The new Staying Put duty – the requirement for local authorities to support arrangements where young people continue to live with their foster carer up to the age of 21 – has been lauded as the most significant reform for children in care for a generation. The principles of Staying Put certainly deserve that plaudit. The scheme offers young people a more natural transition to adulthood and independence. It provides the kind of support that any reasonable parent would provide for their children, and rightly so. When the state makes a conscious decision to intervene in the life of a child it has an obligation to do everything possible to help them into successful adulthood. For too long, young people leaving care faced an abrupt transition to independence that has been described as instant adulthood. The consequences are clear in the outcomes for care leavers. There is a lot of evidence that young people leaving care are more likely to be Neet (not in education, employment or training), to become young parents, to experience homelessness and mental health problems, and to have contact with the criminal justice system. The age at which children leave care, the speed of transition and maintaining secure attachments all help to give young people a better chance of good adult outcomes. Staying Put helps to ensure that young people experience a transition to adulthood similar to their peers, within a supportive family environment. The achievement of children's minister Edward Timpson MP and Department for Education civil servants in securing this new duty should not be underestimated; in particular the requirement that the support local authorities provide to Staying Put arrangements must also be financial. In a rare coup in these difficult financial times, £40m of central government funding has been allocated to support local authorities in meeting their new duties. However, there are a number of significant challenges to implementing these reforms. It is simply not clear whether this £40m, spread over three years and every local authority in England, will be enough to ensure that authorities can properly support every arrangement. The costs to local authorities will depend on the number of young people who choose to stay put, how long they stay for and the level of financial support offered to the carer. Local authorities must pay carers an allowance to cover the costs of the young person continuing to live with them. But unlike foster care, there are no national standards about the minimum allowance that carers should receive, and they are unlikely to receive any fee element in recognition of the expertise they bring to supporting the young adult in moving to independence. The good practice guidance launched on Tuesday notes that this loss of income is one of the biggest obstacles to foster carers being able to offer Staying Put, and encourages local authorities to ensure no young person misses out just because their carer cannot afford it. Unfortunately, we know that unprecedented budget cuts mean councils in many areas will not have enough money to meet their statutory responsibilities, let alone go further than required. Councils have been up front about the pressures to reduce the number of children in care, with some saying they will use early conversations with 17 year-olds about leaving care as one way of achieving this. As Staying Put rolls out across England, we need to gather robust evidence about the real costs, barriers and obstacles. Without adequate funding based on a comprehensive understanding of the costs there are disincentives to encouraging more young people to take advantage of the scheme. In the worst case scenario, there is a risk that local authorities may face pressures to move young people out of foster care before they turn 18. We hope that practice will not bear this out, but numbers of young people leaving care at 16 and 17 should be closely monitored as Staying Put comes into effect. The nature and extent of independent fostering agencies' obligations in relation to Staying Put is also unclear. Local authority commissioning increasingly requires agencies to commit to offering the scheme. This is a positive step, and some local authorities plan to work in partnership with independent agencies throughout the arrangement. However, many local authorities say they plan to make Staying Put arrangements directly with the carer and young person, without involving the agency that has supported them throughout the fostering placement. Foster carers and young people therefore face losing consistency in the support they have previously received unless independent agencies fund this through their surplus or charitable income – an issue many are grappling with. Amid so much uncertainty, one thing is clear: local authorities and independent agencies must work constructively together to ensure that every young person who wants to stay put gets the chance, and that carers get the support they need. Amanda Cumberland is policy and parliamentary adviser at TACT. Source: http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2014/jul/16/young-people-care-staying-put?CMP=twt_gu Fostering and Adoption Charity TACT (The Adolescent and Children’s Trust) welcomes today’s launch of new good practice guidance on ‘Staying Put’ – a scheme which enables young people to continue living with their foster carer until the age of 21. The new duty on local authorities to support and monitor staying put arrangements was introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014, after a concerted campaign by children’s social care charities including TACT. Local authorities now have a duty to support such arrangements, including providing social work support and financial support to the carer. TACT Interim CEO David Bradley said; ‘Many young people leaving care are particularly vulnerable as a consequence of the abuse or trauma that led to them coming into care. The consequences of this are clear in the outcomes for care leavers. It is well evidenced that care leavers are more likely to be NEET, to become young parents, to experience homeless and mental health problems, and to have contact with the criminal justice system. Staying Put offers young people a much smoother and more natural transition to adulthood and independence. It offers the kind of support and safety net that any reasonable parent would provide for their children. This guide provides welcome advice and guidance to local authorities and independent fostering agencies on how to ensure that staying put is implemented effectively. We particularly welcome the inclusion of the principle that entering into a staying put arrangement should be the norm, not the exception, and no young person should miss the opportunity to participate in staying put because the carer cannot afford to do so. We also welcome the recognition of the important role independent agencies like TACT have to play in the implementation of Staying Put, and look forward to working constructively with local authorities to ensure that every young person who wants to ‘stay put’ is able to do so, and that every carer is fully supported in their important role helping young people navigate the transition to adulthood and independence.’ Diana, young person in a TACT staying put arrangement, said; ‘I am now part of the Staying Put agenda and that has enabled me to stay put with my foster carers that I was living with before I was eighteen. This has helped me to stay on at college and to continue to reach my goals. My carers are really supportive of what I want to do. Being able to stay put has meant pretty much everything to me. If I had gone independent at eighteen I wouldn’t have lasted and would have had to go back to my parents which wouldn’t have worked out. I wouldn’t have progressed as a person and I would have had different prospects.’ Notes to Editors TACT is the UK’s largest charity and voluntary agency providing fostering and adoption services. For more information, please contact 020 8695 8142. Production of the guide has been led by The Children’s Partnership, the voluntary and community sector strategic partner to the Department for Education led by the National Children’s Bureau and 4Children, working with the support of the Fostering Network. A full list of organisations involved in developing the guidance, including TACT, can be found in the guidance. Source: http://tactcare.org.uk/news/tact-welcomes-staying-put-good-practice-guidance/ PACT and New Family Social will be running focus groups on Thursday 17th July to help design a new campaign to attract more LGBT adopters. We are inviting adopters to share their ideas and views on marketing materials and planned activities. Your input will be key in helping the campaign to find new LGBT families for some of the 6,000 children still waiting to be adopted. Can you attend one of two sessions?
Each session will be for 5 – 8 people and last up to two hours long comprising of an informal discussion. You won’t need to do any preparation or have any prior knowledge of marketing – just a willingness to share your ideas about the general perception of adoption, barriers and myths, and how PACT can increase awareness of its services. Refreshments will be provided. PACT will pay travel expenses and each participant will also be given a £10 M&S voucher. RSVP by Thursday 10th July. For more information or to sign up to attend, please contact Francesca.Fogell@pactcharity.org. Source: http://www.pactcharity.org/news-events/latest-news/invitation-lgbt-adoption-promotion-focus-groups A foster agency based in South Woodford received a ‘good’ Ofsted report. The report, released last week, praised The Adolescence and Children’s Trust (TACT) East London in High Road, South Woodford. It pointed out how it helped children build good relationships with their carers and made sure their needs were met. TACT East London is an independent fostering agency that recruits, trains and supports 60 foster households in the area and has 67 children in placement. The report said: “Children and young people flourish from living in a healthy environment where their physical, emotional and psychological health needs are comprehensively promoted and met. “Good matching of children and young people and their carers helps to ensure that their individual needs are promptly met, with particular emphasis on their cultural and diversity needs. “Young people build good, trusting relationships with their foster carers; some say, ‘It’s their family and I call my carer 'Mum'.’ Children and young people express clearly that they like their carers and want to live with them.” Source: http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/rbnews/11318370.Foster_agency_praised_by_Ofsted/ Please apply for employment roles using the PACT application form after downloading the relevant job description and person specification. Please be aware that the application forms part of the selection process. If you have further queries please email recruitmentvacancies@pactcharity.org or call 0118 938 7600. PACT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults therefore please note our recruitment procedure includes DBS checks and overseas checks (where applicable). Please note prospective employees will need to evidence they have the relevant permission to work in the UK. Current opportunities: Senior Social Worker -Assessment & Placement Team Maternity cover, beginning the end of July 2014 Pro rate salary in the range: £25,456 - £31,112 pa Based: Reading Part-time, 30 hours per week Would you like to work for one of the leading adoption and fostering charities in the UK? We place children with secure and loving families through our adoption service, recently rated Outstanding by Ofsted in all assessed areas. We also offer long term fostering and our pioneering Dual Approval service. We support families for life through our award-winning therapeutic services, FACTS. Last year we recruited over 100 families and that number will be even higher this year. Due to our exceptional progress we are creating a two stage service to ensure that the excellent experience current applicants receive is sustained as we continue to expand in 2014 and beyond. This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to join our Stage 2 Assessment and Placement team. If you are a skilled and HCPC registered social worker with a minimum of three years post-qualification experience with a background in adoption and/or fostering we would love to hear from you. Click here for the job description and person specification Closing date: noon, 1st July 2014 Interview date: 10th July 2014 No agencies please PACT Fostering Mentors There is a shortage of foster carers for sibling groups, and PACT is running a campaign to find more families to train as foster carers and keep brothers and sisters together. Current foster carers have told us that those interested in fostering like to hear from someone who knows what it is really like to foster - that’s where the Fostering Mentors come in. What is involved in the role of fostering mentor?
