The creation of regional adoption agencies that work across local authority boundaries is one proposal that has been highlighted by the Conservative Party. In their manifesto that was launched this week the Party states: “We have made progress in reforming our adoption system, but there is more to do. We will introduce regional adoption agencies, working across local authority boundaries to match children with the best parents for them.” Andy Elvin, TACT’s Chief Executive, has responded to this pledge: “TACT recognises that these proposals are well intentioned and come from a laudable place. However TACT would like to see a move to permanence hubs. The constant focus on one permanence option, adoption, which is a solution for a minority of children in public care, is unhelpful. Foster care or special guardianship arrangements within extended families are the most common permanence options for children who cannot remain with their parents. Ideally we’d like to see a legislative and regulatory framework that puts achieving permanence for all children without delay at the heart of the system. This could involve establishing integrated permanence services in all areas, a nationally agreed permanence practice framework, a professional skills framework and committed and dedicated leadership through a National Child Permanence Board supporting and challenging regional Permanence Boards rather than boards that only focus on adoption.” See the Community Care news article or the Conservative Party manifesto for further information. Source: http://tactcare.org.uk/news/creation-of-regional-adoption-agencies-highlighted-in-conservative-party-manifesto/ FtSE Member News: The Foster Care Co-operative - Increasing the number of Diverse Foster Carers15/4/2015
The Foster Care Co-operative in partnership with Pride Cymru, as part of their Diverse Families initiative, are holding an information evening for anyone would like more information about becoming a foster carer. The event is the first in a series planned, starting in the capital. This event is being held at The Wharf, on Schooner Way in Cardiff Bay, on Thursday 16th April 2015 between 4.30-7.30pm. It is a drop in session, so those interested can come at any point during this time. Part of the 1st year anniversary celebrating the legalisation of same sex marriages in the UK, this information drop in event is aimed at breaking down the myths and stereotypes that still surround the foster care sector, and changing some of these perceptions. Tracey Bancroft, on behalf of Pride Cymru said; “Since its inception in 1999, Pride Cymru (formally Mardi Gras) has been a medium to promote LGBT equality and highlight issues faced by our community. As an organisation, we also want to promote opportunities to the community too.” “Working alongside The Foster Care Co-operative, gives us the chance to let more people know LGBT parenting is no different to parenting. Children need to be brought up in safe, caring homes where they can experience something that every child has a right to – a loving family. It could be the most fulfilling, surprising, challenging and rewarding thing you ever do” The teams from The Foster Care Co-operative and Pride Cymru will both be on hand to meet those who want to find out more. Current Foster Carers and Social Workers will also be present to talk about the process and what is involved day to day. Foster Carers can be: • Single, in a civil partnership, married or unmarried • Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or heterosexual • From any ethnic or religious background • A homeowner or living in rented accommodation • Working, unemployed or retired • Parents already • Any age (over 21) • Having a disability or a medical condition doesn’t exclude you, as long as you are able to cope with the rigours of parenting! Kim Perkins, Registered Manager for Wales said; “Unfortunately, there are still a lot of misconceptions about who is able to foster that may discourage potential carers from applying. We do need more people who have the right skills and qualities to foster to come forward and make a long lasting positive difference to the life of a child. You will soon realise that our organisation is quite unique; we are the only co-operative in Foster Care within the United Kingdom, and we use the structure and benefits that this provides to ensure that we are strongly focused on the care of vulnerable children. Also, we are a committed not for profit organisation, meaning we do not have any shareholders and the children and young people are placed with Foster Carers based on their needs and not to reach a numerical target. Our experienced Social Workers are more than happy to provide further information and answer any questions, so I’d definitely encourage anyone interested in fostering to come along to the event, or to contact us.” More information on our facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Foster-Care-Co-operative/337692639580389?ref=hl#!