TACT has reported an 11% increase in queries from people hoping to become foster carers since lockdown. Barnardo’s recently called a ‘state of emergency’ in the care system, reporting that the numbers of children referred for foster care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland had risen by 44% during lockdown. The charity also revealed a 47% decline in the number of people coming forward to become foster carers, compared to last year. However, Andy Elvin, CEO of fostering and adoption charity TACT Care, told HuffPost UK they have actually seen an 11% increase in queries from people hoping to become foster carers since lockdown began. Elvin believes some people have been reevaluating what they’re doing with their lives as a result of the pandemic – and says that while they’ve had to be honest with carers that they can’t guarantee a child hasn’t been exposed to Covid-19, most have still gone ahead with their placements. “We’ve actually seen stability in the foster care environment,” Elvin tells HuffPost UK. “More stability than instability. We haven’t had many kids leaving foster homes, and a lot of the children have relaxed into it. Placements have, on the whole, gone ahead – the only ones who have not been okay with it are those with underlying health conditions or health risks.” While referrals of new cases from local authorities have decreased by 5%, perhaps as a result of school closures, Elvin believes the pandemic may have actively prompted interest from some carers. “Unemployment is rising and people are looking at doing other things,” he says. “Fostering is recession-proof. Hopefully in three to six months time we’ll have a new cohort of foster carers. In many ways, social distancing and homeschooling has helped children relax into their new environments, says Elvin. “For some children, not having the social and academic pressures of school has made things better and easier,” he explains. “It’s improved their mood and given them less anxiety. Often, in foster homes, the evenings are spent dealing with the fall-out of the school day. So, in many ways, if it’s going to work in a new placement - if children are going to settle – it’s a good thing to do it in lockdown.” HuffPost UK spoke to one family who recently took in two young brothers about what their experience has been like during lockdown – and how it’s affected the way they feel about fostering for the first time. To protect the identity of children, some personal details have been changed or omitted. Ceri and Tony, a couple in their 40s, were officially approved to foster for TACT in March this year. Two weeks later – just days after lockdown began – they welcomed two brothers, aged 10 and six, into their family. “They came to us at the end of March, once lockdown had started,” Ceri tells HuffPost UK. “We had never done it before, so we didn’t know what to expect - but things had to be done very differently.” And in addition to the initial shock of being given just a day’s notice that the boys would be placed with them, they also had to acclimatise to not leaving the house due to the government’s self-isolation guidelines. “We had to get used to each other quickly, because it was a very unique situation,” Ceri says. “There was an expectation beforehand that they would be in school, and we had an idea of the clubs they might like to join, and the places we would take them. The whole idea we had in our minds of what fostering would be like changed overnight. It’s not more or less stressful, it’s just totally different to the way I imagined it would be.” She adds: “Schools had closed, so they didn’t do any of the ‘normal’ socialising they would’ve usually been doing, with all the challenges that might have brought. Instead, we were given the opportunity to get to know them really well, and they got to know us - with continuity, and without distraction. It helped in terms of them getting used to routines – our way of living.” Ceri admits the first day and night was challenging – the older boy was angry when he first arrived, while the younger boy wasn’t used to sleeping in a bed on his own. But the intensity of lockdown helped the brothers get used to the new ‘house rules’ – fast. “They had to swiftly acclimatise to things that were acceptable, and things that weren’t,” Ceri says. “Being siblings, there was some fighting – that was quite difficult. They had to get used to how we deal with conflict. We don’t use any kind of physical reprimand, we tend to talk things through and explain why something is wrong and why it isn’t right, to hurt each other. That’s been different, for them. They’ve not been used to having that kind of respectful relationship.” Ceri, a social worker, and Tony, who works in social housing, had to juggle working from home around introducing the boys to the family – including Ceri’s 16-year-old daughter, Rhian. The couple also have a dog and cat – and the presence of the additional family members seems to have had a positive effect in helping the boys settle in. “Rhian was fantastic, and a huge part of the assessment,” Ceri says. “She was really keen to be involved with the boys – she does baking and modelling with them, and they love and idolise her. She’s really helpful and they learn a lot from her, because she’s sensible and level headed, but fun, as well. And she’s learning a lot from them, too.” “For the initial four weeks we were both still working full-time from home,” Ceri adds. “We muddled between taking annual leave and managing Skype meetings so we could make sure the boys have something to do – I’ve never bought so much Lego in my life! In many ways, we’ve been winging it, like the rest of the country.” The younger boy had significant communication challenges