Family and Friends Care
Related guidance
- Children Act 1989: Family and Friends Care : Statutory guidance for local authorities about family and friends providing care for children who cannot live with their parents.
- Family Rights Group, Initial Family and Friends Care Assessment : A good practice guide outlines what a viability assessment for family and friend carers should look like, what social workers should consider and how to undertake international assessments.
- Looking after Someone Else's Child (GOV.UK)
Amendment
Section 4, Different Situations whereby Children may be Living with Family and Friend Carers was updated in May 2024 to include information about Ukrainian children being cared for my family and friends in the UK.
Children may be brought up by members of their extended families, friends or other people who are connected with them for a variety of reasons and in a variety of different arrangements.
This policy sets out the local authority's approach towards promoting and supporting the needs of such children and covers the assessments which will be carried out to determine the services required and how such services will then be provided.
In drawing up this policy, we have consulted children and young people, family and friends carers and parents. A summary of findings from these consultations, showing how their views have informed this policy, is at Annex B: Summary of Consultation Findings - to follow.
The manager with overall responsibility for this policy is the Head of Provider Services.
This policy will be regularly reviewed, and made freely and widely available.
Consideration of children's welfare and best interests will always be at the centre of the work we do.
The underlying principle is that children should live with their families unless it is inconsistent with their welfare. We will therefore work to maintain children living within their own families, and facilitate services to support any such arrangements, wherever this is consistent with the child's safety and well-being. This principle applies to all children in need, including those who are looked after by the local authority. Where a child cannot live within his or her immediate family and the local authority is considering the need to take the child into care, we will make efforts to identify potential carers within the child's network of family or friends who are able and willing to care for the child.
We will provide support for any such arrangements based on the assessed needs of the child, not simply on his or her legal status, and will seek to ensure that family and friends carers are provided with support to ensure that children do not become looked after by the local authority, or do not have to remain looked after longer than is needed.
The local authority has a general duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of Children in Need* living within its area and to promote the upbringing of such children by their families. The way in which we fulfil this duty is by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children's assessed needs (Section 17, Children Act 1989).
It is important to note that the local authority does not have a general duty to assess all arrangements where children are living with their wider family or friends network rather than their parents but it does have a duty where it appears that services may be necessary to safeguard or promote the welfare of a Child in Need.
*A Child in Need is defined in Section 17(10) of the Children Act 1989 as a child who is disabled or who is unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision of services by the local authority.
To clarify the children who may come within the definition of Children in Need, the local authority has drawn up a Medway Inter-Agency Threshold Criteria for Children in Need document.
Children in Need may live with members of their family or friends in a variety of different legal arrangements, some formal and some informal. Different court orders are available to formalise these arrangements.
Children in care will always come within the definition of Children in Need, whether they are accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 (with parental consent) or in care subject to a Court Order whereby the local authority shares parental responsibility for the child. The local authority has a responsibility wherever possible to make arrangements for a child in care to live with a member of the family (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989).
For a detailed summary of the meaning and implications of different legal situations, the rights of carers and parents, and the nature of decisions which family and friends carers will be able to make in relation to the child, please see Annex A: Caring for Somebody Else's Child - Options. Section 4, Types of Placements with Family and Friends Carers, which sets out the local authority's powers and duties in relation to the various options.
In relation to financial support, the local authority may provide carers of children in need with such support on a regular or one-off basis, under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989. This may include discretionary funding based upon a financial means test. However, the status of the placement will determine the nature and amount of the financial support and who can authorise its payment. The legal status of the child may have a bearing on the levels of financial support which may be available to carers. There are different legislative provisions which apply to financial support for children living with family or friends in looked after/adoption/special guardianship/Child Arrangements Order arrangements. The following sections of this policy set out the financial support that we may provide to family and friends who are caring for children in these different contexts.
Where a child cannot be cared for within his or her immediate family, the family may make their own arrangements to care for the child within the family and friends network.
The local authority does not have a duty to assess any such informal family and friends care arrangements, unless it appears to the authority that services may be necessary to safeguard or promote the welfare of a Child in Need. In such cases, the local authority has a responsibility under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 to assess the child's needs and provide services to meet any assessed needs of the child. Following assessment, a Child in Need Plan will be drawn up and a package of support will be identified. This can comprise a variety of different types of services and support, including financial support.
Section 17 financial support to Family and Friends carers
When social work teams have been involved in setting up a placement of a child with carers who are family and friend's carers, to safeguard their safety and welfare consideration has to be given to financial support that may be required to sustain the care arrangement. Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 gives local authorities a general duty to promote the upbringing of children in need by their families and, if required, provide resources or support to the family to enable this to happen.
The social worker will assess as part of making the care arrangement what financial support the carers need to meet the child’s needs. If the care arrangement was made at short notice consideration will be given to a discretionary payment to support the carers with meeting the immediate needs of the child (i.e. buying clothing, bedding, school uniform, etc). Factors that are considered when determining the level of Section 17 financial payments are:
- The extent to which the parents are financially supporting the arrangement;
- Whether the carers have to provide clothes and other key items for the child;
- Whether there are expenses that carers are seeking a contribution towards arising from the child’s needs.
