Fostering

Abuse

Abuse is something that causes actual, or is likely to cause significant harm to a child. It may be physical, emotional, sexual or neglect.
Categories of abuse:
• Physical:
Includes children who are physically hurt or injured by being hit, shaken, squeezed, burnt, bitten, or by being given alcohol, inappropriate drugs or poison.
• Emotional:
Includes persistent lack of affection, where a child may be constantly shouted at,
threatened or taunted which may make the child very nervous or withdrawn.
• Sexual:
Includes full sexual intercourse, masturbation, oral sex, anal intercourse and fondling. Also showing children pornographic material.
• Neglect:
Includes the health and development of a child being impaired.

Accidents
Foster carers should record all accidents, any medical treatment, how the accident happened and what action was taken. It can be difficult to remember or explain the signs of an injury weeks after. The child’s social worker should be made aware as soon as possible.
If the foster child has a more serious accident or sudden illness, which requires medical or hospital treatment, consent to treatment will be required. The foster carers will have the consent on a medical consent form, which would have been provided at the start of the placement by the child’s social worker.
Young people sixteen years or over can give or refuse consent if they are considered to have sufficient understanding. If the accident occurs outside normal office hours the Emergency Duty Team of the child’s Local Authority should be contacted (foster carers are provided with the contact number) and usually, the on call service of the Fostering Agency.

Accommodated
‘Accommodated’ and being Looked After’ are two legal terms which describe children who are in the care of the local authority. In both cases the children can be placed with foster carers.
A child who is being ‘Looked After’ is defined in Section 22 of the Children Act 1989, as a child in the care of the local authority, under an Interim Care Order or Care Order, or a child who is being provided with accommodation by Local Authority.
A child who is ‘Accommodated’ will normally not be subject of a court order, but is ‘Looked After’ by the local authority with the consent of parents.
 
Adoption 
Adoption provides a child with a new family when it is not possible to live with their own family. Adoption is the means of giving a child an opportunity to start again; for many children, adoption may be their only chance of experiencing family life.
To be eligible for adoption the child must be under the age of 18 years and a child for whom returning home to their parents is not possible. If the child is or has been married they cannot be adopted.
An Adoption Order severs all legal ties with the birth family and gives parental rights and responsibilities on the new adoptive family.
The birth parents no longer have any legal rights over the child and they are not entitled to have them back. The child becomes a full member of the adopted family; they take the adopter’s surname and assume the same rights and privileges as if they had been born to them, including the right of inheritance.

Adoption agency
This is the term given to an organisation that has been licensed and approved by the Department of Health. The main responsibilities are to take care of children separated from their birth families, recruiting adopters and foster carers and running residential children's homes.
Mostly adoption agencies in the UK are the social services departments of local councils. But there are also voluntary bodies and charities that are registered as adoption agencies such as Barnardo's, the Catholic Children's Society and Parents for Children.
When a child is permanently removed from their biological parents, but has not yet been placed for adoption, the adoption agency assumes parental responsibility for that child.

After Care
Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000. Aims to delay a young person’s discharge from care until they are ready and better prepared for the steps to independence. Children are eligible aged 16 and 17 who have been looked after for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and are still looked after.

Age restriction
There is no upper age restriction for people applying to foster or who can continue to foster, age is only one factor taken into account when assessing the suitability to foster. Age needs to be linked to general health, fitness, energy and general emotional well being. The important issue is that foster carers can meet the day to day needs of children they look after.

AIDS/HIV 
AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV and can be passed from person to person through body fluids such as blood or sexual fluids. People who have the virus are referred to as being HIV positive. People can find out if they are HIV positive by having a blood test.

