Agenda item

(1)        The Chairman of the Select Committee, Mrs Wiltshire, welcomed Catherine Atkins, Janet Latter, Janetta Sams and Nicki Bailey, Foster Carers, to the meeting.

 

(2)        Catherine Atkins, Janet Latter, Janetta Sams and Nicki Bailey, Members of the Committee present and Officers introduced themselves.

 

(3)        They had received questions and themes that the Select Committee were investigating in preparation for the meeting.

 

How long have you been foster carers for? Why did you decide to become foster carers? How many children have you cared for?

 

(4)        Janetta advised that she had been a carer for 17 years.  She became a Foster Carer because she wanted to offer the same opportunities to children in care that her own two children were given.  Over her 17 years as a Carer she had cared for 30 children for different periods of time.

 

Do you still have contact with those children after they left your care?

 

(5)        The Foster Carers agreed that they did have contact with some of the children although contact was dependent on where they had moved to and whether their parents wished them to remain in touch.

 

What kind of support have you received from Kent County Council?

(6)        The Foster Carers advised that they had been through the selection process many years ago which they understood had now changed.

 

(7)        Janet advised that she had been fostering for 13 years and had the same social work assistant support for 8 years of that time. 

 

(8)        Nicki said that she had a similar experience.  She advised that when she had adopted a child that she had fostered (ex TRP Child) upon going back after an 18 month break, there were no available Social Workers and then it was compounded by a boundary change in the service and she then came under West Kent.  It was a further 6 months before a Social Worker was available (one year in total without a regular Social Worker)

 

(9)        Nicki also advised that she was doing the odd respite too with no support and when support was assigned it was a Locum who came from a London Borough and was not up to speed with Kent policies.

 

(10)     Catherine said that she had been well supported for 10 ½ years (since September 2004) of being a Carer and had three Social Workers in that time.

 

(11)     Janetta advised that she had received valuable support although sometimes it was not good.  Having a Social Worker was essential when fostering so that you can off load when necessary.

 

(12)     Nicki said that the Social Worker she now had was wonderful.

(13)     It was suggested that when you have a Locum you immediately think “When will I see them again, what’s the point? The Locum is not going to be there in three to four years down the line”.

 

(14)     Catherine explained that the Social Worker had a statutory duty to visit every four to six weeks and that happened in her experience. 

 

(15)     Janet concurred advising that it was the Fostering Social Workers that supported the Foster Carer and the Children and Family Social Workers were there for the children.  She said that it was a chance to have a rant and off load.  The Fostering Social Worker learnt if it was ranting or a real issue.   She said that it was about them understanding that we need to rant and offload, we need to have confidence that it will be seen for what it is.  We all have fleeting moments when we ask ourselves “why are we doing this”.

 

What are the main challenges faced by foster carers?

 

(16)     Nicki said that this was a long list.  She began by saying that so many things were done well.  She treated the child in her care as a member of the family.  However, this broke down when wishing to take the child on holiday as the child did not have a passport.  She considered that if she was willing to pay up to £700 from her own pocket to take the child on holiday the local authority should organise the child’s passport.  [Members of the Select Committee stated that this was part of the Kent Pledge].

 

(17)     Nicki advised that she had paid to get a passport for a child in her care but had not been refunded.

 

(18)     Janet explained that Foster Carers were encouraged to make the children part of the family but in the past had to ask permission for everything to do with the child including having their hair cut.  There were still issues regarding getting permissions for school trips. Nicki suggested that the Delegation Authority Forms (DAF) could be signed at the beginning of the child being placed into a families care or at the Child in Care Review.  She advised that having the DAF signed earlier in the process would require the Social Worker to have a good rapour with the parent. Nicki stated that this was not an aim for the Foster Carer to take over the role of the parent.    Having the DAF signed would prevent a child from missing out on school trips etc which is often the case as acquiring permissions for each event took time.

