CYP(3) AWE 02a Annex 2

Children and Young People Committee

Inquiry into arrangements for the placement of children into care –

Response from Foster carers

Form the basis of the regulatory framework under the Care Standards Act 2000 (CSA) for the conduct of fostering services in Wales.

The regulations are mandatory and fostering service providers must comply with them.  The Standards are taken into account by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate in any breach of regulations (or any decision to do with registration, cancellation, variation or imposition of conditions) and any subsequent enforcement action.

The UK National Standards for Foster Care and the Code of Practice on the recruitment, assessment, approval, training, management and support of foster carers issued in 1999 continue to be applicable to fostering services.  

In contrast to the national minimum standards issued under the CSA they have no formal legal status, but they represent best practice and as such should be fully complied with by fostering service providers.

Set out below are the duties, regulations and standards for sharing information with foster carers within the above documents.

The Fostering Service (Wales) Regulations 2003

The fostering service provider must provide foster parents with such training, advice, information and support, including support outside office hours, as appears necessary in the interests of children placed with them. (s 17 (1)

The fostering service provider must ensure that, in relation to any child placed or to be placed with a foster parent, the foster parent is given such information, which is kept up to date, as to enable the foster parent to provide appropriate care for the child, and in particular that each foster parent is provided with appropriate information regarding-  the state of health and health needs of any child placed or to be placed with the foster parent; and the arrangements for giving consent to the child's medical or dental examination or treatment. (s 17 (3)

Except in the case of an emergency or immediate a responsible authority may only place a child with a foster parent ifthe foster parent has entered into a foster care agreement.  (s34 (1)(c))

Schedule 6 of the Fostering Services (Wales) Regulations 2003 sets out the minimum requirements for foster care agreements, which includes an undertaking that foster carers will receive full information about the children placed with them and that they will provide further information as it becomes available.  

This includes information on the child's personal history, religious persuasion, cultural and linguistic background and racial origin, state of health and identified health needs; the safety needs of the child, including any need for any special equipment or adaptation; the child's educational needs; and any needs arising from any disability the child may have.

The responsible authority must ensure that any information relating to a child placed with the foster parent, to the child's family or to any other person, which has been given to the foster parent in confidence in connection with a placement is kept confidential and is not disclosed to any person without the consent of the fostering service provider. (Schedule 6)

National Minimum Standards for fostering Service

The National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services say that each foster carer must be provided with "full information about the foster child and her/his family to enable the carer to protect the foster child, their own children, other children for whom they have responsibility and themselves".

Set out below is an extract of the National Minimum Standards relating to the provision of information to foster carers

• Matches are achieved by means of information sharing and consideration involving all relevant professionals, the child and her/his family and potential carers, their families and other children in placement. (Standard 8.3 – Matching)

• Each foster carer is provided with full information about the foster child

and her/his family to enable the carer to protect the foster child, their own children, other children for whom they have responsibility and themselves. (Standard 9.7 – Protecting from abuse and neglect)

• Before a placement begins, the carer is provided with as full a description as possible of the health needs of a child and clear procedures governing consent for the child to receive medical treatment. Where there is an agency placement, the responsible authority provides this information to the agency and the agency passes it on to the carer. If full details of the health needs are not available before placement, a high priority is given to ensuring that the information is obtained and passed to the foster carer once the placement is made. (Standard 12.3 Promoting health and development)

• The carer is provided with a written health record for each child placed in their care (Standard 12.4  – Promoting health and development)

• Each approved foster carer is supervised by a named, appropriately

qualified social worker and has access to adequate social work and other professional support, information and advice to enable her or him to provide consistent, high quality care for a child or young person placed in her or his home. (Standard 22.3 – Supervision of Carers)
In producing the Foster Care Agreement for a foster carer, in line with

Schedule 5 of the Fostering Services (Wales) Regulations 2003, the fostering provider ensures that the Agreement contains the information they need to know, in a comprehensible style, to carry out their functions as a foster carer effectively. (Standard 22.4 – Supervision of Carers)

• The fostering service ensures that the foster carer knows why the child is in foster care and understands the basis for the current placement, its intended duration and purpose, and the details of the child’s legal status. (Standard 24 – Case Records For Children)

• The fostering service gives the foster carer access to all relevant

information to help the child understand and come to terms with past events. (Standard 24.6 – Case Records For Children)

Code of Practice on the recruitment, assessment, approval, training, management and support of foster carers

The Code of Practice sets out a number of ways in which the child’s social worker can support the carer.  This includes ‘providing full information about the child and his/her background at the beginning of the placement’. Paragraph 6.8 of the Code of Practice deals with provision of information

‘Carers should be provided with all relevant information about the children and young people they are asked to foster.  This should include full information about the child’s/young person’s background, history, family situation and reasons for placement.  Carers need detailed knowledge of a child’s/young person’s educational, medical, religious, racial, linguistic, cultural and social needs in order to cater adequately for them.  As this written information is confidential foster carers need to be able to keep it securely.  Agencies should provide foster cares with the means for this and have arrangements which ensure its confidential disposal.

Where there is a history of abuse, or where abuse is suspected, the prospective carer should be informed.  No carer should be asked to take responsibility for a child or young person who is know to have abused others, or where this is suspected, without being informed’.