but is now happily chatting away, something he was not able to do when he first arrived. The siblings’relationship with each other has also started to improve. And weekly ‘virtual’ contact has been maintained with the birth mother via Whatsapp video. “If it wasn’t for lockdown, the boys would’ve been going to a contact centre, to meet face to face,” Ceri says. “That’s been very unusual in terms of the divide between ‘home’ and ‘contact’, because we’ve had to bring that contact into the house. It’s been quite strange, and there’s been pros and cons. Even as adults, we can find video calls intimidating. It’s been interesting, but again – we’re muddling through.” And even though lockdown is easing, Ceri says they’re not going to rush the boys into a hectic social whirlwind, just yet. “We’re not going to rush to do things now we can do them,” she says. “We’re just going to go easy. This whole experience has taught us that doing lots of different things would’ve been more stressful for the boys – and they weren’t used to doing those things anyway.” She adds, with excitement: “We can plan some nice summer experiences now, maybe a couple of days over the summer in a cabin somewhere. We’re not going to overload them. We’re really just looking forward to having some sort of normality – even simply going shopping. “The time we’ve spent getting used to fostering during lockdown has been so rewarding. They’ve made so much progress in such a short space of time, in terms of their confidence, their relationship with each other and communication. We’ve even been able to teach them to ride bikes. They’d never done that before. I’ll look back and treasure this time. We all will.” Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk Regulator and directors' body warn of risks to provision for children in care should any of bigger providers go bust, but provider leader says foster carers would simply move agency ensuring continuity Ofsted and children’s services directors have warned of the risks to fostering provision caused by the degree of market concentration after the regulator revealed two companies accounted for one-third of independent placements. In a report today, Ofsted said that half of independent fostering agency (IFA) placements in England were managed by six providers. It said the Outcomes First Group, whose fostering arm is known as National Fostering Group (formerly the NFA Group), and Nutrius UK, whose fostering service is known as Polaris, accounted for 31% of IFA placements between them. As of March 2019, 35% of children in foster care were placed through IFAs. The news prompted concerns that the degree of market concentration created risks should any of the big providers fail, at a time of insufficiency of supply overall. ‘Storing up trouble’ “Demand for children’s social care services continues to outstrip supply, and the need for placements for the most vulnerable children is only likely to rise in the wake of Covid-19,” said Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s national director for social care.” “The domination of the fostering market by a small number of operators creates an additional concern that the loss of any of the bigger providers could leave major gaps in supply. We worry that the narrowing of the market on top of the sufficiency issue is storing up trouble for the future.” Edwina Grant, chair of the ADCS health, care and additional needs policy committee, echoed Stanley’s concerns about the overall lack of foster carers, adding: “Children’s services have long operated in a mixed economy with a range of providers involved in the delivery of children’s services locally, however, we are concerned that the trend towards consolidation and the concentration of placements in the hands of a small number of providers represents a level of risk in the system, should any of these providers fail no single local authority could step in meaning vulnerable children would suffer the greatest consequences.” However, this was rejected by National Association of Fostering Providers (NAFP) chief executive Harvey Gallagher, who said: “The loss of a large provider does not equate to leaving a ‘major gap in supply’. Foster carers are self-employed and could transfer to another IFA or local authority fostering agency, thereby re-establishing that placement with another provider. This happens on occasion now when agencies change ownership and is managed smoothly with little, if any, disruption for children.” Market concentration The figures mark the culmination of significantly increased concentration in the IFA market in recent years. The government-commissioned review of foster care, carried out by Martin Narey and Mark Owers, that reported in February 2018 said that larger IFAs had grown by 7.7% per year over the previous five years, from both organic growth and the acquisition of smaller providers. Over the subsequent two years, the biggest provider, then known as the NFA Group, continued to grow, acquiring Child Care Bureau, Brighter Futures Foster Care, Reach-Out Care and familyplacement.com. It then joined with special school and children’s home provider Outcomes First Group in December 2019, with the latter taking the company name with the fostering arm rebadged as National Fostering Group. It now accounts for 6,304 places across 21 separate IFAs, 17% of the 36,890 places offered by independent agencies. The second biggest provider, Polaris (part of Nutrius), was formed by the 2019 merger of the Core Assets Group and Partnerships in Children’s Services, bringing together 26 IFAs under one roof, including Foster Care Associates, Orange Grove and ISP. It now accounts for 14% of IFA places. The Narey and Owers report raised concerns about the debt