Long-term and Permanent Foster Care: Policy paper 2015

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1 Long-term and Permanent Foster Care: Policy paper 2015 This paper should be read in conjunction with The Fostering Network s policy paper Permanence for Children in the Care System (2013) on our website, and it replaces the previous policy paper Long-term foster care (2007). Introduction The Fostering Network strongly believes in the importance of foster care as an option in permanence planning for children in care if return to the birth family or living with wider family is not a realistic choice for them. This paper proposes that long-term foster care should have equal consideration as a permanence option alongside adoption, special guardianship, child arrangement orders and residence orders once it is established that a child/young person cannot return to live with their birth parents or wider family, whatever the reason. What might be the best option for each child or young person will depend on individual factors. There should be no hierarchy when it comes to permanence options. Long-term and permanent foster care placements need to be well-managed and wellsupported. This policy paper outlines current policy and practice and it makes recommendations for the future. Summary It is the policy of The Fostering Network that the status of permanent and long-term foster care should be raised. Children should be cared for in permanent and long-term foster care when this is deemed to be in their best interests and is set out clearly in their care plan. Our priorities for children and foster carers are consistent across the UK we want legal and administrative systems which enable permanent and long-term foster placements to function as well as possible, and good practice embedded at the local level. It is a core principle of The Fostering Network that the child or young person should be actively involved in the decision-making process. Foster carers should be treated as full members of the team about the child, and should be involved in decision-making. We want foster carers to be enabled and supported to provide children with security and stability and the best possible care. 1

2 Index The paper will consider the following: 1 General principles which guide The Fostering Network p. 3 2 Definitions of permanent and long-term foster care p. 4 3 What should characterise a long-term or permanent placement? p. 4 4 Equal status as a placement option p. 6 5 Matching p. 7 6 Supporting permanent and long-term placements p. 8 7 Leaving care p. 9 8 Conclusion p Recommendations p. 11 2

3 1. General principles which guide The Fostering Network (as stated in The Fostering Network s policy on permanence) 1.1 The Fostering Network strongly believes that interventions by public authorities and the courts in the lives of children must be guided by the best interests of the child, and should fully reflect the principles of children s rights as expressed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. 1 This must include taking account of the views of the child. 1.2 International principles for world-wide implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in relation to children in care have been set out in United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. These state that they seek, in particular a) To support efforts to keep children in, or return them to, the care of their family, or, failing this, to find another appropriate and permanent solution, including adoption and kefala of Islamic law b) To ensure that, while such permanent solutions are being sought, or in cases where they are not possible, or are not in the best interests of the child, the most suitable forms of alternative care are identified and provided, under conditions that promote the child s full and harmonious development The Centre for Excellence for Looked-after Children in Scotland (CELCIS), together with International Social Services, Unicef, SOS Children s Villages and the Oak Foundation, has produced a manual for implementing the UN Guidelines. This identifies two key pillars: necessity and suitability. Alternative care should be truly necessary (emphasising the importance of prevention); however, if the child does require alternative care, the care setting should be matched with the individual child concerned and it should be of a high standard. A range of options must be available, and priority should be given to family and community based solutions The Fostering Network believes that the state must support and enable parents and families in their role as care givers, and that it should only intervene against the wishes of the parents and carers where this is clearly necessary in the best interests of the child. 1.5 The Fostering Network also supports the core principles of the Children Act 1989, the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 under which the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration. 4 In these instruments issues such as contact with the birth family, kinship care or family and friends care, the importance of meeting the needs of the individual child and permanence planning are emphasised Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, CELCIS, (2012) Moving Forward: Implementing the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children p.22 4 Such principles have guided the Fostering Network s recent responses to consultations on contact and fostering to adopt in the context of the Children and Families Bill 2013, for example. 3

