When there are foster children living in the home, foster carers must give written notice of their intention to consider moving to another fostering service, both to the current service and to the placing authority/authorities.
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How do I transfer services with a child already in my care?
Upon receipt of the written notice, the placing authority must inform the child’s IRO of the intended change (as per section 4.7 of the statutory guidance) and shall, within 28-days, convene a meeting of:
- The placing authority/authorities - this may include commissioning/contracting officers as well as the children’s social workers
- The current service
- The recruiting service
- The foster carer/s
Where there is more than one placing authority, agreement should be reached on which authority will take responsibility for convening the meeting. Generally, the authority that has had children placed for the longest period with the foster carer will be considered the ‘lead’ authority. By agreement with the placing authorities, and when it is more convenient, the recruiting service may organise the meeting.
The meeting must consider the following
- Any decisions made at the child’s latest case review. It should be noted that regulation 14 of the Care Planning and Case Review England Regulations requires that the responsible authority cannot terminate the current fostering arrangement unless this has been considered by a case review.
- How the move of the foster carer to another service may affect each foster child living with the foster carer, including the potential loss of, or changes, in the relationships, activities and support services that a child has developed and/or established whilst with the current agency.
- The particular support needs of the child and the foster carer and how they will be provided by the new service.
- The circumstances in which the recruiting service may use any other vacancy once the transfer has been completed.
- The arrangements for approval by the recruiting service and termination of the foster carer’s approval by the current service. The arrangements should be co-ordinated to ensure continuity of approval, and that transfer is made on a mutually agreed date.
- Parallel arrangements for timing a transfer of responsibility for the payment of fees and allowances to the foster carer.
- The views of the child, parent and any other interested parties. (These views should be sought and represented by the placing authority).
- Where it is determined at a case review that the child is not to continue living with the foster carer, the arrangements to move the child and the timeframe are clearly identified. The move should be driven by the needs of the child and normally completed within 3 months. Where this is not possible all parties should agree a revised timetable.
- A timetable for the approval of the foster carer by the recruiting service. The expectations are that assessment and training will take place and that they will be completed within two to four months of the meeting taking place. There will be occasions when this timescale cannot reasonably be adhered to. In such cases, all parties will be kept informed about developments and the anticipated time to completion. The assessment will be completed within 8 months of receipt of their application (NMS 14.9)