burden carried by IFAs run by large providers, as a result of their ownership by private equity firms, saying they made agencies vulnerable to increases in interest rates and led to higher prices because of the need to service debts. High performance However, the Ofsted report showed high performance by IFAs run by the biggest six providers, with 29% rated outstanding and 69% good, compared with 16% outstanding and 75% good for other IFAs. Responding to the figures, NAFP head Gallagher highlighted the strong performance as demonstrating that size was not detrimental to quality. He added that the separate IFAs run by large providers were distinct from each other and, given that services were commissioned locally, not nationally, the key issue was whether there was adequate supply and choice for local authorities. Gallagher also said that the numbers quoted by Ofsted referred to the total number of children foster carers were approved to care for, not the numbers living in households and, in reality, the total capacity was not available because of the need to match children to carers. He also referred to the number of investigations carried out by regulator the Competition and Markets Authority into IFA mergers and acquisitions as demonstrating there was oversight of the market to ensure adequate competition. Source: www.communitycare.co.uk Improved emotional wellbeing is one of St Christopher’s aims for the children and young people we care for. One way we achieve this is through our multi-disciplinary therapeutic teams. Fern is an Art Therapist on the Isle of Man. She is part of the Wraparound therapeutic team, which works with children in care, adoptive parents, foster carers and social care staff to support their emotional wellbeing. The team’s skillset includes a range of therapeutic approaches to ensure that they can offer the most appropriate kind of help to their clients. Read below to find out how art therapy is making a difference to young people on the island. “Our team is made up of five therapists, who are trained in various forms of therapy and counselling. Every Monday we meet to discuss developments and explore any new referrals to the service. People come to us with a variety of needs: attachment, abandonment and rejection, loss, neglect and trauma are ones that surface most regularly. As we provide therapeutic services to Looked After Children, care leavers and adoption families it is important we assess each case on an individual basis in order to signpost them to the most appropriate team member based on what type of therapeutic work is required. Working within a variety of children, young people, parents, adopters and carers means that every day is different, which makes this role interesting and a continuous learning experience. My qualifications and skills lie in Art Therapy, which is different to more traditional therapies as the act of creating art is the primary form of communication between client and therapist. Art therapy is non-directive and richly rooted with psychological theory. In an art therapy session, creative acts form a bridge between the client’s conscious and unconscious minds. This bridge allows emotive material to surface into the client’s awareness. It is the job of the therapist to remain attuned to this so that they can support the client to identify significant feelings and experiences that may provide an informed understanding towards their wellbeing.
In my experience, using non-verbal, non-directive therapy is crucial when working with clients who have experienced severe neglect and trauma. As art therapy is so non-directive it becomes a comfortable way to support the client to process only as much as they feel able to at that time. As Wraparound works with a client group who may have experienced little exposure to boundaries and structure, part of my role is investing time and energy into defining the therapeutic structure, as well as providing a sense of safety within the therapeutic room. These little acts can become poignant, opening up doorways to explore the client’s attachment experiences and feelings towards rejection and loss. In the beginning of working with a new client I gain an understanding of the client’s experiences and messages they believe with regard to their art-making, as these inform what the client needs to feel safe enough to engage in the art therapy process. When a piece of work is finished it is a marker in the client’s journey of therapy, which is often used to reflect their progress and pinpoint conscious awareness of significant factors. Currently I am using art therapy principles to support two siblings in the process of moving back to their family home and making sense of their emotionally traumatic experiences. This work is received positively and evidences the power of creativity and its ability to inspire confidence, provide a sense of mastery and witness the trauma that has been experienced.” Therapeutic support is just one way we create brighter futures for children and young people. Find out how your donations make a difference to their lives or support us today. Source: www.stchris.org.uk Location: Peterborough Leaving Care Office Contract type: Permanent Hours: 37 Salary : £17,316 - £24,493 Closing Date: 8 September 2020 Interview Date: 23 September 2020 Almost all young people in care leave children's homes and foster care by the time that they're 18, compared to their peers who stay at home until their mid-20s. From April 2020 Lincolnshire Leaving Care Service supports these young people from the age of 16 to their mid-20s, to make a successful move to living in the community. Practical and emotional assistance is offered to young people who may not have any other source of support.