/events/959573150742951/?ref_newsfeed_story_&feed_story_ More information on Pride Cymru: http://www.pridecymru.co.uk/ Source: http://www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk/fostering-with-us/news-and-events/increasing-the-number-of-diverse-foster-carers/ April 1 is always a risky day to announce the introduction of sweeping changes to social policy affecting thousands of people. However, the Scottish Government’s introduction of major changes benefiting children in care was, fortunately, no joke. From April 1, all teenagers in residential, foster or kinship care are able to remain in their care setting until 21. TACT was delighted when Staying Put was introduced in England in 2014. Staying Put allows care leavers to remain with their former foster carers until 21 and requires local authorities to provide arrangements for this to happen. One year later, similar measures have been introduced in Scotland. Similar, but going considerably further. While England has only expended for those in foster care, Scotland is improving arrangements for all children in care. Additional support has also been made available for care leavers until the age of 26. Finally, and crucially, new corporate parenting responsibilities will include accountability and reporting requirements. This is particularly important, as the danger with new requirements introduced through legislation is the creation of a gap between national policy and local implementation. The Scottish Government is to be congratulated. Its approach has seen the benefit not only extended to all in care, but also allows for support years after leaving care. The temptation for Governments is always to take the plaudits for the introduction of new measures, while seeking to save expenditure through the limitation of eligibility. By taking such an all-encompassing and broad brush approach, the Scottish Government has demonstrated an admirable commitment to the wellbeing and future of children in care. Further information
Source: http://tactcare.org.uk/blog-major-changes-benefit-children-in-care-in-scotland/ FtSE Member News: The Foster Care Co-operative - Another Successful Annual Inspection in Wales8/4/2015
The inspection was carried out on Wednesday 11th March 2015, by Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales. The CSSIW regulates and inspects all fostering agencies in Wales on a regular basis to make sure excellent care is given to children and young people, and sufficient training and support is provided to staffing teams and Foster Carers. The inspector met with Foster Carers, Social Workers and Managers for Wales as well as checking paperwork including the statement of purpose, quality of care review and other records. “Overall, evidence indicated that the agency had been effective in safeguarding and improving the quality of life of the children and supporting them to achieve good developmental outcomes.” Some of the areas that good practice was praised included: • a low incidence of placement disruption and breakdown • all the children were in full-time education (including 16-18 year olds) • the range of training available to Foster Carers • a long standing and experienced group of Foster Carers and staff • the motivation demonstrated by Foster Carers, staff and manager “We (the CSSIW) met with a group of 7 Foster Carers... They said that the agency was committed to improving the quality of life of the children and told us about the support available to promote their health, education and social activities. These included an educational adviser and child psychologist and leaving care worker to ensure their particular needs were provided for.” Congratulations to all of the staffing team, but especially our Foster Carers who are constantly making a difference to young lives. http://cssiw.org.uk/find-a-care-service/service-directory/9290?lang=en Source: http://www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk/fostering-with-us/news-and-events/another-successful-annual-inspection-in-wales/ TACT has been working with the government and Department for Education for the last two years to strengthen regulations on long-term fostering. We are delighted that new measures introduced on 1 April will see a legal definition of long term fostering introduced for the first time in England. When the DfE was asking for views, we consulted with the young people in our care about other changes they would want to see. For example, their suggestion that reviews should be less frequent after a year in placement, has also been incorporated into the new regulations. While the Government did not adopt all of TACT’s recommendations, we hope that these changes will lead to increased security and stability for young people in foster care. Further informationRead the new measures: The Care Planning and Fostering (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2015 Read TACT’s comprehensive submission to the DfE: Improving permanence for looked after children Source: http://tactcare.org.uk/news/new-long-term-fostering-measures-introduced/ We are delighted to share the results of our latest survey of young people in the care of TACT Foster Carers across England, Scotland and Wales. What young people think…and why it’s important to us brings to life how positively young people in TACT placements feel about the care they receive, their relationships with their foster carers, and their aspirations for the future. Listening to and valuing young people’s views and ideas not only helps us to deliver better fostering services and campaign more effectively; it also helps young people to reach their full potential. TACT CEO, Andy Elvin, celebrates the release of our survey: ‘For us, listening to the voices of the young people we work with isn’t just an add-on or done to tick an inspection checkbox; it is an ethos that influences the staff we choose to work with us, the way we recruit and support foster carers, and the opportunities we offer to young people in TACT care.’ The survey We interviewed 84 young people (aged 9-18) across TACT face-to-face to find out what they think on themed issues such as:
Key Findings What now?
As well as taking on board all the positives from the results of the questionnaire and celebrating what we do well, we’ve looked at any areas of concern raised by the young people we spoke to. Some were personal to them, some we more generally felt. We are always looking for ways to develop what we do, improve our services and respond to those in our care. Further information
Source: http://tactcare.org.uk/news/what-tact-young-people-think/ |
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