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Agenda item

Recruitment and Retention of In-House Foster Carers (19.05)

To review progress on the Commission’s recommendations from its review of Recruitment and Retention of Foster Carers and assess local support offer to in-house foster carers.

(75 minutes)

Minutes:

4.1  The Commission completed a review of the recruitment and retention of foster carers in 2018 which contained 10 recommendations to the Council.  The Commission has received a number of updates before this meeting, the last being in October 2019. 

 

4.2  Having been approached by Hackney Foster Carers Council, the Commission agreed to revisit this review to reassess the Hackney Foster Carer offer and to ensure that there has been sustained progress in the recruitment and retention of in-house foster carers.

 

4.3  To support this session, the Commission undertook a local consultation with local in-house foster carers supported by Hackney Foster Carers Council.  The Commission held a consultation evening on 31st August 2022 where members met 10 local foster carers.  This event was supported by a survey conducted by the Commission for which 48 responses were received from foster carers.

 

4.4  The Commission would produce a report with recommendations based on the consultation focus group, the survey and the discussions that take place at this meeting. This will be submitted to Cabinet for approval.

 

  Corporate Parenting

4.5  The Corporate Parenting team (CPT)  believes that the in-house foster care team remains the best option for children in care and is committed to recruiting and retaining foster carers..  There have been challenges to the recruitment of foster carers due to national conditions (i.e. impact of Covid), which has been felt in Hackney and across North London boroughs.  Despite this, the department has maintained a strong track record of recruitment of foster carers and has in excess of 170 fostering households in Hackney. 

 

4.6  Supporting in-house foster carers does present a number of challenges including how increasing numbers of carers are supported.  The CPT was always keen to develop the local support offer to carers including through developing links with national care bodies (e.g. Fostering Network) and by setting up additional support groups for carers (e.g. male carers group). The service is aware that it needs to develop its out of hours and emergency response support offer to carers which was challenging within a small team of social workers.  There was also a good training and support offer for foster carers.

 

4.7  The team was supported by experienced managers who not only knew and understood how to support staff, but also had good connections with foster carers themselves and understood the issues that they faced.  For example, local foster carers were interested in developing a trauma informed approach and were keen to work with service leaders in implementing this across the service.

 

4.8  Around 75% of all children are placed in foster care, of which 44% are with the in-house foster carer team.  The CPT would like to increase the number of looked after children who are cared for by the in-house foster carer team.  The matching service within the CPT were also working hard to make the most of the in-house foster carer team and to ensure that the right child was placed with the right foster carer.  CPT have also been assessing how in-house foster carers can be used to support each other and other children who may be placed at a distance (outside of Hackney).  The CPT was receptive to new ways of working or other developments which could improve support for in-house foster carers and welcomed this review. 

 

4.9  In terms of the previous recommendations of the Commission from 2018, it had been difficult to achieve progress in relation to Council Tax exemption.  There was now however a clear plan now for this to be rectified and it was hoped that an exemption for foster carers would be installed for the next financial year (2023/24) and a similar compensation scheme for those not resident within the borough.

 

Questions from the Commission

4.10  An Increase in fostering households is recorded from 128 to 170.  To what extent has this growth accounted by ‘Connected Carers’ who are mainly relatives or friends or named children?  Has there been any growth in the mainstream fostering households?

- From 1st April 2022 there has been an increase of 14 in house foster carers and an increase in connected foster carers also.

 

4.11  Can further details be provided on the ‘capacity restraints’ which limit in house foster carer assessments through the in-house recruitment unit.  Is this a staffing issue - or budget restriction?  What can be done to ensure that this key service is brought back in house?

- This was a resource issue and was being negotiated with finance colleagues as increased numbers of in-house foster carer recruits needed to be supported by a higher level of resource to support them (e.g. social work support, training etc.). The CPT would like to bring the recruitment and assessment team back in house so that this function can be better quality assured and is working with service leaders and finance to achieve this.

- The Group Director indicated that transformational work was starting across children’s social care and education to ensure that an investment to save opportunity such as this was not missed.

