Private Fostering
What is private fostering?
A private fostering arrangement is made between a parent and another adult without the involvement of the local authority for the care of their child. For an agreement to be classed as 'private fostering' it must meet the following criteria:
- The child must be under 16 years of age (18 if disabled).
- The arrangement must be for 28 days or longer.
- The main carer will be someone other than the child's parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt or uncle (either by blood), legal guardian or other person with parental responsibility.
A private fostering arrangement is distinguished from a fostering arrangement because the child is not 'looked after', and it is not arranged by the Local Authority.
Notification
Both the child's parents and the private foster carer have a duty to notify Southampton City Council of the private arrangement at least 6 weeks before it is due to commence, or in the case of an emergency within 48 hours of the child being placed.
How to identify a Private Fostering arrangement
The following checklist will enable you to identify a Private Fostering Arrangement. If you tick all of the shaded squares, this will indicate a Private Fostering Arrangement and the need to ensure that Southampton City Council has been notified.
| PRIVATE FOSTERING CHECKLIST | YES | NO |
|---|---|---|
Is the child living or going to live with someone other than a parent, step-parent,
| ||
Is the child/young person under 16 (or 18 if disabled)?
| ||
Has the child lived with or are they intending to live with the carer for 28 days or more?
| ||
| Has Southampton City Council been involved in any way with the placement of the child? ie, funding, current care plan, active client etc. |
Your role as a professional
Private foster carers are often unaware of the legal requirements to notify Southampton City Council of these arrangements, which can leave potentially vulnerable children at risk.
Education and health professionals are often the first people to become aware of these arrangements. Professionals becoming aware of a private fostering arrangement have a duty to 'satisfy themselves that Southampton City Council has been notified'.
Advice should be given to the private foster carer(s) and /or parent(s) of the legal requirement to notify Southampton City Council.
Professionals should also consider if they need to contact Southampton City Council to ensure that the notification has or will be made.
If you have a concern about a child's welfare you should contact the local authority. If you have concerns that a child may be at risk of harm you should follow the child protection procedures.
What Southampton City Council will do?
Once a private fostering arrangement has been identified, Southampton City Council's Private fostering social worker will carry out an initial assessment on both the child and private foster carer(s) to ensure that the arrangement will meet the child's needs. If the arrangement is appropriate the social worker will carry out a carer's assessment and provide on-going support. If the arrangement is not appropriate the private fostering social worker will discuss alternatives with the child's parents.
For more information contact:
Angela Seymour
Private Fostering Social Worker
Foster Care Services
Southampton City Council
Marland House
Southampton
SO14 7PQ
Tel: 023 8083 3956 or 0800 952 02 04
Email: angela.seymour@southampton.gov.uk
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