Family and Friends Care

Children may be brought up by members of their extended families, friends or other people who are connected with them for a variety of reasons and in a variety of different arrangements.

This policy sets out the Committee’s approach towards promoting and supporting the needs of such children and covers the assessments which will be carried out to determine the services required and how such services will then be provided.

This policy will be regularly reviewed, and made freely and widely available.

Consideration of children's welfare and best interests will always be at the centre of the work we do.

It is an underlying principle that children should be enabled to live within their families unless this is not consistent with their welfare. We will therefore work to maintain children within their own families, and facilitate services to support any such arrangements, wherever this is consistent with the child's safety and well-being. This principle applies to all children in need, including those who are looked after by the Committee Where a child cannot live within their immediate family and the Committee is considering the need to look after the child, we will make strenuous efforts to identify potential carers within the child's network of family or friends who are able and willing to care for the child.

We will provide support for any such arrangements based on the assessed needs of the child, not simply on their legal status, and will seek to ensure that family and friends carers are provided with support to ensure that children do not become looked after by Committee, or do not have to remain looked after longer than is needed.

We will provide support in ways that are appropriate and encouraging for family and friends carers.

The Committee has a general duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of Children in Need living within its  area and to promote the upbringing of such children by their families. The way in which we fulfil this duty is by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children's assessed needs. This can include financial, practical or other support.

It is important to note that the local authority does not have a general duty to assess all arrangements where children are living with their wider family or friends network rather than their parents but it does have a duty where it appears that services may be necessary to safeguard or promote the welfare of a Child in Need.

Children in Need may live with members of their family or friends in a variety of different legal arrangements, some formal and some informal. Different court orders are available to formalise these arrangements.

Children in Care will always come within the definition of Children in Need, whether they are accommodated (with parental consent) or in care subject to a Community Parenting Order or Care Requirement  whereby the Committee shares parental responsibility for the child. The Committee has a responsibility wherever possible to make arrangements for a looked after child to live with a member of the family. 

For a detailed summary of the meaning and implications of different legal situations, the rights of carers and parents, and the nature of decisions which family and friends carers will be able to make in relation to the child, please see Annex A: Caring for Somebody Else's Child - Options. Section 4, Different Situations whereby Children may be Living with Family and Friend Carers, which sets out the Committee's powers and duties in relation to the various options.

In relation to financial support, the Committee may provide carers of children in need with such support on a regular or one-off basis. This may include discretionary funding based upon a financial means test. However, the status of the placement will determine the nature and amount of the financial support and who can authorise its payment. The legal status of the child may have a bearing on the levels of financial support which may be available to carers, however. There are different provisions which apply to financial support for children living with family or friends. The following sections of this policy set out the financial support that we may provide to family and friends who are caring for children in these different contexts.

There are three categories of payment, which may be considered. One or more of these may be applicable, depending on the particular circumstances of the case:

1. Subsistence crisis (one-off) payments
   
   These should be used to overcome a crisis, following the best assessment that can be achieved in the circumstances;
   
   
2. Setting-up
   
   These are for such items as clothing, furniture, or bedding. The social worker must be satisfied that the carers' financial position justifies the payment through a financial assessment. Assistance may be given subject to conditions, including repayment in certain situations. However, in most situations, it will be inappropriate for the Committee to seek to recover money provided under these circumstances;
   
   
3. Weekly living contribution
   
   It is possible for the Committee to make regular payments where family members or friends care for a child whether or not the child is considered Looked After. Where regular payments are to be made, relative carers should be assisted to maximise their Income/Benefit as regular payments may adversely affect an individual's claim to income support.
   
   In all cases where regular financial support is agreed, a written agreement will be drawn up detailing the level and duration of the financial support that is to be provided, and the mechanism for review.

The following criteria will be applied to all such payments:

• The purpose of the payments must be to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child;
• As part of the assessment, a view should be taken as to whether the carers need financial support based on their reasonable requirements in taking on the care of the child;
• There are no other legitimate sources of finance;
• Payments will be paid to the carer, not the parents;
• The payment would not place any person in a fraudulent position.

The Committee is under a duty to promote contact for all Children in Need, although this differs depending on whether or not the child is Looked After.

Where the child is not Looked After, we are required to promote contact between the child and their family 'where it is necessary to do so in order to safeguard and promote their welfare'. As part of the support arrangements, it may be identified that specific assistance is required to ensure that any such contact can be managed safely. If necessary, information will be made available to family and friends carers about local contact centres and family mediation services, and how to make use of their services.

Where a child is Looked After, we are required to endeavour to promote contact between the child and their family 'unless it is not practicable or consistent with the child's welfare'. The overall objective of the contact arrangements will be included in the child's Care Plan and the specific arrangements will be set out in the child's Placement Plan - see Contact with Parents/Adults and Siblings Procedure.

Where a family or friends carer is not satisfied with the level of support provided to enable them to care for the child, then they have access to the Committee complaints process. Our aim would be to resolve any such dissatisfaction without the need for a formal investigation but where an informal resolution is not possible, then a formal investigation will be arranged.

The timescales and process are set out in the Complaints and Representations Procedure.