 

4.12  In relation to recruitment of in-house foster carers, how accessible is information, advice and guidance on becoming an in-house foster carer in the community?  Also how does the Hackney offer to in-house foster carers compare to Independent Fostering Agencies (IFA)? 

- Although the council may pay an IFA £1,000 per week for a looked after child maybe only half of this would go to the foster carer themselves. The weekly cost of an in-house foster care placement is approximately ½ that of an IFA placement, though social work support would need to be factored into the in-house model costs.

- There were significant variations in the level of service offered through IFAs. There were undoubtedly services of high quality and support to foster carers though other IFA’s offered a less consistent service.  It was noted that many smaller IFA’s had been taken over by larger IFA’s which had led to some deterioration of service quality.

- The North London Consortium pools resources to support recruitment across a number of local authorities which is more cost effective than if this was performed by individual authorities.

 

4.13  Given that officers have said that the use of in-house foster carers is preferred in terms of quality and also the most cost effective approach to care of looked after children, what are the barriers to investing more in this service?

- In principle, senior managers and staff were all in agreement that this was the best approach, but quite simply, the pressures within the overall Corporate Parenting budget were so significant, that the current options for re-investment were limited.

 

4.14  It was noted that some authorities offer retainers to carers (whilst they are not supporting a placement) and provide financial assistance during the assessment process or where allegations are being investigated, all of which are not provided in Hackney.  Is there a consistency of support and financial help across local authorities participating in the North London Fostering Consortium?

- Although authorities do not offer the exact same package, participating authorities do meet and benchmark financial support to ensure that this is consistent and does not encourage an inter-borough flow of foster carers. The CPT were keen to understand what in-house foster carers needed in terms of additional support and would look at this in the context of what was provided elsewhere.  It was important that the local offer across authorities was consistent to prevent competition for foster carers between partner boroughs.

 

4.15  Are mainstream foster carers who leave the in-house service routinely offered an exit interview?  Is this independent and are there clear procedures to derive learning from these interviews? What is the main reason that mainstream fostering households leave the service?

- Exit interviews are offered to all foster carer leavers.  The reasons for leaving can be quite varied with some leaving as they have come to the end of their fostering career.  Recently, there have been a number of foster carers who have left who have cited that they have not felt fully supported in their role as their reason for leaving (e.g. high turnover of social worker support).

- There are a number of common scenarios for carers to leave, these being when the child that they are caring for leaves care, or when a foster carer is relatively new (within the first year) and they have found the experience does not match up to what was expected. It was noted that all of the children have some form of trauma and will provide some challenge to foster carers. The CPT is keen to learn from these exit interviews and to develop the service as necessary.

- It should be noted that there was a national crisis in the recruitment of  social workers and there had been a high turnover of social workers.

 

4.16  Foster carers consulted in the lead up to this review suggested that assessment processes were excessively long and personally very challenging.  When did the Council last review its recruitment and assessment procedures? What informs the assessment process and how much flexibility does LA have? Is the Council assured that current assessment systems are culturally sensitive?  Is there a process for a more gradual entry into the in-house fostering support?

- It was noted that the assessment process for in-house foster carers was 8 months duration which included a wide ranging package of training, reflection and learning. It is important that foster carers have a clear understanding what happens during the assessment and what to expect as a foster carer. It was acknowledged that this process is intrusive, but was necessary as carers would be looking after the most vulnerable children and the CPT must ensure that they have the right skills to be able to do this.  The assessment process is regularly reviewed.

- In house assessment is preferred as this enables the service to get to know the prospective foster carer better and how best their needs can be supported.

There have been times when the assessment periods have been very long as the service has been reliant on agency social workers to undertake this function.  Additional checks and balances have been put in place to prevent this, but it should be acknowledged that it was not possible to cut corners in this process as the service must have full confidence in its team of foster carers.

 

4.17  There are many related professionals who work with children and have relevant experience and understanding which can be brought to fostering.  Are these professionals being included within fostering recruitment campaigns?  Also, in relation to connected carers, were opportunities to foster with friends of the family being fully explored? 