4 2. Definitions of permanent and long-term foster care 2.1. In Scotland uniquely among the four countries, the term permanent applies in law in relation to foster care. Permanent foster care applies when parental rights and responsibilities are removed or restricted by a court under a Permanence Order, and the plan for the child is foster care. This, rather than long-term foster care unsecured by a Permanence Order, is the future direction of travel for Scotland, although some long-term unsecured arrangements currently exist Long-term foster care is the term predominantly used in England and Wales, where it is used in statutory guidance. At the same time, research has shown that both permanent and long-term are expressions used in local practice, and are used very differently by individual local authorities in the absence of a national framework In England new regulations and guidance concerning long-term foster care are being laid before Parliament which will come into force in April The introduction of a strong national framework is likely to result in the diminution or disappearance of the term permanent foster care in England, which does not appear in the regulations and guidance. 2.4 The expression long-term foster care does not apply to a specific duration of time the child is in foster care, but rather to the care plan and the type of care which will be best for the child. Long-term foster care should mean that the care plan for the child is to remain in a specific fostering placement, usually until reaching adulthood and leaving care, and certainly for the foreseeable future. 3. What should characterise a long-term or permanent foster care placement? 3.1 It is only in the context of a specific placement that the full potential of permanent or long-term foster care can be realised. Such a placement should be consistent with the thorough application of the care planning process. 3.2 Care planning processes leading to long-term foster care placements must involve appropriate assessments and agreement on a range of support (though support needs may well change over time). Each long-term placement is individual. Good matching is essential, as is on-going support from members of the professional team when this is needed. 3.3 A placement with permanent or long-term foster carers should involve an expectation of stability and belonging, based on strong familial bonds between the fostering family and the child. Long-term and permanent fostering can provide looked-after children with the normality of family life and the continuity of 5 New placement descriptors are being discussed in Scotland 6 Schofield G. and Ward E., (2008) Permanence in Foster Care : A Study of Care Planning and Practice in England and Wales, BAAF 4

5 dependable relationships that is so important for securing improved outcomes for children There is an expectation that the placement will continue throughout childhood until the young person leaves care, and an aspiration that the relationships between the child and the foster family may endure into adulthood and indeed throughout life, on the basis of voluntary mutual attachments. A long-term perspective should be reflected in care planning. 3.5 This does not mean that the child or young person will necessarily consider the fostering family as a permanent family to the exclusion of the birth family. We know that many young people seek to return to their birth families, and to restore these attachments, once they reach adulthood and legal self-determination. 3.6 However, the importance of attachment between the child or young person and the fostering family on the one hand, and between the child and his/her birth family on the other, should not be considered mutually exclusive. On the contrary, one of the key advantages which long-term foster care can offer is respect for the continuing role of the birth family, and support to the child or young person to maintain a relationship with his/her birth family unless this is considered detrimental to the child s interests Finally, we need to consider what long-term foster care should not be. We are aware of many cases where a child is left in the care of a fostering family, sometimes for years, but the placement plan does not specify long-term foster care. Poor care planning, where decisions are not being taken, or are not being acted upon, so that a foster care placement is allowed to drift with no clear direction, is unacceptable. This should not be confused with long-term foster care. 7 The Fostering Network was one of the managing partners in The Care Inquiry , which concluded that for all children and young people in care it is the quality of personal relationships which matters above all else. See The Care Inquiry (2013), Making not Breaking: Building relationships for our most vulnerable children. 8 See Tearse M. (2013) Permanency Planning: Views from our members The Fostering Network concerning support for the relationship with the birth family. 5