As a Leaving Care Worker, you will be required to visit our services in Lincolnshire and Peterborough. We would expect you to actively demonstrate Barnardo's Basis and Values and Equality & Diversity Code of Conduct in all areas of work: Respecting the unique worth of every person: Encouraging people to fulfil their potential. You will need to have some experience of work with children and young people but this does not have to have been gained in a formal employment setting. Other duties include:
When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification and Job Description. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described. About Barnardo's At Barnardo's we believe in children – no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through. Please read about our basis and values following the link below. You will be asked questions relating to them as part of the recruitment process for this role. Barnardo's is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce for staff and volunteers. We actively encourage applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and male candidates as they are under-represented within Barnardo's. Full details and application documents here Location: Lincolnshire Leaving Care Service – Louth Contract type: Permanent Hours: 37 Salary : £17,316 - £24,493 Closing Date: 8 September 2020 Interview Date: 28 September 2020 Almost all young people in care leave children's homes and foster care by the time that they're 18, compared to their peers who stay at home until their mid-20s. From April 2020 Lincolnshire Leaving Care Service supports these young people from the age of 16 to their mid-20s, to make a successful move to living in the community. Practical and emotional assistance is offered to young people who may not have any other source of support.
As a Leaving Care Worker, you will be required to support Lincolnshire young people who are leaving care. We would expect you to actively demonstrate Barnardo's Basis and Values and Equality & Diversity Code of Conduct in all areas of work: Respecting the unique worth of every person: Encouraging people to fulfil their potential. You will need to have some experience of work with children and young people but this does not have to have been gained in a formal employment setting. Other duties include:
When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification and Job Description. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described. About Barnardo's At Barnardo's we believe in children – no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through. Please read about our basis and values following the link below. You will be asked questions relating to them as part of the recruitment process for this role. Barnardo's is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce for staff and volunteers. We actively encourage applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and male candidates as they are under-represented within Barnardo's. Full details and application documents here Location: Northants Salary: £33,561 pa + £1,500 pa Out of Hours Allowance + £500 pa Home Working Allowance Closing Date: 05/08/2020 Interview Date: 19/08/2020 Hours: 35 hours per week Full Time - Permanent
Home based Covering Nottinghamshire / Derbyshire TACT, the UK’s largest fostering and adoption charity now has over 500 dedicated carers, who look after over 600 children and young people across the country. Our reputation and growth rests upon our strength in providing successful placements. As a charity, we do not have shareholders who receive profits and we invest all of our surplus income into service, staff, carers, and children’s development. Our vision is to provide better lives for our children and young people. A post has arisen for a Supervising Social Worker who will support and supervise the foster families and placements we have in the Nottinghamshire / Derbyshire areas in this home based role. We are therefore inviting applications from social workers located in areas with easy access to Nottingham / Nottinghamshire and Derby / Derbyshire. The successful candidate will be part of the wider, dynamic and forward thinking registered office in Kettering. We are interested in individuals for whom quality of service is paramount and in those who share our commitment to working in partnership with children and their foster carers in the development of the agency. The successful candidate should also have post qualifying experience in family placement work or other child care settings as well as a good working knowledge of relevant legislation and child protection procedures. TACT offer an excellent employee benefits package including:
Please see the Job Information Pack for further information. You will need to be DipSW, CSS or CQSW qualified and registered with Social Work England. An enhanced DBS clearance is also required and is requested for you by TACT. The successful applicant will be required to support Duty and Ouf of Hours on a rota basis and will be paid an out of hours’ allowance of £1,500 per annum once participating in the rota. Closing: Wednesday 5th August 2020 Interviews: Wednesday 19th August 2020 (via Video) Safeguarding is everyone’s business and TACT believe that only the people with the right skills and values should work in social work. As part of TACT’s commitment to safeguarding, we properly examine the skills, experience, qualifications and values of potential staff in relation to our work with vulnerable young children. We use rigorous and consistent recruitment approaches to help safeguard TACT’s young people. All our staff are expected to work in line with TACT’s safeguarding policies. TACT does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. TACT reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Full details and application documents here £20,068 plus on call allowance. Department/Division: England North Location: North West, Greater Manchester Contract: Permanent Hours: Part-Time (working 22.5 hours per week) Closing Date: 3 August 2020 Finding safe and loving homes for vulnerable children and young people.
