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2. Purpose of this consultation paper
2.1 If children and young people need to live away from their parents, for however short a time and for whatever reasons, given the choice, most children want to live with a member of their family or a friend, or with a foster carer. However, for some young people, residential care may be the preferred option to foster care. For those children and young people whose needs are best served by foster or kinship care, this option can provide them with the best chance of overcoming the disruption and damage that they have faced and to develop happily and confidently.
2.2 This consultation paper builds on the work of recent relevant research and reports. These include Extraordinary Lives by the Social Work Inspection Agency; the Executive's Proposals for the development of integrated services, Getting it Right for every Child, the 21st Century Social Work review, Changing Lives, Hidden Harm: The next Steps, which addresses the welfare of children living in substance misusing households; and the forthcoming report on improving the educational outcomes of looked after children. Together with learning from these reports, the Executive has also set out its ambition to transform further public services in Scotland, making them all personalised, high quality, innovative, efficient and productive, joined up and accountable.
2.3 This consultation paper discusses the specific needs of children and young people for whom the option of living with a foster carer or kinship carer is in their best interests; the improvements that could be made to supporting foster and kinship carers to enable them to meet the needs of the child or young person; and the way forward for fostering services and kinship care arrangements more broadly. It then seeks views on how these needs can be met.
2.4 At section 7, the paper also sets out some key issues which must be addressed if we are to achieve improved outcomes for children and young people and a fundamental transformation in the delivery of support arrangements for both fostering services and kinship care arrangements.
2.5 The evidence is also consistent in claiming that the quality of support provided to both children and young people and to their carers can help determine whether the placement is a success and achieves the stability and continuity that are so important to the child or young person's long-term life chances. There is near-universal agreement that if the placement is right first time, then this provides the best guarantee they will develop confidently and securely. But this goal cannot be achieved by making quick fixes to the current arrangements. Fundamental, innovative change and service redesign is required to achieve this. The National Fostering and Kinship Care Strategy will set out the framework for this transformation, supported by the views gathered through this consultation.
2.6 We welcome views on the issues raised in this consultation paper and other issues which respondents consider relevant. Consultation will also include a series of meetings to gather the views of children and young people in foster or kinship care and the views of their carers and providers of fostering services and kinship care arrangements.
2.7 The questions for consultation are at relevant stages of the paper. All the questions are reproduced at Annex B which should be completed and sent to nationalfosteringstrategy@scotland.gsi.gov.uk. Postal responses should be sent to National Fostering Strategy Consultation, 2-CS, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ.
2.8 An electronic copy of this paper is available from nationalfosteringstrategy@scotland.gsi.gov.uk. The responses must be received by Friday, 16 February 2007.
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