View Lincolnshire SCB Procedures View Lincolnshire SCB Procedures

1.2.8 Decision to Look After

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

The chapter summarises the key steps that must be taken in deciding that a child should become a Looked After Child.

AMENDMENTS

This chapter was significantly amended in September 2011 to take account of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 and Associated Guidance, in regard to the Care Plan content and timescales. This chapter should be read in its entirety.


Contents

  1. Decision to Look After a Child
  2. The Care Plan
  3. Other Plans and Arrangements


1. Decision to Look After a Child

In Lincolnshire there are a range of integrated services to support children within their own families including interventions under the Common Assessment Framework. Sometimes these strategies require additional support and a referral is made to Children's Services and an Initial Assessment is completed (See Initial Contact and Referrals Procedure and Initial Assessments Procedure).

Timely assessments will incorporate consideration of providing supports to the family and or extended family to bolster their abilities to continue safely caring for the child.

Research clearly indicates that the outcomes for those children who become Looked After are significantly poorer than those who remain in their family of origin. It is therefore important that all attempts to exhaust the Local Authority duties, under Section 17 Children Act 1989, to promote & safeguard the welfare of children within their family are made.

Whenever there is a serious risk of a family breakdown including a request for a child to come into public care, a Core Assessment should be completed and it should consider:

  • Support available from within the extended family and social network
  • Family arrangements for alternative Carers within their network
  • Planned support available from other agencies
  • Consideration of referral to other support agencies
  • Support available from within Children's Services

If placements are required, all efforts will be made to ensure joint agency planning with partner agencies to assist in efforts to help the child to remain within their own family network.

Who Makes the decision to for a child to come into public care?

The Child's social worker must complete an Initial Assessment and Core Assessment of the child's needs and if their analysis identifies that the child must come into public care, their Team Manager must approve the placement. In an emergency within office hours, the authority for a placement remains the same.

Outside office hours, the Emergency Duty Team can make the decision to Look After a child. Any decision to place the child outside office hours must be supported by a Placement Plan which should be completed as fully as possible and communicated to the relevant team by the beginning of the next working day.

A decision to Look After a child may occur in the following circumstances:

  • All attempts or possibilities at intervention to maintain and support the child with his or her family have broken down; or
  • The child would be at risk of Significant Harm by remaining with the family

The decision should only be made if appropriate consultation has taken place on the necessity, purpose and nature of the proposed placement.

Where the child is the subject of Care Proceedings, the Pre-proceedings checklist must be completed (see Public Law Outline (PLO) Frequently Asked Questions Guidance).

If a Core Assessment has not been completed or it is not up to date, a Core Assessment must be completed (see Core Assessments Procedure).

The Core Assessment will:

  • Record the views of the child/young person in respect of the assessment, the plan to accommodate, and the proposals for contact. It should evidence that the child has been seen alone and if not the reason for this
  • Record the views of the parent/carer in respect of the Assessment, the plan to accommodate, and the proposals for contact
  • Identify, evidence any risks and within the analysis take into account the risks and identify the needs of the child, including those to evidence the need to accommodate
  • It will incorporate and evidence the risks to the child and that concerns are substantiated and that the child is judged to be at continuing risk of significant harm. This will be evidenced within the analysis
  • Evidence the type of placement and carer the child requires to assist with 'matching needs'. The conclusion will be evidenced within the analysis
  • Evidence any risks that may be posed by the child in a placement and what measures may be required to minimise/manage those risks. The conclusion will be evidenced within the analysis
  • Evidence contact requirements. The conclusion will be evidenced within the analysis
  • Evidence the reason why the child/young person is unable to live with friends/extended family. The conclusion will be evidenced within the analysis
  • Evidence why a family group conference has not been held or if held, unsuccessful in identifying an alternative placement. The conclusion will be evidenced within the analysis
  • Evidence when the kinship care assessment will commence and end when other carers have been identified. The conclusion will be evidenced within the analysis
  • Evidence within the analysis the reason for the decision of the chosen method for providing the accommodation i.e.; whether to progress the proposed objective of the Care Plan  under section 20 or via the Public Law Outline legal planning meeting

In all circumstances the Head of Service will be contacted by the Team Manager (this cannot be delegated to the Practice Supervisor) to discuss the outcome of the assessment and the proposed request for a placement. Wherever possible the Initial Assessment (Emergency immediate safeguarding circumstances only) or Core Assessment will be read by the Head of Service.

