Agenda item

(To consider a report from John Harris, Children’s Services Manager, on an overview of activity within the fostering service over Quarter 2)

Consideration was given to a report from the Children’s Services Manager, on an overview of activity within the fostering service over Quarter 2.

It was noted that the development of the virtual foster care community, via Caring2Learn (C2L), had created a model for the future and additional payments had been made, to both value the work of foster carers and  promote placement stability. Despite this, and reflective of the demography of foster carers within the County, up to 83 foster placements had been lost during the Covid pandemic as a result of self-isolation and vulnerabilities. At the end of Quarter 2, the number of children in care had continued to rise to 662. At the same time, those placed with Independent Fostering agencies had risen to 33, four of whom were unaccompanied migrant children. Amongst this group were two children placed who had waited for a long term placement for in excess of six months. 72 children became looked after for the first time in this quarter, of these 49 were placed in foster care.

The report covered information on recruitment and retention, marketing, virtual information events, a permanence campaign, the fostering friendly project, Retention / Caring2Learn / Our World Magazine, family finding training, kinship, Caring 2 Learn and assessments. The report also commented on what had worked well and what were the areas of concern.

In conclusion it was noted that Covid-19 had presented as some foster carers took themselves off line due to their own health vulnerabilities. As a result placement stability in this quarter had continued to be strong but placement availability had resulted in an increase in placements sought within the independent sector. The increase in care plans for permanent fostering had represented one of the most significant challenges for the Directorate as the number of plans continued to grow, whilst the recruitment of permanent foster carers remained worryingly low. Caring2learn continued to create the Foster care community and had established itself as a core framework for delivering the fostering service.  

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         The toolkit for new carers, which included the standards from the Training Standards Development (TSD), had been well received. These were starting to come in for assessment resulting in carers receiving a Learning Homes Award with an expectation to resubmit a portfolio every three years to ensure on going personal and professional development. It was requested that the criteria for the assessments and Award be circulated to the Panel for information.

·         Councillor R Foulkes volunteered to contact the Editor of the 'Stamford Living' publication with a view to discussing a possible article on fostering, following liaison with the dedicated media officer in the Fostering Service. 

·         It was noted that private fostering agencies used similar scrutiny and approval processes. Independent agencies were far more active in Lincolnshire and were able to offer a higher remuneration. It was reported that financial remuneration was not on its own a long term motivator in foster caring, especially as needs were often complex and the role was 24/7.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted and accepted as an accurate overview of the Fostering Service.