CYP(3) PCC 04

Children and Young People Committee

Inquiry into: The Placement of Children into Care

Response from Conwy County Borough Council Children’s Services

When considering such decisions about whether a child should be placed in care, there is a process to follow which includes a Core Assessment. This document is completed which includes gathering information about the child and their family from a whole range of sources, including health and education. The decision is presented to a manager, and where possible discussed at an accommodation panel or legal planning meeting, where proposed plans and resources are debated. Following this, there is a clear care planning process led by a senior practitioner whose role is to facilitate care-planning meetings, and scrutinise the quality of the plans.

Using that information

The CCSR is used to search for all placements both in house and externally commissioned care options. The main agency using the database is Children’s Services, and there are plans to train professionals in health and education on the use of the resource. The database is particularly helpful to search for placements externally, however we are struggling to benefit fully on the value of the resource internally as this requires regular updates of vacancies, and currently the system is not linked to our internal mechanisms for keeping foster placement vacancies current, therefore there is supplication here.

Conwy have signed up to using the agreed North Wales placement agreement, and within this document there is a risk matrix. This should be completed in full at the making of a placement or before.

\corp.conwy.gov.uk\data\SCandH\SS\Fostering and Adoption\DUTY, respite,weekly placements\Placement Request\BLANK Placement Request.doc

At the making of a request, the placement officer will negotiate an appropriate match. Conwy have recently launched a new permanence policy, which strengthens arrangements for planning in foster care. (Attached)

The placement request document includes a risk matrix, which must be completed before a child is placed. The information available is shared with the foster carers, and a safer caring agreement is written based on identified and possible risks. This information is regularly reviewed at a number of points including LAC reviews of the child, Supervision sessions with the foster carer, statutory visits to the child, or formal annual reviews of the foster carers.

Children often participate in the placement process where there are planned moves. There are booklets available for children to look at prior to move, which contain photos and details of the prospective carers household etc. This is less evident when emergency placement are made, and the importance of consultation with children before a review or visit is essential in these cases where children have had a limited say in where they will live.

There is much improvement to be made in this area. If given clear direction and full information, then foster carers will manage most of the day-to-day decisions regarding a young person in foster care. Each school has a designated Looked After Teacher, and together with the support of the Looked After Children Coordinator, the transition for children moving schools is managed quite well.

Due to the pressures of other cases, often children in care can be seen as a lesser priority by social workers, and improvements are currently being made on the support and supervision of placements, both through statutory visits to children and carers.

There can sometimes be too many bureaucratic processes to follow, particularly on the authorisation for children to attend ‘usual’ school activities, trips etc. Improvements have been made following the amendments of over night stay regulations, and looked After Children are not as stigmatised or disadvantaged as they once were.

There is a multi agency panel process to follow when considering the commissioning of placements outside of local authority resources. At the panel, costs are scrutinised, and quarterly review meetings are held which includes a quality assurance element outside of ‘usual’ LAC planning processes.

Internally, placement are quality assured by the Independent Reviewing Officers, the Fostering Panel oversees all first review of foster carers, and makes recommendations to influence the quality of care. The Operational Manager also prepares a quality of care report annually.