The Team Manager will verify to the Head of Service:

  • The Team Manager is satisfied that the quality of the core assessment
  • That all other options for the child / young person to remain with birth family, significant others, Connected Person or friends have been fully explored
  • That a Family Group Conference has been held, and if not provide the reason for this
  • That the genogram is complete and up to date and the Team Manager has seen it
  • All resources have been explored and mobilised to support the child/young person to live with the birth family
  • The proposed objective of the care plan and timescales
  • That the child's current plan is up to date, the date it was last reviewed and the chairperson of the review, the date of the next review, which will incorporate the plans associated with the proposed objective for the care plan
  • If the Care Plan is under section 20 Children Act 1989, the reason for this instead of attendance at the Public Law Outline legal planning meeting

Authorisation from the Head of Service must be sought to agree that a request can be made for a placement. The Head of Service must also agree if the child requires immediate safeguarding and placement prior to the legal planning meeting.

If approval is given, the Social Worker should  notify  the Placement Duty Desk regarding the needs of the child to assist in identifying a suitable placement.

In the event of an 'in house' placement not being available, the Head of Service Regulated Services should be contacted before arrangements can be entered into to identify an Out of County Placement (This includes placements with Independent Fostering Agencies).

Family Group Conference

A Family Group Conference must be considered, to attempt to identify family or friends who could look after the child/young person or assist in any other aspects of the plan including contact. The outcome or reason for not using the facility will be recorded within the Core Assessment or Care Plan. If the decision changes at any time it will be recorded within case notes'-case discussion/decision'.

A Family Group Conference will be offered to the family when the assessment concludes that the child cannot live with the current carer/parent.

The birth family will be offered the opportunity to hold a family meeting with the purpose of:

  • Identifying who could look after the child to prevent the child from being placed in a local authority placement
  • Identify who wishes to be assessed to look after the child if the   child is unable to return to the birth parent(s) or those with Parental Responsibility
  • Make proposals of how the family/friends can assist with the contact arrangements
  • Make proposals of how the family/friends can assist with meeting the identified needs within the child's plan

The family should be offered the facility of an independent chairperson. If this is their preference the Lead Social Worker will contact the Family Group Conference co-ordinator manager within one working day of being notified by the family.


2. The Care Plan

Where a decision is made to look after a child, the child must have a Care Plan, the contents of which include:

  • The child’s Placement Plan (setting out why the placement was chosen and how the placement will contribute to meeting the child’s needs)
  • The child’s Permanence Plan (setting out the long term plans for the child’s upbringing including timescales)
  • The Pathway Plan (where appropriate, for young people leaving care)
  • The child’s Health Plan
  • The child’s Personal Education Plan
  • The contingency plane
  • The date of the child’s first Looked After Review (within 20 working days)
  • The name of the Independent Reviewing Officer

The child's Social Worker is responsible for drawing up and updating the Care Plan in consultation with:

  1. The child
  2. The child's Parents and those with Parental Responsibility
  3. Anyone who is not a Parent but has been caring for or looking after the child
  4. Other members of the child's family network who are significant to the child
  5. The child's school or education authority
  6. The relevant health trust
  7. The Youth Offending Service, if the child is known to them
  8. Any other agency involved with the child's care

One of the key functions of the Care Plan is to ensure that each child has a Permanence Plan by the time of the second Looked After Review. The Care Plan is subject to scrutiny at each Looked After Review. See The Review of the Child's Plan for Looked After Children Procedure.