6 4. Equal status as a placement option 4.1 The Fostering Network has long believed that foster care should have equal status as a permanence option in the care planning process. A permanent or long-term foster family can be in the best interests of many looked after children. Available evidence on outcomes supports this belief. A number of studies carried out by the Centre for Research on the Child and Family at the University of East Anglia have demonstrated that planned use of long-term foster care can lead to placement stability and good outcomes for children. 9 June Thoburn has concluded that legal status does not impact on outcomes. In her view, the two key factors that determine outcomes are the length of placement and the impact on the child of what happened to them before they were placed. 10 Ian Sinclair pointed to the factors which made for more successful or less successful placements and found that there seems very little to distinguish the outcomes for children and young people who have been placed in long-stay foster placements from those who have been adopted, (see also Nina Biehal) Change to the legal and administrative status is beginning to take place. In Scotland this is has been happening as a result of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, introducing the Permanence Order which can be applied to children going forward for adoption, or in foster care and residential care In England the Government set out its intention to place foster care on an equal 13 footing with other permanence planning options in Through new regulations and guidance to be introduced in England in April 2014, this will be realized at last. 14 The Fostering Network strongly supports this direction of travel. We would like to see a similar process of change in Wales and Northern Ireland. A national framework for long-term foster care is needed in each country. 4.4 Above all, we would like to see a situation where all long-term fostering placements made as part of a permanency planning process have a distinct status and are formally confirmed. 9 See for example Schofield G., Beek M., Sargent K., Thoburn J., 2004, Growing Up in Foster Care, BAAF, or Schofield G. and Beek M., 2008, Achieving Permanence in Foster Care, a Good Practice Guide, BAAF 10 Thoburn J. in Fratter J. et al, (2001), Permanent Family Placement 11 Sinclair I., (2005), Fostering Now Messages from Foster Care (p45), Jessica Kingsley. See also Sinclair I. et al., (2007), The Pursuit of Permanence: a study of the English care system, Jessica Kingsley. Also Biehal N. et al, (2010), Belonging and Permanence: Long-term outcomes in foster care and adoption, BAAF 12 The Permanence Order enables local authorities to limit or remove the exercise of parental rights (a distinctive feature of law in Scotland) and to arrange a permanent placement for the child. 13 Department for Education, (2003), Every Child Matters states that the Government s intention was to ensure that the different permanence options are equally credible, including long term fostering (p.45). 14 Department for Education, Looked- after Children: Improving Permanence, Government response to consultation, 22 October

7 4.5 Under current laws in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, permanence cannot be guaranteed for any specific placement because placements can be ended at any time by the actions of the child, the foster carer, the social worker and others. At the same time, as we know from the rate of breakdowns affecting adoption and other legal disposals, placements secured by a court order (including Permanence Orders in Scotland) cannot be guaranteed either. 4.6 The view of The Fostering Network is that the stability of specific placements is of the utmost importance children should not be moved without very good reasons and without taking account of their wishes. All necessary support must be provided to enable suitable placements to flourish and endure. However, the quality of relationships is the most important consideration, and if the attachment between the child and the fostering family is not strong enough, and particularly if the child wishes to move, then it may well be positive that the child should move to another fostering family. 4.7 The reality is that most children who cannot live with their birth family, or with kinship carers or family and friends carers outside the looked-after system, will be in foster care, and it is essential that permanent or long-term foster care is improved to a consistent standard so that it can provide the most suitable enduring family environment for these children. 5. Matching 5.1 When assessing foster carers for long-term placements, it is necessary to consider factors which will be relevant to the enduring nature of the placement, and to change over time, as well as other specific criteria. 5.2 Frequently children are moved to foster carers they do not know once a plan for long-term foster care has been agreed. This can create problems both for children and foster carers because there is no pre-existing bond and because foster carers are not always given sufficient information about the child. The opportunity to get to know each other before the placement is confirmed is extremely important. 5.3 At the same time, many children will be matched with the foster carer they have been living with (sometimes involving a change to the foster carer s approval terms). Such placements will benefit from the emotional ties already formed. Foster carers themselves report that such placements tend to work well. 15 However, it is necessary to ensure that the foster carer will be able to care for the child as his/her needs change over time, and especially when the child reaches adolescence and may relive past trauma in different ways. This might need to be addressed through support. It is important that where the child has an existing foster carer, that carer should be able to request an assessment to become the appointed long-term foster carer. 15 Tearse M. (2014) Long-term foster care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: Views from our members, The Fostering Network. 7

8 6. Supporting long-term placements 6.1 A significant cultural change will be required at the local level if permanent or longterm foster care is to be deployed with equal status to other permanence options. In England Schofield and colleagues have expressed concerns about the varied approach to long-term foster care in different agencies, with long-term cases often being the lowest priority for allocation of resources Foster carers may well need support to manage the changes in the child s needs which emerge over time, or to manage changing relationships with the birth family, or supporting the young person to prepare for independence, for example. The enduring nature of the commitment may mean that respite breaks are necessary. In a survey of long-term foster carers carried out by The Fostering Network, the issue of insufficient support was strongly expressed The Fostering Network considers social work visits to the placement as very important. However, foster carers often find that over-frequent involvement can be unhelpful, particularly where it is not clearly focused on providing support. In particular reviews of placements are often found to unsettle children. It is therefore recommended that formal review meetings may not always be necessary, although reviews must take place by other means; the frequency of review meetings could be reduced if the placement is working well. This will vary from placement to placement. It is extremely important that support to the child and foster carer are not compromised by decisions to follow a light-touch approach. Given that longterm placements have already been found to take low priority for support, a lighttouch approach should not mean less support. 6.4 The availability of training to long-term foster carers as new issues are identified is also important. 6.5 It is to be expected that the level of delegated authority in long-term placements will be high, and this should be clearly established through the care planning process. 16 Schofield G. and Beek M. (2008) op.cit. 17 Tearse M. (2014) op.cit. 8

