Fostering

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Car insurance
Foster carers are generally advised to take out fully comprehensive car insurance. The Fostering Agency must see a copy of the car insurance annually.

Car safety
Fostering Agencies have safety guidelines for foster carers regarding car safety for foster children.
Foster cares are required to use child restraints that meet the legal regulations introduced by the Department of Transport in September 2006.
Child restraints should be suitable for children’s weight and size. Even in a minor crash, an unrestrained is very much more vulnerable to being thrown about, injuring themselves and others. A properly fitted child restraint absorbs some of the impact force and makes the child much less likely to be killed or injured.

Case Conference
A Child Protection Case Conference is when people who are involved with a child get together to discuss concerns about the child’s welfare. The Conference includes the people needed to make and implement plans for a child’s protection.
The foster carer role
If the child has been placed with foster carers, they should be invited to attend the Case Conference in order to give their view and observations of the child’s behaviour as part of the discussion regarding the plans for the child.

Child Abuse
Physical abuse
Physical Abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes ill health to a child whom they are looking after. This situation is commonly described using such terms as factitious illness by proxy or Munchausen Syndrome by proxy.
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (e.g. rape or buggery) or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
Neglect
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development. It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, failing to protect a child from physical harm or danger, or the failure to ensure access to appropriate care or treatment. It may also include neglect of a child's basic emotional needs.
Emotional abuse
Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child's emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. It may involve causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill treatment of a child, though it may occur alone.

Child Assessment Order
This is where a court can order that a child be psychologically or educationally assessed, for no more than seven days, to see if they are suffering "significant harm" and should be placed in care.

Child Benefit
Foster carers are not entitled to claim child benefit.

Child Protection
Foster carers are expected to care for children safely and securely, ensuring their protection and welfare at all times. All Fostering Agencies provide Safe Caring training and best practice is to produce a Safe Caring Policy, which sets out how foster carers intend to ensure the protection of all children in the household.
The Safe Caring Policy is usually reviewed at each foster carer’s annual review of approval and with each new placement of a child.
Allegations of abuse against foster carers or other members of the carer’s household including other foster children, may result in a formal investigation under the provisions of Section 47 of the 1989 Children Act and Working Together 2006.
Wherever possible, such investigations known as, ‘section 47 investigations’ will be undertaken by an Independent Agency in conjunction with the police.

Children Act 1989
The Children Act 1989 came into force in October 1991. At the heart of the Children Act is the belief that:
• The best place for children to be looked after ‘is within their own families’.
• The welfare of the child is paramount.
• Birth parents should be involved in all planning and decision-making affecting their children.
• Legal proceedings should be avoided whenever possible.
• The welfare of the child should be promoted by a partnership between
the family and the local authority.
• Children should not be removed from their families and contact should not be ended unless it is absolutely necessary to do so for their well being. When this does happen it should be through a Court Order.
• The child’s needs arising from their race, culture, religion and language must be taken into consideration.

Care Order
The Court will make a Care Order if it believes that:
• a child is suffering significant harm or is likely to suffer significant harm
• if the care being given is not what a parent should give
• the child is beyond the parent’s control
Under a Care Order the child or children, it is presumed, will remain in contact with their family unless the court states otherwise.
Contact Order
Directs that certain person/s should have contact with a child. It will also state how often that contact should take place and possibly what form the contact should take.
Emergency Protection Order (EPO)
This an order under which children are removed from a situation in which they are at risk. A magistrate must sign the order. An Emergency Protection Order can last up to 8 days with a possible extension up to a further 7 days. 72 hours after the making of the order, an application for discharge can be made by; a parent, a person with parental responsibility, the child, or anyone with whom the child is living at he time.
Prohibited Steps Order
This Order states that certain things cannot happen without the Court’s permission, for example, changing the child’s school or moving the child to live abroad.
Residence Order and Specific Issue Order
This Order specifies a person who has the power to dictate where a child may live. The person specified in the Order acquires parental responsibility. The court is asked to consider and resolve a ‘specific issue’. For example, educational or medical matters in the best interest of the child.

Children who foster
When adults make a decision to become foster carers they also make the decision on behalf of their children for them to become part of a family that fosters. Fostering is a very significant change in anyone's life, however especially for the children within the family who will often have very different views from each other about the prospect of fostering.

Every Child Matters
Every Child Matters: Change for Children is a new approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19. The Government's aim is for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need to:
Be healthy
Stay safe
Enjoy and achieve
Make a positive contribution
Achieve economic well-being

Complaints
Fostering agencies must have a complaints procedure for Foster Carers and Services Users.
There are usually three stages to follow in resolving a complaint:
• Stage 1 – The Problem Solving / Local resolution Stage
• Stage 2 – The Formal Stage
• Stage 3 – The Fostering Panel review Stage
Stage 1
• with the Family Placement social worker or their Manager
Stage 2
• An Investigation Officer and Independent Person, if necessary, will be appointed to carry out an investigation.
Stage 3
• Fostering Panel review. The Panel will make recommendations regarding the complaint.

Confidentiality
When a child is placed with foster carers, the child’s social worker will share sufficient information about the child’s background. This information may include details of the child and his or her family, and the circumstances, which led to them coming in to care. Much of the information will be personal and all of it is told to foster carers in confidence.
Foster carers will need to share some of this information with their children, family and police checked supportive people who are likely to have regular contact with the child. It is very important to emphasise to birth children and family members the need for confidentiality.
Secrets
If a child wants to tell you a secret, foster carers should encourage the child to share this information with their social worker. If a child will not do this it is essential that the child be told that some secrets cannot be kept and that their social worker might have to be told.

Contact
The laws under which Social Services and Foster Carers work, states that Local Authorities have a duty to promote contact between children who are Looked After, their parents, relatives and other people who are important to the child.
Although Foster Carers have a responsibility to promote contact, guidance on good practice clearly states that this is a ‘team effort’ and the Local Authority has a duty to ensure that foster carers are in the best possible position to make contact as safe and enjoyable as possible.

Corporal Punishment
The use of corporal punishment is not acceptable within a foster carer’s home. This means that a foster carer should never physically chastise a child in their care. Many of the children being looked after by the local authority have suffered injury and physical abuse, therefore physical punishment would merely reinforce the child’s belief that adults hurt children.

Court Appearance
In certain circumstances foster carers may be requested to give evidence in court. The child’s social worker and fostering social worker will be available for support. Foster carers records for the child during a placement will be important in assisting their court appearance and responses if they are questioned.

Court Welfare Officer
A judge may appoint a court welfare officer to be the court's eyes and ears. They are usually members of the Probation Service and are attached to the Family Court Service.

Culture & Language
Culture describes the way people live their lives. Culture is founded on many different factors, for example:
• memories
• common experience
• background
• language
• racial identity
• class
• religion
• family attitudes
Culture is part of a child’s or young person’s identity and heritage and all foster carers must respect and value a child’s cultural heritage.