Under certain circumstances Section 17 payments can be made to family and friends carers that are providing a longer term placement. The social worker will need to complete a fuller assessment about the needs of the child and the capacity of the carers to meet those needs. The carers will also be asked to complete a financial assessment as any allowance is means tested.
The social worker for the child will discuss the plan to secure legal permanence for the child with the carer acquiring parental responsibility via an order (i.e. Child Arrangements Order, Special Guardianship Order).
A privately fostered child is a child under 16 (or 18 if disabled) who is cared for by an adult who is not a parent or close relative, where the child is to be cared for in that home for 28 days or more. Close relative is defined as 'a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership) or step-parent.' It does not include a child who is in care to a local authority. In a private fostering arrangement, the parent still holds parental responsibility and agrees the arrangement with the private foster carer.
The local authority has a duty to assess and monitor the welfare of all privately fostered children and the way in which they carry out these duties is set out in the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005. However, the local authority may also become involved with a child in a private fostering arrangement where the child comes within the definition of a Child in Need. In such cases, the local authority has a responsibility to provide services to meet the assessed needs of the child under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989. Following assessment, a Child in Need Plan will be drawn up and a package of support will be identified.
The Local Authority does not provide financial support to private foster carers and any financial support is provided by the child’s parents or those with parental responsibility.
Also see: Private Fostering Policy and Procedure.
Where a child is in care to the local authority, we have a responsibility wherever possible to identify family members or friends and if in the child’s best interest approved them as a foster carer (Section 22 of the Children Act 1989). The child can be placed with the family members prior to such approval, subject to an assessment of the carers under Regulation 24 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010, for up to 16 weeks. This temporary approval can only be extended in exceptional circumstances under Regulation 25 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010, for up to further 8 weeks.
Where temporary approval is given to such a placement by the Agency Decision Maker under the Regulation 24 or 25 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010, the carers will receive financial support which is the child maintenance element of the fostering payments made to Medway Foster carers, in line with the child’s age and any additional or complex needs.
In addition the child will have a care/pathway plan which sets out the specific arrangements on how the child’s needs will be met and the expectations of the carers to meet these needs and the support they can expect to receive to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities for the child.
The assessment and approval process for family and friends carers who apply to be foster carers for a specific child in care will be the same as for any other foster carer and is set out in the Assessment and Approval of Foster Carer Procedure. An information pack will be available to potential foster carers about the process, and they will be given the name and contact details of the social worker from the Fostering Service allocated to carry out the assessment.
Once family and friends carers are approved as foster carers, they will be allocated a supervising social worker from the fostering service to provide them with support and supervision; and they will receive the full fostering allowances (the rewards element and the child maintenance element) for as long as the child remains a child in care and they carers remain the child’s foster carers.
The Fostering National Minimum standards and the Training, support and development (TSD) standards apply to Connected Carers in the same way that they apply to generic foster carers. The foster carers will cooperate with all the processes that are in place to ensure that the child receives appropriate care and support, for example, contributing to reviews of the child's Care Plan, cooperating with the child's social worker and promoting the child's education and health needs.
A Child Arrangements Order is a Court Order which sets out the arrangements as to when and with whom a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact. A Child Arrangements Order may give parental responsibility to the person in whose favour it is made. Parental responsibility is shared with the parents.
Child Arrangements Orders may be made in private family proceedings in which the local authority is not a party nor involved in any way in the arrangements. However, a Child Arrangements Order in favour of a relative or foster carer (who was a 'Connected Person') with whom a child is placed may be an appropriate outcome as part of a permanence plan for the child.
The local authority may pay financial support to relatives or friends, unless they are a spouse or civil partner of a parent, with whom a child is living under a Child Arrangements Order. This is set out in paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989, noting that this is discretionary.
A financial allowance to recipients of Child Arrangement Order is means tested and agreed by the Head of Service or Assistant Director of Children Services. The criteria for funding are based on need:
- For Assistance with legal fees when a party is applying to court for a Child Arrangement Order;
- Specific and/or time-limited assistance in order to facilitate a care arrangement being able to meet the immediate needs of a child;
- On-going financial support as evidenced by an assessment of the child’s needs and the carers’ ability to meet these needs.
Special Guardianship offers a further option for children needing permanent care outside their birth family. It can offer greater security without absolute severance of the parents’ parental responsibility for the child, as happens through adoption.
Relatives may apply for a Special Guardianship Order after caring for the child for one year. As Special Guardians, they will have parental responsibility for the child which, while it is still shared with the parents, can be exercised with greater autonomy on day-to-day matters than where there is a Child Arrangements Order.
Special Guardianship Orders may be made in private family proceedings and the local authority may not be a party to any such arrangements. However, a Special Guardianship Order in favour of a relative or foster carer (who was a 'Connected Person') with whom a child is living may be an appropriate outcome as part of a permanence plan for a child.
Where the child was in care immediately prior to the making of the Special Guardianship Order, the local authority has a responsibility to assess the support needs of the child, parents and Special Guardians, including the need for financial support.