The role We are looking for a Fostering Social Worker to join our small developing Fostering Service located in the North West (Greater Manchester) area. The role includes recruiting and assessing new applicants as well as supporting a caseload of foster carers. This role will be mainly Monday to Friday during the day but there will be some flexibility required to meet the needs of the service. There is also an on-call rota which you will be required to undertake. The 3 days of this role can be discussed at interview stage but we do require each Wednesday to be a working day. Our team consists of Admin Support, Social Workers, and a Young Person's Worker. We also work in partnership with Changing Minds UK Psychology Service who support our therapeutic work with children and young people. This service provides ongoing psychological consultation, training and guidance for the staff team and foster carers with the aim on ensuring a Therapeutic and evidence informed framework is utilised to support the young people, foster carers and staff. You will make a difference by:
You will need:
The way we work We work to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. Have a look at our behaviours and values to understand more about the way we work here. Rewards We want our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, a comprehensive employer-matched pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts on our dedicated benefits portal. Find out more about our exclusive Action for Children benefits here. For safe and happy childhoods At Action for Children, we protect and support children and young people, providing practical and emotional care and support, ensuring their voices are heard, and campaigning to bring lasting improvements to their lives. Last year, we helped more than 387,000 children and families across the UK. For more information, please contact Anne Marie Wilson on 07741627578 or email anne-marie.wilson@actionforchildren.org.uk We are committed to safer recruitment practices to protect our service users; therefore, all applicants are expected to have an understanding of and commitment to safeguarding best-practice. Action for Children is passionate about promoting equality, valuing diversity and working inclusively. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons particularly people with Disabilities and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic applicants, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. Full details and application documents here Location: Bristol Salary: £24,300 per annum (pro rata) Closing Date: 09/08/2020 Interview Date: 17/08/2020 Hours: 21 Hours Per Week Part Time - 21 Hours Per Week (Wednesday, Thursday & Friday - 9am to 5pm)
TACT, the UK’s largest fostering and adoption charity. Formed in 1993, we now have over 500 dedicated carers, who look after over 600 children and young people across the country. Our reputation and growth rests upon our strength in providing successful placements. As a charity, we do not have shareholders who receive profits and we invest all of our surplus income into service, staff, carers, and children's development. TACT offer an excellent benefits package including:
Building upon our reputation for delivering excellent outcomes for children. We are now looking for a dynamic, enthusiastic, highly-motivated individual with experience in administration within the social care field to work with us as a Placement Officer in our South West office based in Bristol. The Placement Officer is responsible for receiving placement requests for children who need to be looked after and matching them to our foster carer in cooperation with the Duty Social Worker. The role requires exceptional communication skills and discretion, sensitivity and the capability to deal with conflicting priorities at times. The successful applicant will have the following essential attributes:
Please see the Placement Officer Job Description and Job Information Pack for full details. Closing Date: Sunday, 9th August 2020 Interviews: Monday, 17th August 2020 (via Microsoft Teams) Safeguarding is everyone’s business and TACT believe that only the people with the right skills and values should work in social work. As part of TACT’s commitment to safeguarding, we properly examine the skills, experience, qualifications and values of potential staff in relation to our work with vulnerable young children. We use rigorous and consistent recruitment approaches to help safeguard TACT’s young people. All our staff are expected to work in line with TACT’s safeguarding policies. TACT does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. TACT reserve the right to close this vacancy early if sufficient numbers of applications are received, you are therefore advised to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment Full details and application details here Circa: £54,000 Location: Central London Department/Division: Policy & Campaigns Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 3 August 2020 Speaking up and making life better for children, young people and their families.