9 7. Leaving care 7.1 Successful long-term and permanent placements may well lead to enduring bonds between the young person and the fostering family which continue into adulthood. Often this results in continuing support for the young person after they reach 18. However, this cannot be assumed, and the responsibilities of the care system involve ensuring that preparation for leaving care and support after care are robust. 7.2 Planning for independence must be a key strand for children in permanent and longterm placements. 7.3 The Fostering Network wishes to see radical improvements to leaving care support, which can help ensure that young people enjoy stability, and attachments can flourish even after young people leave the care system. Together with other agencies the Fostering Network is campaigning for better leaving care support in general. 18 In particular the Fostering Network has led campaigning, with considerable success, for the right of young people to remain with their former foster carers until the age of 21 if mutually agreed. 19 We believe that such support should be available, whether or not the young person is in full-time education, training or employment. While considerable change has been achieved at the statutory level, implementing the changes at the local level is proving more challenging, especially in England where Staying Put has been introduced very rapidly. 18 See, for example, The Care Leavers Coalition, 2013, Still Our Children. still-our-children/publication-view.jsp?pid=pub The Fostering Network, Don t Move Me campaign 9

10 8. Conclusion: What permanent or long-term foster care can offer children Long-term foster care can provide: A framework where children and young people can develop attachments and/or relationships that will last throughout their lives A sense of belonging which has long-term implications for a child s future and their view on the world The reassurance that their foster carers will be around for them after they are 18 involving the possibility of staying on in the foster carer s home, and of maintaining close family relationships. The opportunity for the child or young person to remain in contact with their birth family, while enjoying the benefits of having a foster family for life. 20 The opportunity for siblings to grow up together as part of the same family as opposed to being separated and placed with different families, as is more likely in the case of adopted children. A continuing framework for decision-making based on the principle that the welfare of the child is a paramount consideration as required by child care legislation. The support of a professional team to help the child or young person to overcome trauma and whatever difficulties they have experienced, and to experience wellbeing and achieve their full potential. 20 Frequently this is not the case for adopted children. 10

11 9. Recommendations Every UK country should have a national framework for permanent and/or longterm foster care. Permanent or long-term foster care should have equal consideration in the care planning process with adoption, residence orders, child arrangement orders and special guardianship as a family-based permanence option. The child s best interests and views must be at the centre of all decision-making concerning long-term or permanent foster care. A rigorous process for permanency planning is needed to promote good decisionmaking, and to ensure that the plan is pursued in a timely way and that drift is avoided. Long-term fostering placements made as part of a permanency planning process need to have a distinct status and be formally confirmed. Where a child is in a fostering placement, the child s foster carers should have an entitlement to apply to be assessed if it is decided that permanent/long-term foster care is in the best interests of the child. This should be the case, irrespective of which service the foster carer is approved by. Robust matching criteria are needed which are suited to long-term foster care. Support requirements should be built into the long-term foster care agreement, and, because support needs may well change over time, the matter should be properly dealt with through reviews. The process for reviews should be tailored to what works for the child, and should minimize disturbance to the child and the placement. Stability in the social work profession needs to be improved if social workers are to maintain a long-term relationship with the child in care. In all countries, government should provide adequate funding for schemes to enable care leavers to stay with their former foster carers up to age 21 where mutually agreed, whether or not the young person is in full time education, employment and training. At the local level, practice must change to enable the schemes to flourish. The opportunity to remain with former foster carers must be reflected in care planning from the earliest opportunity, and must shape the expectations of young people and foster carers alike. March