Family and Friends Care Policy

The child is not a Looked After Child.

Parental Responsibility remains with birth parents but the relative who care s for the child may do what is reasonable to safeguard or promote the child's welfare. There is no entitlement to support services, but the Local Authority can assess the child to identify need and provide services and support based on assessed need under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989.

This is a private arrangement where the child is being cared for a period of 28 days or longer by a person(s) who is not a close relative. The child is not a looked after child.

The carer arrangements are assessed by the Local Authority and monitored.

The relevant legislation is set out in Part 9 and Schedule 8 of the Children's Act 1989. This was further strengthened by measures in Section 44, The Children Act 2004.

Parental Responsibility remains with the birth parents.

See Parents and Carers Guide to Private Fostering and Recognising and Assessing Private Fostering Arrangements Procedure.

The child must be a Looked After Child, this would normally be an Interim Care Order or a Care Order following Care Proceedings. In exceptional circumstances the child may be accommodated voluntarily under Section 20, Children's Act 1989.

The family and friends foster carers must be approved in accordance with Fostering Services Regulations. When an 'emergency placement' is made the carers must be approved under Regulation 24 and assessed via Schedule 4 of the Care Planning Regulations 2010.

The Local Authority have Parental Responsibility when the child is subject to an Interim Care Order or a Care Order.

These orders decide who the child is to live with and/or who the child will spend time with, and can be granted to more than one person whether they live together or not. If a Child Arrangements Order states that the child will live with a person, that person will have Parental Responsibility for that child until the Order ceases. Contact with a child can either be direct e.g. fact to face meetings, or indirect e.g. by letter or exchange of cards.

Some Orders will make very specific arrangements for the child, other Orders will be more open with detailed arrangements to be made between the parties by agreement. Child Arrangements Orders are not only made in respect of parents; there can also be Orders for arrangements between siblings and wider family members. Sometimes the Order will give directions that contact is to be supervised by a third person, or that contact is to take place in a specific location.

Failure to comply with an order may result in the court making further Orders specifying activities for a party to undertake or the court making other enforcement orders which can include an order for unpaid work.

Parental Responsibility means all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority, which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property.

The birth mother of a child will always have Parental Responsibility unless it is extinguished by the making of an Adoption Order to another person.

Where the child's father and mother are married to each other at the time of the birth, they both have Parental Responsibility for the child.

Where the child's mother and father are not married to each other at the time of the birth the general rule is that the mother has sole Parental Responsibility for the child. However, an unmarried father will have Parental Responsibility for a child born after 1st December 2003 if he is named on the Birth Certificate/Register.

Other ways in which a father can obtain Parental Responsibility are by:

1. Drawing up an agreement with the mother (a Parental Responsibility Agreement), which is a specific form that has to be signed by both parents;
2. Marrying the mother;
3. The court making a Child Arrangements Order for Parental Responsibility if the parents cannot agree on the father having Parental Responsibility.

Other people may acquire Parental Responsibility by entering into an agreement if they are the husband or civil partner of the mother, or if they obtain a child Arrangements Order for residence.

More than one person can have Parental Responsibility for the same child at the same time. Parental Responsibility is shared between everyone, but where more than one person has Parental Responsibility for a child each of them may act alone in meeting that responsibility except in circumstances where the consent of everyone with Parental Responsibility is required.

Special Guardianship gives the carer clear responsibility for all aspects of caring for the child and taking decisions to do with their upbringing.

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 provides the legal framework for Special Guardianship under the Children's Act 1989. See Section 115, Adoption and Children Act.

The Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 were implemented in December 2005.

This legislation is supported by the Special Guardianship Guidance produced by the Department of Education and Skills.

Parental Responsibility is shared with the parents, although the Special Guardian only has to consult with them about decisions to do with the child's upbringing in exceptional circumstances.

See also Special Guardianship Orders Procedure.

An approved foster carer can apply for an Adoption Order after a year of caring for the child. See Recruitment, Assessment and Approval of Prospective Adopters, Fast Track Procedure for Approved Foster Carers.

Other informal carers could apply for an Adoption Order if the child has lived with them for a period of three years.

Adoption gives the carers full legal and Parental Responsibility for a child, a commitment for life.

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 Regulations outlines the legal framework for adoption.

See Recruitment, Assessment and Approval of Prospective Adopters Procedure and Adoption Support Procedure.

This imposes a general duty on the Local Authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need. Also in so far as is consistent with that duty to promote the upbringing of such children by their families, in particular by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children's needs. These are generally referred to as family support services.

In undertaking an assessment to see whether a child is in need of support services under Section 17, social workers must ensure firstly that families are accessing the full range of support services and benefits they are entitled to.

Section 17 provides that family support services via the local authority may include giving assistance in kind and may include giving financial assistance.

Section 17 has been amended by the 2008 Children and Young Person Act in order to remove the restriction on the Local Authority to provide financial assistance only "in exceptional circumstances".

A local authority may now provide financial support on a regular basis under Section 17.

In undertaking an assessment of the need for financial support full details need to be taken of the family's income and outgoings. As mentioned earlier, access to benefits the family are entitled to must be ensured.

Financial support can usually be provided in one off payments for essential equipment for the family or immediate assistance whilst the family wait for benefits to be secured. In such circumstances the family should be required to repay this funding when the benefits have come through and been backdated.

Regular financial payments can be considered in circumstances where it is felt necessary to prevent a child becoming Looked After.

Regular financial payments should only be made in relation to specific, defined, ongoing need, after a full assessment. The payments can be tailored to fit each individual situation. There should always be a defined time limit for the need for the payments and regular reviews. It is important that the need for this provision is fully considered so that access to financial support is never a reason for a child becoming Looked After.