National Care Standards: Foster Care and Family Placement Services

5-12 Services for foster carers

5 Assessing and approving carers
6 Completing the application
7 Information and advice
8 Practical help
9 Allowances and expenses
10 Fees
11 Reviews
12 The fostering panel

Assessing and approving carers

Standard 5
You know you will be fully assessed by the agency before being accepted as a foster carer.

1 You can be confident that foster carers are assessed on their ability to promote the health, education and personal and social development of you and any other children and young people in their care.

2 You know that the agency has clear, published policies and procedures to assess and approve foster carers.

3 You know that the agency has clearly defined standards for foster carers to follow.

4 You can be confident that the assessment is carried out by a qualified social worker who has experience of child care, foster care and family placement work.

5 You know that the assessment and approval process involves all members of your household, including children and young people who have been fostered or previously adopted.

6 You know that the agency provides opportunities for prospective foster carers to improve their understanding of fostering through training and contact with experienced carers.

7 You know that the agency will make all necessary checks, including criminal records checks, to determine your suitability. These checks are repeated at least every two years.

8 You can be confident that you will be supervised and supported by an appropriately qualified social worker. The supervising social worker will visit in line with legal requirements. This includes at least one unannounced visit each year.

9 You know that the agency holds details of your records:

• if you are an approved carer;
• if approval has been withdrawn; and
• if you have withdrawn an application.

Completing the application

Standard 6
You can be confident that the agency treats applications to become a foster carer fairly and without unnecessary delay.

1 You know that you have access to your assessment report before a decision on approval is made. You can add to the report and go to the foster panel.

2 You know that applicants will be told whether they have been approved as soon as possible, and will be given the reasons for the decision.

3 You know that the agency has clear procedures for reconsidering applications and hearing appeals against decisions.

4 You know that the assessment will be completed within six months of the agency receiving a completed application form, unless unforeseen circumstances prevent this.

5 You know that prospective foster carers will receive regular feedback on the progress of the application (at least once a month). The agency gives them clear indications of any work that is needed to further the process.

Information and advice

Standard 7
You have a written agreement with the agency, setting out the terms of approval and your role and responsibilities as a foster carer and the role and responsibilities of the agency.

1 You know the number, age range and sex of the children and young people that may be placed with you, and the likely duration of the placement.

2 You know that the agency keeps copies of the written agreement between you and the agency.

3 You know that the agency publishes information that includes the following:

• supervision and training arrangements;
• arrangements for foster carer reviews;
• placement agreements;
• regulations and guidance that apply;
• family contact and visiting arrangements;
• insurance and legal liability;
• foster carer support groups;
• complaints procedures;
• record keeping;
• safe caring; and
• transport.

4 You have written information on what to do if an allegation of abuse or neglect or another complaint is made against you.

Practical help

Standard 8
You can be confident that the agency is committed to developing, preparing and training foster carers and makes sure that they work within its standards, policies and guidance.

1 You know that the agency has a range of individual and group support arrangements in place, including the opportunity for foster carers to get involved in national networks such as the Fostering Network or Shared Care Scotland.

2 You can be confident that you have information about where to get support 24 hours a day.

3 The agency social worker keeps in regular contact with you.

4 You are trained to help and support your fostered child if he or she suffers any form of bullying or discrimination.

Allowances and expenses

Standard 9
You can be confident that you receive payments to cover the cost of caring for any children or young people placed with you. Payments are based on their needs and in line with the cost of caring for them.

1 You know that the agency publishes details of the fostering and family placement allowances and expenses that will be paid and reviews them every year.

2 You know that the agency will record that they have given you information about allowances and expenses.

3 You know that you will be quickly refunded for any extra expenses that you incur.

4 You know that when a large amount of money is involved, you can claim expenses beforehand.

5 You know that the agency will make sure that:

• you have enough money at the start of each placement;
• payment details are clearly explained and recorded; and
• there are internal audit reports about all allowances and expenses that the agency pays.

6 You know that the agency has a system in place to record all payments made to you and their purpose.

Fees

Standard 10
You know that all arrangements for fees are clear.

1 You know that the agency has clear published policies and procedures on all payments made, and that these include information about the skills, training and qualifications that are needed for different payment levels.

2 If your agency operates a reward payment scheme, information about this is readily available to you, including information about paid planned breaks from caring.

3 You can be confident that the contract between you and the agency for the reward payment scheme shows your employment status and sets out terms and conditions. Copies of the contract are held by the agency.

4 You can be confident that the agency gives you clear information about National Insurance and tax liabilities.

Reviews

Standard 11
You can be confident that the agency has the necessary review systems in place to make sure that you are able to continue to provide good quality care.

1 You know that each year the agency reviews your performance and the quality of care that you provide and a review meeting is held with your supervising social worker.

2 You can be confident that your review meeting is chaired by someone who knows about foster care and can form an independent judgement.

3 You know that your reviews always include an assessment of:

• training and support received by you and your family;
• information provided; and
• levels of supervision.

4 You know that the agency reviews your access to the facilities you need to meet the needs of children placed with you, including their ethnic, cultural, language and faith needs.

5 You know that the review report is mindful of the need for privacy and confidentiality from the child's point of view and includes:

• your views and those of members of your household;
• the views of each social worker who is responsible for any child who has been placed with you since the last review;
• the views of any other children and young people who have been fostered by you; and
• the views of their parents.

6 You know that the review report includes an action plan to meet your training and support needs and those of your family.

7 You can be confident that the review report includes recommendations about your continued approval and the numbers and ages of children you are approved to look after. You are given a copy of this report before the review is held.

8 You know that you can put your views to a fostering or approval panel meeting if there are changes in circumstances or if the review recommends changing or cancelling approval.

9 You know that the report of the review meeting and its outcomes will be recorded, together with any comments you make.

10 You know that a review will be held as soon as possible after any significant incident, complaint or allegation of abuse or neglect.

The fostering panel

Standard 12
You know that the agency has a fostering panel that is responsible for the recommendations it makes and reflects the community it serves.

1 You know that the fostering panel includes professionally qualified and experienced staff, as well as medical and legal representatives, foster carers and people with experience of being in foster care or using family placements.

2 You can be confident that the fostering panel has knowledge and experience of the community it serves and can call on expert advice if necessary.

3 You know that there are published agency policies and procedures about setting up and running the fostering panel.

4 You know that each panel member goes through relevant police and local authority checks.

5 You know that there is a clear difference between the panel's responsibility to recommend and the agency's responsibility to decide.

6 You know that the panel publishes an annual report, with details of its members, terms of reference and a summary of its work.

7 You know that the panel has agreed procedures for calling on specialist advice to explain any aspect of the assessment or approval review report when needed.

8 You can be confident that the fostering panel will have all the relevant information it needs to make its decisions or recommendations. The panel will keep a record of the decisions and recommendations that are made at each meeting.

9 You can be confident that each member of the panel will receive the training they need, including regular information on how the fostering service is managed, the needs of looked-after children and important developments from research and best-practice guidance.

10 You are given information about the appeals procedure and how, and in what circumstances, you may access this.

11 You know that the agency will consult the fostering panel when assessing its recruitment strategy, how it shares resources and how it works with other agencies.