Minutes:
(1) Mr Brightwell tabled the 12 recommendations from the Children in Care Council on the DVD- ‘Care to Listen’. The recommendations were divided into 3 areas; Going into care, Being in care and Leaving care.
(2) The Chairman sought Members comments on each of the recommendations. Members suggested the following:
Going into care
(1) Make all foster families produce a family pack
· Members advised that fostering already do this
(2) Talk to us not about us
· This was an ongoing issue
(3) Dedicate time to us to explaining each stage of the process
· This was over and above the IRO role. Voice for us had an independent system. There was a list of things already being carried out.
(4) Introduce a buddy system to we can pick an adult who can support us
· The Buddy system could be piloted with the older children who had been through the system the social workers would have to be briefed.
· There could be a panel of people. Ask the young people what qualities they require in a Buddy.
· Members could fulfil this role to as part of their Corporate Parenting Role
Being in care
(5) Give us a consistent IRO and make sure they meet with us a day before the review
(6) Make our social workers meet with us regularly
(7) Make Children and Families and 16+ work together better
· Members had no comments to add
Leaving care
(8) Schedule 1 on 1 drop in surgeries with social workers
(9) Provide more support to help us find work and make plans for the future
(10) Take our pathway plans seriously, don’t just fill in the form
(11) Require case social worker to schedule hour long fortnightly visits
· Members had no comments to add
(12) Provide us with a contract of entitlement
· Members felt that this was a way of showing that they were being taken seriously
· There were already documents that met this criteria
· The Pledge could be used as the basis for the contract Mr Brightwell advised that all of the children would not be aware of the Pledge
· Could there be a formal launch
· This could be discussed at the statutory review
· The Children in Care Council was developing a website which may also be a way of reaching all children. Children in care were able to write to them. On the front of the website there would be a link to the KCC website.
· Mr Brightwell advised that the copyright of the DVD was owned by KCC. The Children in Care Council had given permission for the DVD to be used for training and had already been used for Foster Carers/Adoption training. He advised that the Children in care Council were already engaged with recruiting.
· Members felt that it would be useful as part of their training.
(3) RESOLVED that the comments and suggestion made by Members be considered when Mr Brightwell draws up a list of actions for each of the recommendations and submits them to a future meeting of the Board and Children in Care Council.