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7. Fostering services, including kinship care - planning for the next 20 years

7.1 In addition to those issues that the National Fostering and Kinship Care Strategy will tackle in the short-term as set out in sections 3-6, we need to look forward and identify the longer-term challenges, where work must begin soon to ensure fostering and kinship care can play a central role in meeting the needs of children and young people over the next 20 years and beyond.

Developing a wider role for foster carers and kinship carers

7.2 Prevention and early intervention has to be at the heart of any strategy, which aims to improve outcomes for children and young people. The extent to which the skills and expertise of foster carers and kinship carers could be used in this regard, needs to be further explored. They could support children and their parents in a variety of ways, such as providing contingency planning for "episodic care" within the foster or kinship home when an immediate response is needed or forms of respite care can be provided, for example, to the child within the home of their parents - essentially becoming a support to the whole family.

7.3 There is also the need to consider specific models of support required by substance misusing parents who are assessed as capable of looking after their children safely, with appropriate support.

7.4

• Do you think that foster and kinship carers should become more involved in prevention and early intervention work?
• Do you think their role could include helping children/young people and their families remain together in the parental home?
• Please tell us below about any specific examples of good practice you are aware of involving foster and kinship carers in prevention and early intervention.

The recruitment and assessment process

7.5 Local recruitment campaigns have mixed results. They are also run and managed in many different ways, some of which may not be as successful as anticipated. We consider there may be benefits to a more regionalised approach.

7.6

• What approaches, other than a recruitment campaign, have you used to recruit and retain foster carers?
• Has your organisation run a fostering recruitment campaign?
• Following such a campaign, have you met your targets in attracting and sustaining applications?
• Would a national campaign be of benefit to your local campaign?
• What would be the benefits of a more regionalised approach to recruitment and retention, for example a number of local authorities combining on a geographical basis? How could this best be delivered?
• Do you have any further suggestions or any specific examples of good practice regarding recruitment and retention of foster carers? If so please provide details.

7.7 The quality of assessment together with a speedier process could also influence the effectiveness of recruitment campaigns. We have addressed longer-term development of this at paragraphs 3.6 - 3.9.

Training, learning and development

7.8 By training, we include relevant training and preparation for the pre selection and selection process and following approval as a foster carer. The ongoing learning and development needs of foster carers must also be met in a systematic way.

7.9 One aspect of training and ongoing learning and development is to ensure that foster carers and their support workers are fully aware of child development issues and good practice in managing behaviour. Also they should be aware of existing regulations and standards and any forthcoming changes in the legislation. For example, all foster carers must be fully aware of national care standards for foster care and family placement services. It would also be useful for them to know what the local authority's evaluation of the Care Commission's reports and other inspection reports say about foster services overall in their area and what improvements the local authority may wish to introduce.

7.10 The National Fostering and Kinship Care Strategy will identify specific approaches to training, learning and development for both foster carers and kinship carers. This will include the benefits of achieving a Scottish Vocational Qualification; the balance between "mandatory" training events and on-going learning and development opportunities. Identifying methods of encouraging attendance and participation will also be considered.

7.11

• In your opinion, is there a need for mandatory training for:
  
  a) foster carers
  b) kinship carers
• Please tell us what kind of training and development opportunities would be most welcome in your opinion (tick as many boxes as appropriate):

Fostering support services

7.12 As noted elsewhere in this consultation paper, the evidence is absolutely clear that the support provided to foster and kinship carers is crucial if the placement is to be safe, stable and secure. We have discussed elements of what the support should comprise of and where progress could be made immediately. Nevertheless, there is the need to look more radically at the current provision of support services to foster and kinship carers and question whether the current form of delivery is capable of achieving the transformation of fostering support services that is required.

7.13 By support services for foster carers and kinship carers, we mean:

• the recruitment process
• assessment and review of carers
• training and ongoing learning and development
• support - a named worker for ongoing support; breaks for foster carers and kinship carers and other temporary "time-out arrangements"
• independent advocacy and support, for example to advise on allegations or entitlement to benefit or other financial support.

7.14 It is clear from a review of fostering support services provided by the 32 local authorities and their partners that they all provide a slightly different service; offer different levels of support and pay varying allowances using various criteria. There are some local authority consortia where local authorities come together to "share" the foster carer resource. However, they still maintain separate rates of remuneration and criteria for payment and levels of support.

7.15 The National Fostering and Kinship Care Strategy will set out proposals for alternative models of delivering fostering and kinship care arrangements.

7.16

• What changes do you think need to be made to the provision of support services to foster and kinship carers by local authorities, independent and voluntary agencies?

Children's services partnerships

7.17 As part of the response of children's services partnerships, we welcome receipt of their internal reviews of fostering services and any related issues, including their support of kinship carers. Other evidence that could be included is their response to the recent review by the Care Commission of fostering and family placement services. We are particularly keen to receive examples of current developments in relation to using and developing the existing skills of foster carers to meet the specific and more complex needs of, for example, children or young people who are physically disabled; or with an offending history and how such carers are paid appropriately to recognise their skills and experience. At this stage, we see no need for any additional reporting or monitoring requirements through the integrated children's services plan for fostering services or for kinship care arrangements.

7.18

• In addition, we want to know more about the extent to which foster and kinship carers and children and young people are involved in the local planning and improvement process. Are you aware of/have you been involved in any such arrangements? If so, have they involved:
  
  (a) children in foster care or kinship care
  (b) foster carers and/or kinship carers
  (c) relevant independent agencies.

Inspection and regulation

7.19 We want to ensure that inspection and regulation are proportionate but that the extent to which the range of activities provided by fostering services and kinship carers are adequately covered by inspectorates and regulatory bodies, in addition to the Services for Children Unit leading on the Joint Inspection Arrangements for Children's Services. An Independent Review of Scrutiny, Audit and Inspection in Scotland is also underway and your response will be submitted to the Review team for consideration.

• Do you think that inspection and regulation arrangements of fostering services and kinship carers are proportionate?
• Do you think that the inspectorates and regulatory bodies currently provide adequate cover for the range of activities undertaken by fostering services and kinship carers?

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