Supported Lodgings

Children and Family Community Services (the Service) follows best practice guidance and are committed to supporting care leavers with the provision of supported lodgings arrangements. These arrangements will enable care leavers to be placed with mentors who will provide additional support to the young person in developing skills with the ultimate aim of living independently.

The Service recognises that the average age of leaving home is rising and the transition to adulthood is increasingly becoming more complex.  The Supported Lodgings Procedure sets out arrangements to extend young people’s transition to adulthood within a family and household supported environment. The intention is to ensure that young people can remain supported until they are prepared for adulthood, can experience a transition akin to their peers, avoid social exclusion and be more likely to avert a subsequent housing and tenancy breakdown.

The Service is committed to preventing social exclusion amongst care leavers and has developed this Supported Lodgings Procedure to ensure that care leavers can continue to live with support after their 18th birthday and make the transition to independent living at a pace that suits their needs. Staying Put arrangements are already in place for young people over the age of 18 who have been living in foster care. It is envisaged that supported lodgings arrangements will be available predominantly for care leavers who have reached the age of 18 and who have been living in residential care.

• Supported lodgings should be considered for all care leavers who may require ongoing support to develop independence skills and transition successfully to adulthood;
• There should be no additional criteria or hoops to jump through;
• The Pathway Plan for the young person should consider supported lodgings;
• Supported lodgings arrangements should replicate as far as possible normal family life;
• As a young adult the care leaver is freely choosing whether to enter into a supported lodgings arrangement;
• The supported lodgings mentor is also free to choose whether to offer the young person a supported lodgings arrangement;
• Building on the secure and stable environment of a supported lodgings arrangement, the Service, mentor and young person, will address how the latter can best be supported to develop the skills required for future independent living;
• The supported lodgings arrangement is set out in the young person’s Pathway Plan.

The primary aim of supported lodgings is to promote a gradual transition from care to adulthood and independent living. It is recognised that many young people in care often experience delayed maturity and that their 18th birthday may be an arbitrary and inappropriate point to leave a care setting.

The scheme is designed to ensure young people do not experience a sudden disruption to their living arrangements, that educational and training achievement and continuity is promoted and that all young people can make gradual steps from care to independence or to Adult Services. This is particularly important for young people with additional needs where there may be a joint Children’s and Adult’s Services approach to transition.

The associated change from Child in Care to adult member of a household should be carefully and sensitively planned in order to ensure that both young people and the mentor understand the nature of the arrangement. Pathway Care Planning in respect of supported lodgings arrangements will be completed by the Leaving Care Service, Child in Care Team. 

Initial Enquiry

Enquirers who wish to express an interest in becoming a supported lodgings mentor should contact the Family Placement Service. The duty social worker will take contact details and a social worker involved with the supported lodgings service will contact the enquirer to discuss their interest and provide an overview of the supported lodgings mentor role and responsibilities. An information pack will be sent to the enquirer should they wish to find out more.

Initial Visit

Having received information, should the enquirer wish to proceed to the next stage, a social worker from the service will arrange to visit to provide more detailed information about the scheme and answer any questions the enquirer may have about becoming a mentor.

Application

Following the initial visit, should the enquirer wish to proceed to an application and the service is in agreement with this, an application form will be provided which will enable the service to initiate checks and references. Where a couple are living together in a household, both will need to be assessed. The timescale from application to approval varies and can take up to 4 months.

Checks and References

A number of checks and references are undertaken to support an assessment of the suitability of those who look after young people. Checks include Enhanced Criminal Record Bureau checks, Social Services and other agency checks as well as GP checks, ex-partner checks, checks with education settings, employment checks and checks where there has been voluntary activity with children or vulnerable adults and personal references.

Assessment

If checks are returned as satisfactory the application can proceed to an assessment. The assessing social worker undertakes a number of visits to the applicant to assess their suitability as a mentor for young people and to provide information on roles, responsibilities, support and processes.

The Care Services Panel

After the applicant has had an opportunity to read the assessment report and make comments, the completed assessment will be presented to the Care Services Panel who make a recommendation on approval. The Panel Minutes, their recommendation and the assessment report are then forwarded to The Agency Decision Maker who will make the decision on approval.

Approved Supported Lodgings Mentor.

Once approved, mentors are registered as a supported lodgings mentor for the States of Guernsey.  The supervising social worker, alongside a social worker from the Leaving Care Team, will help match mentor’s skills and circumstances with a young person who requires support.  Following a successful match with a young person, mentors will receive ongoing support, supervision and training from their supervising social worker and the Leaving Care worker to ensure that they can best meet the needs of the young person.

A supervising social worker will visit mentors regularly to support the mentor and monitor the placement. The young person will be visited by a member of staff from the Leaving Care Service.  Mentors will be reviewed on an annual basis to monitor their suitability to remain approved.

Consideration should be given as early as possible, preferably prior to the young person’s statutory review and shortly after their sixteenth birthday. The young person’s Social Worker needs to assess how appropriate such an arrangement would be for the young person with a view to supporting them to transfer to a supported lodgings arrangement wherever possible and where it is not deemed in their best interest, to consider alternative arrangements.