The role We are looking for a Head of Policy & Research to join our Policy & Campaigns department. Through strengthening our evidence base and engaging with a wide range of stakeholders you will work with colleagues across the charity to deliver effective policy and research. You will make a difference by
You will need:
The way we work We work to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. Have a look at our behaviours and values to understand more about the way we work here. Rewards We want our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, a comprehensive employer-matched pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts on our dedicated benefits portal. Find out more about our exclusive Action for Children benefits here. For safe and happy childhoods At Action for Children, we protect and support children and young people, providing practical and emotional care and support, ensuring their voices are heard, and campaigning to bring lasting improvements to their lives. Last year, we helped more than 387,000 children and families across the UK. For more information, please contact Neil Birkett on 07741660390 or email recruitmentservice@actionforchildren.org.uk Interviews will be held on Tuesday 11th August 2020 We are committed to safer recruitment practices to protect our service users; therefore, all applicants are expected to have an understanding of and commitment to safeguarding best-practice. Action for Children is passionate about promoting equality, valuing diversity and working inclusively. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons particularly people with Disabilities and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic applicants, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. Source: https://careers.actionforchildren.org.uk/vacancy/head-of-policy-and-research-3845/3863/description/ Only 20% of carers responding to research by the Independent Foster Carers' Alliance say they have received extra funding from local authorities More than three-quarters of foster carers have been satisfied with the support provided by social workers during the coronavirus crisis, a survey has found. Asked to grade on a five-point scale their dealings with practitioners since the onset of the pandemic, 77% of respondents scored it three or above, with 52% giving a rating of four or five. The research was carried out by the Independent Foster Carers’ Alliance (IFCA), which represents and campaigns on behalf of foster carers. More than 600 foster carers responded to the survey, around 90% of them from England, with the rest made up of people living in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Eighty per cent of people who answered the survey said they had not accessed extra financial support during lockdown from their local authority or independent fostering agency. Those that did typically received one-off payments in the range of £50-£200 for assistance towards home schooling or activities, or in lieu of cancelled respite. Official guidance for children’s social care providers does not make specific provision for extra funding to foster families in adverse financial circumstances under coronavirus, merely stating that the government has provided an extra £3.2bn to local authorities (a sum since increased by £500m). A report published this week by the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) cited government figures showing 8% of the £3.2bn had been spent on children’s services. In an answer to a Parliamentary question published this week, the children’s minister Vicky Ford said the government was aware that local authorities and fostering agencies “are responding to the challenge by finding innovative ways to continue to support their foster carers”, and would be monitoring the situation over the coming weeks and months. ‘We are being pressurised’ Elsewhere, the survey found that a minority of foster carers had felt pushed into taking part in potentially risky activities. Ten per cent of foster carers said they had felt pressured to send a child to school against their wishes during lockdown – an issue that IFCA has recently taken up with at least one council. Many social workers who have been in touch with Community Care during the pandemic have said their employers have taken a relatively soft line on parents and carers of ‘vulnerable’ children – who have had their school places kept open – keeping them at home due to justified fears over infection. Meanwhile 7% of survey respondents said they had been asked to undertake in-person adoption introductions while restrictions have been in place, and 14% said they had been asked to attend face-to-face contact sessions. “What is best and safe for our family is not being considered at all,” said one respondent. “We are being pressurised by a social worker who admits to being terrified to leave her house – this is not acceptable.” ‘Important positive message’ Sarah Anderson, a director of IFCA, told Community Care that “the important message [was] a positive one in regards to three-quarters of foster carers saying the support from their frontline social workers was good to excellent”. But this did not always reflect foster carers’ opinions of organisations, rather than individuals, and should be seen in the context of an overall experience that nationally was still too inconsistent, she said. Anderson added that for many foster carers and children, the new, more flexible and informal ways of working introduced during coronavirus – such as contact by social media or video call – had been beneficial and that IFCA would like to see these continue. In a recent interview with Community Care, the ADCS chair Jenny Coles said that many children’s services leaders were of the same view. Ford, the children’s minister, announced this week that, subject to consultation, regulatory flexibilities around carrying out virtual visits could be extended beyond 25 September when they are due to expire. But consultation documents subsequently published state that the government envisages this would only be permitted due to local lockdowns or families self-isolating. Responding to the survey findings, Andy Elvin, the chief executive of the TACT fostering and adoption charity, said the organisation had now “provided extra financial support for all our foster carers, as the DfE chose not to, despite the reality that most carers clearly faced additional costs”. “A survey of TACT carers showed that over 90% were happy with the service we offered through lockdown but only 60% were satisfied with the service they received from their foster child’s local authority,” Elvin added. Source: www.communitycare.co.uk |
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