 

(19)     Nicki advised that she has had a child with her for 3 months and the Social Worker said to her “why don’t you meet up with the parent”.  Nicki did not consider this appropriate or her role and that it was the parent’s role to sort out the responsibilities.

(20)     There was an inconsistency in advice especially with older children.  They talk with one another and find out what the other is being allowed when they are not.  They feel unfairly singled out.

 

(21)     Accessing services was an issue.  It was advised that a child had to wait for 2 years before receiving therapy.

(22)     There was often no “package” around the child a lot of the time regarding the school, health service, Social Worker and Carer.The package should be in the form of a regular, at least, monthly network meeting.

 

(23)     Often the child can just have adolescent problems and it is not necessary for counselling with CAMHS all the time.

 

(24)     Nicki suggested that some of the many meetings could be amalgamated. The child in her care was losing hours of school time.  She suggested that more meetings could be just after school.  Foster parents have to arrange for doctor and dentist appointments outside school hours.

 

(25)     A suggestion was made for weekend clinics.

 

(26)     Nicki advised that the working day for child in care was 24 hours.   A Foster Carer could be called on at any time. 

 

(27)     Janet advised that she met with CAMHS workers to discuss how she could do things differently, to help the child in her care, as the child was with her all the time.  She had now gained experience in this.  She gave the example of a child that had been with her for many years, who was not included in meetings.  She took back what worked and what did not for the child.  This worked for some children.  She advised that some children were unable to talk to a therapist which had led to the therapist saying that there was nothing that they could do.  She considered that the therapist should be saying “what can we do, there is a need”.  When they say that they cannot do anything the Foster Carer is left with the mess and possibly the placement breaking down.

 

(28)     Foster Carers receive a lot of training when they first start fostering this could be extended, when they had gained experience, to more specific training eg therapy.

 

(29)     Nicki advised that after adopting a child that was in her care she had received training that would be useful to Foster Carers.  She said that she learnt a lot at the Network meeting where questions were asked and it was like light bulbs going on. Nicki stated that Foster Carers were not included in the professional meetings.  In the past she had the opportunity to look through the file of a child in her care which helped her a lot.  She gave the example of the child having an issue with tin foil which she was not aware of until reading the file and realising that it was used in a negative way by her mother for drug use.  She had been wrapping the child’s sandwiches in tin foil.  She was able to address the issue by showing the child the positive ways of using foil in craft etc.

 

(30)     The foster carer is looking after the child 24/7 and should be seen as a professional, part of the team and views listened too.

 

What types of meeting do you attend?

(31)     The Foster Carers advised that they attend the Children in Care Review or Placement Planning meetings.  The PEP is done as long as the IRO is ok.  The Foster Carers asked for the PEP to be done at same time as the review, they felt that they should always be involved in the children’s PEP. The Foster Carers asked whether this rule could be changed.

 

(32)     Janetta asked for flexibility regarding the child’s school schedule when the child does not need to be take part of the whole meeting.  She gave an example of a long distressing meeting a child in her care attended which resulted in the child missing her break so had no lunch and on returning home fainted.

 

(33)     Nicki gave an example of a child in her care for two weeks who had a hearing difficulty.  She took things in her own hands and had the child’s hearing sorted out straight away, which she said if that was your own child you would do.  The problem being that the child had multiple moves and so missed appointments or changed hospital and records went missing.  This looked to be a set pattern and the child had gradually lost hearing in both ears.

 

(34)     The Foster Carers stated that there were constant changes in staff.  New Social Workers did not have the time and issues regarding a child can be lost in time when a child “hops about” from one carer to another.

 

(35)     The Foster Carers referred to the Dandelion Trust as being less intrusive and where children were able to relax, unlike CAMHS which was a 40 minute session in which a child was asked about the whole of their life. The Foster Carer considered that this would be difficult enough for an adult to do.   The child would be left traumatised and would not answer questions. The Foster Carers said that the children in their care often talk to them when they were out for a drive as it was less confrontational.   