Consideration should always be given to young people who change their minds, but care should be taken to avoid disruption to a young person’s education at a critical time. For some young people there may need to be a parallel plan in place so that they do not find themselves without suitable accommodation.

The Statutory Child in Care Review should consider and, if appropriate, endorse the proposed plan for the supported lodgings arrangement and ensure that this is being progressed. The implications of the new arrangement should be discussed in detail and recorded in a Living Together Agreement meeting outside of the Review.

The Living Together Agreement should be signed by the young person, supported lodgings mentor and Leaving Care Social Worker. 

• Will the young person fit the supported lodgings criteria by the time they reach 18?
• Is the young person in agreement with the supported lodgings proposal?
• If applicable what are the views of other children in that placement and of their Social Workers to the supported lodgings proposal?
• Does the young person understand their financial responsibilities associated with being in a supported lodgings arrangement?
• What is the contingency plan should supported lodgings not be a viable option?

The Living Together Agreement is made between the young person and mentor, supported by the supported lodgings service prior to the young person moving in. This should cover the same range of issues as the Pathway Plan and include a focus on the young person’s needs associated with the reason for the supported lodgings arrangement being agreed.

The Living Together Agreement covers:

• Level of support to be provided by the mentor;
• Young person’s contributions;
• Preparation for independence tasks;
• Finance, including young people having credit cards, loan agreements and mobile phone contracts registered at the address;
• Income and benefit claims;
• Education, training and employment activities;
• Whether someone whom they are in a relationship with is/is not permitted to stay overnight whilst the young person is receiving rent and personal allowances from Social Security;
• Staying away for nights/weekends and informing mentors of movements;
• Health arrangements - please note if the young person’s health is covered by supplementary benefit, they will need to abide by all the requirements of the claim;
• Move-on plans;
• The impact of the supported lodgings arrangement on the household will be one of the factors considered.

The expectations on the mentor include:

• Providing a home environment that is safe and welcoming;
• The young person will have their own bedroom;
• Their own front door key;
• Use of shared facilities, including the kitchen, bathroom, lounge, and dining room;
• Bedding, towels, hanging space for clothes, storage space and, if appropriate, a table and chair to study;
• Supported lodgings mentors will be expected to be proactive in encouraging the young person to take up opportunities in education or employment and to encourage a young person in developing a range of skills that are outlined in the living together agreement;
• The ability to provide support and guidance and enable the young person to develop independent skills, including:
  • Assistance with maintaining attendance at college, training, or work;
  • Advice with budgeting and understanding benefits;
  • Advice and assistance with food shopping, cooking, and cleaning;
  • Assistance with arranging and keeping appointments;
  • Support maintaining and building relationships with family, friends, and neighbours;
  • Advice and support maintaining safety in the home, e.g., safe use of appliances;
  • Personal safety outside the home and online;
  • Encouragement to comply with the house rules;
  • Chatting and providing a ‘listening ear’.
• Participation in supervisory meeting with your supported lodgings Social Worker;
• Participation in occasional review meetings with the young person’s Social Worker;
• The ability to provide young people with a safe nurturing and supportive environment.

Supported lodgings arrangements will be monitored and reviewed by the Service on an ongoing basis. This should include a review of any problems or difficulties which have emerged and what is working well.

• The supported lodgings Social Worker will visit the mentor regularly. The frequency of visits will be agreed in the living together support plan. Ongoing telephone contact or email support is also available;
• There is also an ‘out of hours’ telephone number if any concerns arise for the young person outside of office hours;
• The young person will also have regular visits from their Leaving Care Social Worker.

A review of a mentor’s continued suitability as a mentor will take place once a year. The review receives feedback from the young people and the professionals who have worked alongside them about the support provided. It also provides an opportunity to comment on the service received and to reflect on identifying any training needs or areas for further development. An updated Home Safety Assessment and Dog and Pet assessment (if applicable) will also be carried out.

The first and every third review will be presented to Care Services Panel.

Where a young person attends Higher Education outside of the Bailiwick during the term and returns to their supported lodgings arrangement for the course holidays the supported lodgings provider will be paid a ‘retainer’ during the term time and the full daily allowance during holiday periods and for any period where the young person returns to stay overnight or for a longer period due to illness or other purpose.

Where the young person remains living with the supported lodgings provider and attends Higher Education on a daily basis they will be expected to apply for all loans and bursaries that may be available to them. From these funds the young person will be expected to continue paying for their personal care and additional day to day living costs except for food and utilities.

Where a young person is over eighteen and remains in full time education to complete their secondary level education and is in a supported lodgings arrangement Social Security will be able to make an exception from the need to be in full-time remunerative work during this time to enable the young person to make their financial contribution to the arrangement.

The young person’s Social Worker is responsible, in consultation with the Supervising Social Worker from the Family Placement Service in establishing whether a supported lodgings arrangement is appropriate.