The Care Plan should include the arrangements made to meet the child’s needs in relation to his or her:

  • Emotional and behavioural development
  • The child’s identity in relation to religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background
  • Family and social relationships; arrangements for contact with sibling(s) accommodated by the authority or another local authority; details of any Section 8 Order, in relation to a Looked After Child; details of any order in relation to contact with a child in care; arrangements for contact with parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility/ any other Connected Person; arrangements for the appointment of an Independent Visitor for a Looked After Child.
  • Social presentation
  • Self-care skills

2.1 Timescales for completion of the Care Plan

A Care Plan must be prepared prior to a child’s first placement, or if is not practicable to do so, within 10 working days of the Child’s first placement.  It should be completed prior to the child's first placement in accordance with the outcome of the Planning Meeting referred to in Section 1, Decision to Look After a Child.

If there are exceptional reasons that prevent the Care Plan from being drawn up prior to the child's placement, the key objectives of the child's proposed placement must still be identified and recorded. If satisfied, the Manager can then approve that the Care Plan is drawn up within a maximum of 7 days of the placement.

2.2 Approval of the Care Plan

A child must not be removed from parents without:

Any Care Plan taken before the Court within Care Proceedings must be endorsed and signed by the Head of Service and endorsed at the Legal Planning Meeting if it is the first application and in the case of a final care plan when the child is not returning to their birth family, to the Permanence Panel.

All other Care Plans must be endorsed and signed by the Team Manager.

The Care Plan can be updated by the Social Worker, with the Manager's approval, at any time.

The Care Plan is subject to scrutiny at each Looked After Review.

2.3 Circulation of the Care Plan

The Care Plan must be circulated to the following people:

  • The child
  • The Parent(s)
  • Providers/Carers - if no Care Plan has been drawn up prior to the child's placement, the Social Worker must ensure that the providers/Carers understand the key objectives of the plan, and how the placement will help achieve these objectives
  • The child’s Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO)


3. Other Plans and Arrangements

This summarises the other plans that must be drafted.

A Placement Plan (recorded on the Placement Information Record) must be drawn up outlining the arrangements for Looking After the child before the child is placed or, if not reasonably practicable, within 5 working days of the start of the placement.

The information to be included in the Placement Plan will include:

  1. How on a day-to-day basis the child will be cared for and the child’s welfare will be safeguarded and promoted by the appropriate person
  2. Any arrangements for contact between the child and parents/anyone with Parental Responsibility/any other connected person, including, if appropriate, reasons why contact is not reasonably practicable or not consistent with the child’s welfare; details of any Contact Order (under Section 8 or 34 of the Children Act 1989); the arrangements for notifying any changes in contact arrangements.
  3. Arrangements for the child’s health (physical, emotional and mental) and dental care, including the name and address of registered medical and dental practitioners; arrangements for giving/withholding consent to medical/dental examination/treatment;
  4. Arrangements for the child’s education and training, including the name and address of the child’s school/other educational institution/provider and designated teacher; the Local Authority maintaining any statement of Special Educational Needs.
  5. The arrangements for and frequency of visits by the child’s social worker; and for advice, support and assistance between visits
  6. If an Independent Visitor is appointed, the arrangements for them to visit the child
  7. The circumstances in which the placement may be terminated
  8. The name and contact details of the Independent Reviewing Officer, the Independent Visitor if one is appointed, the social worker who will be visiting the child, and the Personal Adviser for an Eligible Young Person.

If the child is placed out of hours or on an unplanned basis, it may not be possible to fully complete the plan/record. In these circumstances, as much of this plan/record should be completed as possible. As a minimum, the following should be recorded:

  • Healthcare/medical needs, including Consent to urgent medical treatment
  • Contact arrangements
  • Arrangements for school, including transport
  • Financial arrangements including the need to purchase any clothing or urgent equipment
  • Support that may be required by the Carer/Home or child

3.1 Other Plans/Records

The Social Worker should additionally complete or update the following records immediately or within specified timescales:

End