- Connected carers can offer a positive and stable foster carer placement which can also help children to maintain contact with local support networks.  Family Group Conferences help to identify possible connected carers with whom children can be placed when they may need to be removed from their parent or carer.  This process is however reliant on the information provided by the family and CPT would need their consent to contact them.  It was also noted that sometimes children themselves suggest potential connected carers.  It should be noted that connected carers can sometimes present very complex relationships for the family and wider network of family and friends to maintain.  There is further work that can be undertaken in the community to increase general awareness of the fostering options such as connected carers, especially as some of these carers can progress to become mainstream foster carers.

 

4.18  What are the benefits of a child being placed with an in-house foster carer rather than with a foster carer working for an IFA?

- Within the CPT there is better knowledge of the carer and of the children involved which can lead to placement that better suit the needs of children in care.  It was acknowledged that some IFA do provide excellent therapeutic support and the CPT was keen to learn from these where this was identified.

 

4.19  There was a perception among foster carers that their knowledge and understanding of what it is like to be a foster carer in Hackney or their experience of looking after children in Hackney is not valued or utilised by the service. To what degree are foster carers involved in training, assessment and the placement of children with respective carers?  Can carers views be integrated into practice better?

- Foster carers are involved in recruitment as it is important for new carers to hear the voice of existing carers and learn about their experiences.  The service also offers ‘buddying’ support for new social workers which enables established foster carers to be involved in their development.

 

4.20  Understanding the limitations of social work support available to foster carers, what alternative support is available in relation to therapeutic support, clinical supervision and individual therapy?

- There is a clinical service in Hackney and the CPT were assessing how this offer can be extended to in house foster carers.  It was also noted that there was a therapeutic support group for carers which offered a drop-in service.  This development had been well received and a high take up had been recorded.

 

4.21  Whilst rates of remuneration were connected to levels of experience, the placement of children with most complex needs did not always tally with experience.  Therefore there were circumstances in which children with higher needs were sometimes placed with  relatively inexperienced (and lower remunerated) foster carers.  Is this being addressed?

- There is now a full-time matching officer to ensure that needs of the child are matched with the skills, abilities and experience of the foster carer.  There was always the possibility that new or emerging needs of the child would come to light after the child has been placed with a foster carer which may be challenging for the foster carer concerned. Matching is important as all the children will have some degree of trauma.  It should be noted that the level of qualification of the foster carer is linked to training and development and not the needs of individual children.

- It was noted that there is a fostering social worker in the out of hours service who can match children coming into care with the in-house fostering team where appropriate.

 

4.22  What level of scrutiny takes place in relation to private fostering to ensure that arrangements are appropriate to the needs of the child?

- Private fostering assessments are subject to a rigorous statutory assessment.  In Hackney this is undertaken by the No Recourse to Public Funds Team rather than within the fostering service. If there were safeguarding concerns that emerged in this assessment these would be dealt with by the safeguarding team. It was important to recognise the vulnerability of a child living away from their parents and the safeguards that need to be put in place.

 

4.23  Foster Carers noted how disruptive and challenging allegations by young people they care for can be, and how disempowered they feel in these investigations (e.g. last to be consulted, lack of information).  When did the Council last review its procedures for investigating “allegations“. Why is there not a “tier” of seriousness that would avoid the unnecessary disruption of a placement and a presumption of innocence until proven guilty particularly for less serious allegations? The previous review recommended that foster cares have access to independent advice and guidance through allegations, can you update the Commission where this is?

- There is an allegations policy which has recently been updated to ensure that these are dealt with fairly and consistently.  Allegations are related to allegation of child abuse not in the failure to deliver standards of care and therefore have to be investigated under child safeguarding procedures which can be very lengthy, especially when other parties may be involved (e.g. police).  The financial policy indicates that payments to foster carers will continue for a set amount of time after an allegation has been made.

 

4.24  Within the survey there were very favourable reports of the additional support that the MockingBird hub and constellation support system provided to foster carers in the survey.  To date there are 3 Mockingbird sites, two of which are in the process of being embedded.  The Commission notes the ambition for all foster carers to be included within a Mockingbird Constellation, but can you set out the challenges and financial implications of increasing this provision. What is the planned time frame for this ambition?

