models are there?
 Tools are either BAAF/Fostering Network forms or Assessment
Framework –both have shortcomings and do not seem ‘fit’ for this
particular assessment task.
 There is no consistency across the county about what forms and
formats are to be used for different ‘kinship’ circumstances.
 No model for viability assessment, and no consistency about who
should be completing viability assessments.
 FGCs, or a similar family meeting could be mechanism by which
resources in the family can be identified, including early consideration
of potential alternative carers when it appears that parents need
additional support to care for their children and /or it appears that the
child may need to be cared for by someone other than his/her parents.
 Some authorities are further down the track with kinship care and could
offer ‘what works’ examples.
Support Function. What should this include?
 Sign-posting and advocacy to other universal and targeted services
 Opportunities to attend groups, develop networks, contact helpful
organisations
 Link-worker identified
 Financial help
 Respite arrangements
 Learning opportunities, access to formal training
 Advocacy/support to access services to assist the child (therapeutic
interventions)
 Reviews of the arrangements.
 A contact point to try and avoid crises.
106734183
4
 Help for the parents of the child.
Strong message that services/support should be needs based, and should not
depend on legal status of the arrangement, but that “not everyone will get
everything”
Any financial support should be equitable, transparent and not offer incentives
or perverse incentive to favour one legal option over another.
Next Steps
 Identify a representative ‘standing group’ of policy and operational
staff/managers to continue development discussions
 Agree language (kinship care, relative care, family and friends etc)
 Have communication strategy to provide information to all stakeholders,
(workers, families)
 Provide information
 Recruit team manager
 Develop/ implement assessment tools that are fit for purpose and
reflect good practice
 Develop procedures—who does what, business planning
 Agree support levels/ financial arrangements
6. Links and synergies between Area Services and the Strategic Core, and
across the Portfolios
7.
Financial implications
Presently £225K is available for 2008-09. This will enable the team to be
set up, but will be very limited, focusing very much on assessments arising
from the Public Law Order.
It needs to be stressed that while children may be diverted from care their
needs remain considerable due their complex needs and the capacity of
carers to manage. Funding for support needs to be established. The
means of support may be through the Childcare support team presently
funded by Residential services. A budget will need to be agreed and
funded if these children are to succeed in kinship care
It will be necessary to ensure panels are reviewed and that suitable
information is available to children and families and carers as to the service
they could expect.
106734183
5
It will be necessary to work with partner agencies to ensure that priority is
given to children placed within kinship arrangements as well as children
who are looked after.
8.
Implications for CSF Portfolios
Commissioning, Performance and Resources
It will be necessary to keep this service under review and consider the impact
on practice as well as other teams. It may be necessary to de-commission or
reinvest as performance improves.
As the exit route from care will increasingly be through SGOs, ROGs and
related Kinship arrangements it will be necessary to increase allowances and
fund support care arrangements e.g. respite support foster care and the
childcare support team.
Learning and School Effectiveness
Children who are in kinship arrangements or Family and Friends Care are
likely to have the same level of need as Children Looked After. As such it will
be necessary to ensure these children do not miss out due to their change in
status. As Children Looked After are prioritised for admission to school it will
be important to ensure sufficient support and prioritisation for children in
kinship arrangements.
Social Care
Family Placement services will be the lead service but it will be important to
have effective cross service protocols and clarity of role to avoid duplication
and misunderstanding.
Integrated Children’s Services
9.
Conclusion
Team to be established as soon as possible once team manager is in post in
April 2008. Social workers from different fostering and adoption teams have
already expressed interest in joining the team.
Background papers
Kinship Care and Family and Friends Foster Care Briefing Notes
Kinship Care in the context of the Local Authority’s Statutory Duties
Development of Kinship Care Team Draft paper
106734183
6