 

(36)     A suggestion was made that there should be network meetings and something like the Dandelion Trust.

 

(37)     It was stated that “you need the voice of the Foster Carer”. 

 

(38)     The Foster Carers stated that training for new Carers was excellent.

 

(39)     Foster Carers got to know the children in their care and considered that they could contribute to the life story work.  It was advised that adoption does great work on this.  Janet advised that she was allowed to do the life story work when she was asked for her help by an Assistant Social Worker with the aid of the Social Workers notes.

 

(40)     Nicki said that often photos were missing from the file and she took it upon herself to take pictures of homes where the child had lived.

 

(41)     Catherine advised that the Training Steering Group had been considering using experienced carers to deliver workshops on areas in which they have a particular expertise, such as life story work.

 

What more can Kent County Council do to help deal with all these issues?

 

(42)     The Foster Carers advised that they were self-employed but employed by KCC. They stated that they could not say when they last received a pay increase. They do not receive a pension.  They were often not paid or received very late payments and gave examples.  Examples given included; waiting six months to receive a payment for respite; and the case of two children from Tunbridge Wells being placed in a foster placement in Maidstone and although a taxi was promised no taxi was provided to get them both to school in Tunbridge Wells.  The children had to travel by bus, a two hour journey to school in Tunbridge Wells. There was a lengthy wait for reimbursement.  The Social Worker refused to reimburse for the shoes she bought the children as their shoes were two small and totally warn through, you were able to see the soles of their feet. There were fewer issues regarding payments for a child that was in your care long term.

 

(43)     The Foster Carers stated that there were a lot on inconsistencies. If a child moans/complains about their Foster Carer the Foster Carer is not treated as part of the Team and not included in any discussions regarding the issue. The Social worker will go to the head of the Team and the head of the Team will address the issue with the Carer and it is like we are being told off for what is sometimes a trivial matter told by the child, the example given was that the child complained that they were not allowed tomato sauce.

 

(44)     A reference was made to the loss of Catch 22 or the 16+ Team that worked solely with adolescents which was a great loss.   It was questioned that social workers were expected to have too wider knowledge from birth upwards.

 

(45)     The Foster Carers referred to adolescents aged 18 years that entered into supported lodgings but who had to fend for themselves.  They considered that the adolescents were expected to achieve more than what would be expected from their own children at the same age and they often went back into chaos.

 

What support do Foster Carers receive?

 

(46)     Janet advised that Foster Carers have to attend a monthly meeting within our areas [Attendance was required at 75%].  It is difficult to attend those meetings if you had babies/toddlers.  Catherine said that her area was very good.  Janetta considered that it was about having good leadership, with everyone working the same way.  With regards to Locums it feels it feels like there is not the same commitment.

 

How much does it cost to find and pay a locum?

(47)     A Foster Carer advised that a lot of the Locums are open about their position saying that they are paid more and they can stick to the hours.

 

(48)     A suggestion was made by the Foster Carers that there should be a tie in with the Social Workers training where they would be required to remain in the employ of local authority for a minimum of 5 years.  [They were advised that this would need to be a national policy].  There was a suggestion that the local authority could have a policy that no more than 5% of the workforce would be Locums, this would need to be looked at as Social Worker vacancies were at an all-time high. This would save KCC money as huge amount is spent on training. Should be more recruitment through schools and local universities. Also there is a large cost to train foster carers, Retention is very important for both social workers and foster carers.  There needs to be a more sustainable policy throughout.

 

(49)     A Foster Carer suggested that it was a great expense for one local authority to care for so many unaccompanied youngsters.

 

What are the most rewarding aspects of being a foster carer?

 

(50)     The Foster Carers said that they loved their job and seeing the children in their care becoming members of the community and that it was rewarding.  A Foster Carer stated that “One person does make a difference” and another reminisced about a child calling her after some time to say thank you.

 

(51)     A plea was made for apprenticeships for practical young people.

 

The Chairman and Members present thanked the Foster Carers for attending the meeting.