Working within your local community is easier than you think, you may already be a member of your local church, attend a sports club, have contacts with local businesses or regularly attend the local school - all you need to do is ask if you could set up a time to talk about fostering, take along some leaflets and just chat about your fostering experiences. Fostering Mentors will be asked to do two talks per month. Fostering Mentors will also contribute to online forums, for instance does your local parish church have an online forum that you could contribute to? We will provide training in generating awareness through social media and suggest forums and blogs that you can use. Who can be a Fostering Mentor? Any current, or previously approved, foster carer who can commit to regularly attending community groups and building relationships within the local community can apply for the role. Fostering Mentors will be expected to work a minimum of 4 hours per week. There are no set hours and you can work at times to fit round all your other commitments. As this is a new role it will initially be for a 6 month period in order to monitor outcomes. Will I get paid? Yes you will get paid an hourly rate and you will get paid expenses for mileage. Pay will be at the rate of £10.70 per hour. How do I find out more and apply for the role? Click here for the job description and person specification For more information call Francesca Fogell, 01189 387604. You can apply by completing our application form and returning this to recruitmentvacancies@pactcharity.org Closing date: 11th July 2014 Interviews: TBC Source: http://www.pactcharity.org/jobs The Foster Care Cooperative team in Wales, are proud to announce that they are this years sponsor of the Cardiff Comedy Festival - Youth Workshops. The Cardiff Comedy Festival was set up in 2010 to showcase established, mainly Welsh, acts, and to nurture new talent. The scheme is all about finding within young people (primarily 14-19 year olds) the ability to make others laugh whilst educating them about what comedy is, whilst helping them improve their presentation and language skills. The workshops are across two days, between 22-25 July between 11-4pm at Cardiff Central Library. They are conducted by comedians Scott Fitzgerald, Matt Price, Johnny Disco and Matt Drayton who have supported comedians such as Ardal O'Hanlon and performed at prestigious shows including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Within the workshops the team will help the young individuals develop material and writing, stage craft, turpitude and interaction. All leading towards performing at 'The Big Gig' on Saturday 26th July. All of the workshop attendees will be given the opportunity to perform with one of the pro comics. The gig is free, and starts at 7pm again at Cardiff Central Library Katrina Rohman, Marketing and Strategy Officer for FCC in Wales, said “I’m extremely excited about Foster Care Cooperative supporting the Cardiff Comedy Festival Youth Workshops this year. Many of the skills the comics are trying to impart are important to all teenagers, but especially to those in foster care who may have lack of confidence or those who are looking for an outlet to express their experiences. Plus comedy brings out the most satisfying emotion - laughter or joy.” Source: http://www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk/fostering-with-us/news-and-events/cardiff-comedy-festival-youth-workshops/ Many young people leaving the care system find themselves struggling with their housing or living in unsuitable, unsafe or insecure accommodation, new Barnardo’s research has shown.A new report from Barnardo’s, entitled, ‘On My Own’ reveals that vulnerable care leavers are worried about the risk of becoming homeless and are experiencing severe difficulties with finding appropriate accommodation, having a choice in their housing and managing living alone for the first time. Research was conducted with care leavers and support workers across a range of Barnardo’s services throughout England to understand their experiences of leaving care. Many young people told of how they struggle with the practical problems of how to pay bills and cook for themselves, whilst others experienced a break down in their accommodation and were facing the risk of eviction, sofa-surfing or even sleeping rough. One care leaver described the anxiety at leaving care and feeling unprepared to cope alone: “But what I am scared about is that when I get to that point and I can’t do it (cope alone), I’m out there and you’re not. There’s no way of getting back into care once you leave it… As soon as you’ve left, you can’t go back.” Barnardo’s is calling for Government to extend the support given to care leavers, so that ALL care leavers, not just those staying in or re-entering education and training are offered personal advisors up to the age of 25.on_my_own_report_final.pdf Ahead of the upcoming Local Government Conference 2014, the charity is also recommending that children’s services and housing departments within local authorities work more effectively together to ensure the accommodation needs of care leavers in their area are met. This could include jointly commissioning an accommodation pathway for young people so that care leavers have a degree of choice and are able to access a range of accommodation that meets their needs at different stages of independence. Commenting on the plight of these young people, Barnardo’s Chief Executive, Javed Khan said: “Young people leaving the care system are often the most vulnerable in our society, but shamefully the extra help they need is often not available for them or inconsistent across the country. “These young adults deserve better and should be offered more suitable accommodation options if they face a housing crisis - not be placed in unsafe B&Bs or homeless hostels. Local authorities need to ensure they are living up to their position as corporate parent to these young people and working in tandem with children’s services and housing departments to make sure they deliver. “Furthermore it is a paradox that only those care leavers who are in education or training get support until they are 25, whilst those who are jobless and not wanting to access formal learning have their support removed at 21. We believe all young people who have spent time in care need on-going help past 21, especially in order to stay in housing when other support falls away.” Source: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/news/media_centre/press_releases.htm?ref=97632 |
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