Staying put is the term used to describe situations when a young person may remain with their former foster carer beyond 18 when any legal order, such as a Care Order, will cease, and they are no longer a foster child.
Staying Put enables young people to experience a transition from care to independence and adulthood similar to that which most young people who are not care experienced, and is based on need and not on age alone.
Local authorities are required to have a Staying Put Policy that sets out the practical financial, tax, and benefit issues for both the foster carer and the care leaver. If this is an option for the young person, the first review following their 16th birthday should consider a Staying Put arrangement, and be recorded in the Pathway Plan. This will mean assessing the implications for both the young person and their foster family.
Following the young person’s 18th birthday, the legal basis on which they live in the foster home changes (the legal term is that the young person becomes an ‘excluded licensee’ lodging in the home). This is outside of fostering regulations.
Finances will change, and so it is worth clarifying these changes when you are considering becoming a Staying Put carer. The young person may be working, receiving benefits, or an educational bursary, so will need to fund their personal expenditure themselves. In some cases they may be required to contribute towards the placement costs.
A living together agreement is usually drawn up between the local authority, the young person, and the Staying Put carer, to make sure the day-to-day arrangements and finances of the placements are all agreed.
A staying put arrangement is outside of fostering regulations, so if the foster carer is not able (or does not wish) to continue fostering, they may be asked to resign from their fostering service.
The staying put arrangement may impact on continued fostering in relation to revised terms of approval (e.g. reducing the number of children the foster carer can care for, due to bedrooms available and/or matching needs). The care leaver that is staying put would also need to agree to DBS checks as a household member within a fostering household.
Considerations around financial support:
Amount to be paid
When payment will cease
Any review of payments
What the payment is expected to cover
Any additional discretionary payments
What contribution (if any) the young person is expected to make
Whether any allowance paid to the carer is to transfer in part to the young person
What happens if the young person is temporarily away from the home (e.g. university or holiday)
What happens if there is a temporary loss of the young person’s entitlements
How payments will affect carer benefit entitlements and tax liabilities
What happens if the carer or the care leaver decides to end the staying put arrangement (e.g. any notice periods, etc)
