All looked after children and young people are the responsibility of the Local Authority in the area where the child’s birth family is resident at the time of being taken into care. The key responsibility remains with that Local Authority regardless of whether they are placed in local authority foster care, with an independent fostering provider, or in some other kind of arrangement, such as kinship foster care.
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'Looked after child'
The term ‘looked after’ is a shortening of the phrase ‘looked after by the Local Authority’. It was introduced by the Children Act 1989. The 2 primary routes to this are:
- The child is made the subject of a Care order or Interim Care Care order under sect 31 Children Act 1989.
- The child is accommodated under section 20 of The Children Act. This may be a voluntary agreement with parents or others with parental responsibility. Such children/young people are not usually subject to any court orders, and parental responsibility remains with the parent/s. Young people over the age of 16 can ask to be accommodated without the agreement or consent of their parents.
If parent/s demand to take a child back without that being part of the plan for the child and there are concerns, foster carers can take reasonable steps to protect the child by contacting their supervising social worker or duty officer and, if necessary, the police in an emergency.
If it is in the best interests of a child who is accommodated to become the subject of a Care Order, the Local Authority can apply to the court.
Other routes that may lead a child into the looked after system include:
- Where a child has been removed and is subject to an Emergency Protection Order
- Where a child has been removed from their home under a Child Assessment Order
- Where a child has been removed to suitable accommodation by the police through their powers of protection under section 46 of The Children Act 1989
- Where a juvenile has been remanded in care and refused bail
- Where a juvenile is subject to a Supervision Order which includes a provision that they reside in Local Authority accommodation.