A financial assessment would be undertaken of the Special Guardian, which is means tested to determine the level of financial reward to the Special Guardians from Medway Council. The finances of the Special Guardian are reviewed yearly to ensure that they are receiving the relevant financial support to meet the needs of the child and that the child remains in their care.
The decisions on the financial support for the Special Guardian are agreed by the Head of Service after the calculation is done using the Department for Education allowance calculator. If other resources are needed for the Special Guardian to care for the child, the child's social worker would need to attend Access to Resource Panel to make a case for more resources.
Our financial evaluation is standard and includes the following information:DfE Guidance for Allowance.
Adoption is the process by which all parental rights and responsibilities for a child are permanently transferred to an adoptive parent by a court. As a result, the child legally becomes part of the adoptive family.
An Adoption Order in favour of a relative or foster carer (who was a 'Connected Person') with whom a child is living may be an appropriate outcome as part of a permanence plan for a child.
Local authorities must make arrangements, as part of their adoption service, for the provision of a range of adoption support services. They then have to undertake assessments of the need for adoption support services at the request of the adopted child, adoptive parents and their families, as well as birth relatives. The support required is then set out in an Adoption Support Plan and this may include financial support.
An adoption allowance may be payable if the child's needs are such that they warrant an allowance (children who have additional learning needs, physical disabilities, are part of a sibling group or they have an existing relationship with the prospective adopters) and the income and means of the adopters justifies the payment of an allowance. The Adoption allowances are means tested and are subject to annual review.
All decisions about payment of allowances must be made by the Head of Service or Assistant Director.
Kinship Arrangements
The UK government has put into place three different visa routes for Ukrainians who wish to come or remain in the UK since the war in the Ukraine started. These are:
Private Fostering
If an unacompannied child or young person is living with a Homes for Ukraine sponsor, is under 18, this is a statutory private fostering arrangement. All private fostering responsibilities and procedures must be followed in these cases. See Private fostering – see Section 4.2, Private fostering arrangements.
Please Note: These resources are being continually updated and so it is important that you seek the most up to date guidance when considering a kinship placement for a Ukrainian child or young person. Further advice can be found on Family Rights Group website and The Ukraine Advice Project UK.
There are three categories of payment, which may be considered. One or more of these may be applicable, depending on the children’s needs:
- Subsistence crisis (one-off) payments
These should be used to overcome a crisis, following the best assessment that can be achieved in the circumstances; - Setting-up
These are for items such as clothing, furniture, or bedding. The social worker must be satisfied that the carers' financial position justifies the payment through a financial assessment. Assistance may be given subject to conditions, including repayment in certain situations; - Weekly living contribution
It is possible for the local authority to make regular payments where family members or friends care for a child whether or not the child was in care.
In all cases where regular financial support is agreed, a written agreement will be drawn up detailing the level and duration of the financial support that is to be provided, and the mechanism for review.
The following criteria will be applied to all such payments:
- The purpose of the payments must be to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child;
- As part of the assessment, a view should be taken as to whether the carers need financial support based on their reasonable requirements in taking on the care of the child;
- There are no other legitimate sources of finance;
- Payments will be paid to the carer, not the parents;
- The payment would not place any person in a fraudulent position.
The authority works with landlords to ensure that, whenever possible, family and friends carers living in social housing are given appropriate priority to move to more suitable accommodation if this will prevent the need for a child to come into care.
From 1 September 2021, the School Admissions Code provides that children being raised by family and friends carers under a Special Guardianship Order or Child Arrangements Order, who struggle to get a school place during the year, will be supported in finding one.
The authority is under a duty to promote contact for all Children in Need, although this differs depending on whether or not the child is in care.
Where the child is not in care, we are required to promote contact between the child and his/her family 'where it is necessary to do so in order to safeguard and promote his or her welfare'. As part of the support arrangements, it may be identified that specific assistance is required to ensure that any such contact can be managed safely. If necessary, information will be made available to family and friends carers about local contact centres and family mediation services, and how to make use of their services.
Where a child is in care, we are required to endeavour to promote contact between the child and his or her family 'unless it is not practicable or consistent with the child's welfare'. The overall objective of the contact arrangements will be included in the child's Care Plan and the specific arrangements will be set out in the child's Placement Plan - see Contact with Parents and Siblings Procedure.
Family Group Conferences are meetings held between professionals and family members, which aim to achieve the best outcomes for children. They promote the involvement of the wider family to achieve a resolution of difficulties for Children in Need, and may help to identify short-term and/or permanent solutions for children within the family network.
We will offer a Family Group Conference or other form of family meeting at an early stage. If a child comes into care, perhaps following an emergency, without a Family Group Conference having been held, then (where appropriate) we will arrange one as soon as possible.
Where a family or friends carer is not satisfied with the level of support provided to enable them to care for the child, then they have access to the local authority's complaints process. Our aim would be to resolve any such dissatisfaction without the need for a formal investigation but where an informal resolution is not possible, and then a formal investigation will be arranged.
The timescales and process are set out in the Complaints and Representations Procedure.
Annex B: Summary of Consultation Findings - to follow.
Last Updated: May 17, 2024
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