The Social Worker will provide the young person with information regarding supported lodgings and ensure that this is discussed in subsequent Statutory Child in Care and Pathway Plan Reviews which take place six monthly.

The Social Worker will notify the Family Placement Service if any issues arise, for example the need for additional support for the supported lodgings mentor.

The Social Worker will ensure that the young person understands and agrees to the status of their placement, and this includes working with the young person to draw up the Living Together Agreement. The young person’s Social Worker will visit regularly and complete the Pathway Review Plan, a mutual agreement will be determined in the Living Together Agreement as to the frequency of any visits required.

The young person’s Social Worker is responsible for ensuring any changes to arrangements are communicated to the Family Placement Service and to other agencies involved. They are also responsible for completion of all documentation which initiates and ends payments.

The Supervising Social Worker will provide the mentor with information on supported lodgings.

The Social Worker will visit regularly and complete the annual mentor review and a mutual agreement will be determined in the Living Together Agreement Form as to the frequency of visits.

An Enhanced DBS check is completed on the young person prior to their 18th birthday where a supported lodgings mentor fosters children or has birth children under the age of 18.

The Service will pay a ‘Supported Lodgings Allowance’ to the mentor and this allowance covers utilities, practical assistance, and emotional support.

The young person will be required to pay the supported lodgings mentor an agreed weekly contribution. This amount will either be paid from a young person’s wage or from their personal allowance and rent allowance paid directly to the young person by Social Security.

If the young person is in employment but their earnings are insufficient to pay their contribution to the supported lodgings mentor Social Security may be able to make top-up payments and the young person should contact Social Security to enquire about eligibility and to make a claim. They can be supported by their Social Worker with this process.

In certain agreed circumstances, payment by Social Security can be made direct to Health and Social Care who will be able to pay the supported lodgings mentor.

Details of the breakdown of the financial contribution from Social Security and the Service will be made available to the supported lodgings mentor by the Service with the permission of the young person.

Supported lodgings payments are exempt from Income Tax.

The young person may be entitled to access certain benefits and financial support:

• Unemployment Benefit;
• Supplementary Benefit which includes a rent allowance and personal allowance;
• A young person attending University may be entitled to a full independent student grant and the amount will be course dependent;
• Other benefits where appropriate i.e., disability or sickness benefit.

Under the supported lodgings arrangement there is an expectation that the young person will be responsible for buying their own food, clothes, toiletries, mobile phone costs, transport costs, social activities, holidays, and costs associated with birthdays and Christmas etc.

Every eligible young person is expected to apply for any benefits that they are entitled to and will continue to do so whilst eligible. The young person’s Social Worker in collaboration with the supported lodgings mentor will support the young person in accessing financial support.

If applicable it is important to note, if a young person does not cooperate and comply with either being in full time education or actively looking for work, Social Security will likely apply sanctions and ultimately be in a position to stop the claim.

The Service’s insurance cover does not extend to supported lodgings arrangements, once Children in Care reach the age of 18 they are no longer in care. The legal responsibilities are different therefore supported lodgings mentors will need to take responsibility for ensuring they have their own property insurance in place.

Supported lodgings mentors should ensure they inform their mortgage provider or landlord and their buildings and contents insurance provider that they will be supporting a former Child in Care as a young adult under a supported lodgings arrangement. Failure to inform the above may cause a breach of mortgage/tenancy requirements and may result in insurance cover being void due to a failure to disclose material facts.

The supported lodgings arrangement is essentially a private arrangement between the young person and the supported lodgings mentor, with some additional practical and financial support from the Service. However, the Service could decide to end their financial support to an arrangement where there are concerns that the standard of care provided to the young person by the mentor does not meet their needs or where the mentor is failing to complete tasks set out in the young person’s Pathway Plan to support the young person develop their independence skills. If, following attempts to address the concerns, the situation continues the arrangement should come to an end and the young person will be supported to move to alternative provision.

The supported lodgings arrangement will cease on the young person’s 21st birthday or once full-time education/training has been completed or an earlier date agreed in the Pathway Plan. Wherever possible the young person or mentor should give 28 days’ notice of ending the arrangement. Advanced planning will be put in place by the young person’s Social Worker to assist with future accommodation wherever possible. In some circumstances the young person and supported lodgings mentor may propose their own plans to continue with the living arrangement.

It is acknowledged that there may be circumstances where the mentor no longer feels able to continue with the arrangement and in these cases the mentor must notify the Family Placement Service and the young person’s Social Worker at the earliest opportunity and prior to discussing this with the young person. There is an expectation that the mentor gives 28 days’ notice before ending the arrangement. The young person may make a decision to leave the arrangement and not be prepared to wait 28 days. In any event there is an expectation that the Leaving Care Service will inform Social Security as soon as the placement is due to end.

The young person’s Social Worker is responsible for ensuring any changes to arrangements are communicated to the Family Placement Service and to other agencies involved. They are also responsible for completion of all documentation which initiates and ends payments.