Allegations and Complaints
If an allegation is made about another person’s behaviour towards a child, a foster carer must inform their Family Placement social worker or the child’s social worker. If allegations are made against a foster carer to a social worker, they have a responsibility to make the foster carer aware. Allegations and complaints are distressing and they should be dealt with fairly, confidentially and impartially.
• One in six foster carers have a complaint or allegation made against them during their fostering career.
• Carers who have allegations made against them tend to have been fostering for over five years
• The same abuse that can occur within birth families can occur in foster families.
A foster child might make a false allegation of abuse because they misinterpret an innocent action, or as a way of exercising some control over life, or to try and end a foster placement without losing face.
Risk reduction
• Recognise the people in the foster home who are potential risks or may be vulnerable to allegations.
• Know the fostering agency’s policy and procedure for investigating allegations.
• Always record daily events.
• Be clear and consistent about the home rules and boundaries for ways of behaving.
• All foster carers must have a family safe care policy for keeping everyone safe.
• Foster carers need a good support network.
• Training is very important.
• Foster carers need to have adequate insurance cover.
• Keeping everyone safe means working closely with the fostering agency.

Allowances 
Foster care allowances are paid into the carer’s bank or building society account dependant on the fostering agency’s agreed arrangements. Most agencies pay weekly.
The basic foster placement allowances are not taxable since they contain no
element of reward. Generally enhanced allowances are not taxable either although there may be some exceptions. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2003/foster_carer_fs.pdf
As self employed people, foster carers have to make their own income tax arrangements.
Foster carers cannot claim tax relief, child benefits, and income support or free school meals for children in their care.
A child with a disability may be entitled to a ‘Disability Living Allowances’ from the Department of Social Security.

Anti-Racism  
All children need a positive identity, therefore, when a child needs substitute family care, their interests may be best served by a placement with a family which reflects their own in terms of race, culture, religion and language and can therefore help them build a positive sense of their own identity.

Assaults by foster children
There will be rare occasions when a young person loses control of his or her behaviour to the extent that a foster carer is assaulted. Fostering Services/Agencies provide detailed guidance on how foster carers can help to prevent potentially violent situations building up and how to deal with them when they do.

Assessment
The Fostering Services Regulations 2002 prescribes the statutory framework for the assessment of prospective foster carers.
 
Amongst the requirements of this regulation are the needs to:
• obtain the information as to the prospective foster carer and other members of their household and family.
• interview at least two personal referees nominated by the applicant and prepare written reports of the interviews.
• consult with and take into account the views of the local authority in whose area the applicant lives.
• prepare a written report, an assessment of the applicant’s suitability to act as a foster carer and the proposed terms and conditions of approval.
• refer the report to the Fostering Panel and notify the applicant accordingly.
The information must be gathered under Schedule 3 of the Fostering Services Regulations:
1. The carer’s full names, address and date of birth.
2. Details of their health (supported by a medical report), personality, marital status and details of their current and any previous marriage or similar relationship.
3. Particulars of any other adult members of their household.
4. Particulars of the children in their family, whether or not members of their household, and any other children in the household.
5. Particulars of their accommodation.
6. Their religious persuasion, and their capacity to care for a child from any particular religious persuasion.
7. Their racial origin, cultural and linguistic background and their capacity to care for a child from any particular origin or cultural or linguistic background.
8. Their past and present employment or occupation, standard of living and leisure activities and interests.
9. Their previous experience (if any) of caring for their own and other children.
10. Their skills, competence and potential relevant to their capacity to care effectively for a child placed with them.
11. The outcome of any request or application made by them or any other member of their household to foster or adopt children, or for registration for child minding or day care, including particulars of any previous approval or refusal of approval relating to them or to any other member of their household.
12. The names and addresses of two persons who will provide personal references for the prospective foster parent.
 
In relation to the prospective foster parent, either:
• an enhanced criminal record certificate issued under section 115 of the Police Act 1997 including the matters specified in section 115(6A) of that Act, or;
• where any certificate of information on any matters referred to in sub-paragraph a) is not available to an individual because any provision of the Police Act 1997 has not been brought into force, details of any criminal offences:
• of which the person has been convicted, including details of any convictions which are spent within the meaning of section 1 of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and which may be disclosed by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, or;
• in respect of which they have been cautioned by a constable and which, at the time the caution was given, they admitted, and;
• in relation to each member of the household aged 18 or over, details of any criminal offences mentioned in sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph 13(b).