- There are 3 Mockingbird projects in, 1 in Hackney, 1 in Barnet and 1 in Essex.  The number of projects is growing year by year and it is hoped that all foster carers will benefit from the additional peer support and experience that these provide.  The hub carer is central to the operation of the Mockingbird as they can offer experienced support as well as respite care for other carers and looked after children (therefore this hub carer needs to have additional rooms to be able to undertake this support). CPT regularly updates all foster carers on the work of Mockingbird constellations and how these extend support to carers and looked after children.

- Housing is a barrier to the Mockingbird model, as the hub carer needs to have two spare rooms to adopt this central role.  This can be a significant barrier to the rollout of additional constellations.  There was flexibility around this space, but it was acknowledged that this was a significant commitment for hub carers.

 

4.25  If foster carers could change one thing to improve recruitment and retention what would this be?

- Emergency Placement of children needs to be assessed in greater detail to ensure that there is full follow up to check that this is the best arrangement for the child and the foster carer.  Too often these are placed in IFA or specialist accommodation which may be far away from home and still not meet all their needs.  In house foster carers were not being utilised enough, and their skills and experience could be developed further because in an emergency children were being placed elsewhere.

- The relationship between foster carers and social workers needed to be examined, in particular in the way that they advocate and represent the views of foster carers.  IFA social workers were not afraid to challenge and advocate for their foster carers, whereas in-house foster carers were part of the Hackney system and not able to challenge other progression or effectively represent them in the local system.

- Additional support was the thing that needed to change most for foster carers.

 

Hackney Foster Carers Council

4.26  Representatives from Hackney Foster Carers Council presented to the Commission and highlighted the following key issues:

- Mockingbird is a very supportive model which is very welcomed by foster carers, yet only a small fraction of foster carers currently benefit (30 out of 170). There were waiting lists to join which indicated the level of needs among foster carers.

- Foster carers look after children because they care and have a commitment to improving the lives of children.  There were however, many challenges for foster carers in looking after such children.

- Many children coming into care were traumatised and needed high levels of support which was challenging to foster carers. Children were finding it difficult to access therapeutic or clinical support  or mental health support which was challenging. Foster carers also needed therapeutic support to help them manage foster placements - but such opportunities were relatively limited.

- In terms of out of hours services, there is not the level of support available which is needed to support foster carers.  In particular, there was rarely an opportunity to talk to a social worker in any detail about a crisis that may be happening at the time for foster carers.

- There is a chronic shortage of social workers.  This made it very difficult for foster carers to form relationships with social workers and get the advice, help and support that they needed.

- Too often, the records of looked after children appeared not to have been updated which was frustrating to foster carers, as it was very difficult to progress and support children effectively.

- In terms of recruitment, potential foster carers need to know the whole picture of what it is like to be a foster carer and to hear about their experiences.  At the moment, it felt like a revolving door with as many leaving as there were joining.  Exit interviews were not rigorous enough to learn more about the experiences of why foster carers were leaving.

- There was no difference in the way that foster carers were treated in relation to an allegation or a standard of care issue, and that for some carers, payments had immediately stopped once investigations were launched.

- HFCC was not aware of the outcomes of the review completed in 2018 and would like to be further involved in the outcomes of this update and monitoring.

Concerns around complaints and allegations were widespread and potentially devastating for carers.  Foster carers working for an IFA found this process much easier as they had the agency to represent and advocate for them, which in-house foster carers did not have.

-In-house foster carers felt that they could be more involved in service provision and there were other models which the service may need to look at to inform this such as adult social care or other patient involvement approaches.

Step-up and step-down approaches have not been fully applied and that there was a need for greater dialogue between foster carers and social workers when this could take place.

 

4.27  The Chair noted that this conversation would continue and that the Commission would draw up a report with recommendations to the Cabinet member.  This would draw on evidence presented in this meeting, the focus group and the survey.

Supporting documents: