Managing the supply of placements10

Budget pressures in children's services are often linked not only to a growth in the numbers of looked after children, and the complexity of their needs, but also to rising costs. According to the national performance indicators, the average cost of a placement in England in 2001/2 was £488 - a rise of 7.7 per cent compared to the previous year. Costs of services for children looked after by the authority by reference to gross weekly expenditure per looked after child in foster care or in a children's home in Wales was £408). The reasons for this are complex, but many councils attribute it partly to a shortage of local foster carers, or to their own difficulties in recruiting. The fees charged by independent foster care agencies tend to be higher than the costs of councils' own fostering services, although in many councils, more work is needed to ensure that the right methodology is being used to make this comparison. See Costing children's placements.

What is clear is that a strategic approach is needed in this area, which should aim to ensure that an appropriate range of placements is commissioned and that these provide value for money. See Commissioning module. This component suggests ways in which councils can promote the recruitment and retention of foster carers and ensure that the right range of placements is available at the right cost.

This section covers:

Investing in the council's own fostering service:

• Sustained and imaginative recruitment
  
• Positive and swift response to enquiries
  
• Good assessment and training
  
• Using foster carers well
  
• Supporting foster carers well - having the basics in place
  
• Providing a high level of support to carers

Broadening the types of placement used 11

• Developing kinship care
  
• Developing specialist foster care
  
• Developing adoptive placements
  
• Planning placements across the children's sector

Securing Best Value from independent sector providers

Investing in the council's own fostering service

It is generally very cost-effective to invest in the council's own fostering service, provided that the service is well managed and is achieving good outcomes. It is always cheaper and more cost-effective to retain a good foster carer than to recruit a new one. The opportunity cost of losing a foster carer is the cost of the alternative placement.

The Beacon councils for fostering in 2001 were Bexley and Cheshire12.

See also Good Practice Dudley (1), Good Practice Stoke.

Some features of those councils that are having success in retaining foster carers, and recruiting new ones, are:

Sustained and imaginative recruitment

• Using local media - both advertisements and regular human interest stories.
  
• Using a variety of promotion methods - adverts on buses, banners on buildings, adverts on till rolls, messages on council pay slips.
  
• Using a wide range of opportunities - stalls and talks at parents evenings at schools, getting to clubs and societies.
  
• Reaching particular groups, both by conveying the right messages and by using relevant media and opportunities - active retired people, single people and the gay and lesbian community.
  
• Using foster carers and young people in recruitment.
  
• Using marketing people and/or skills and techniques.
  
• Providing opportunities for volunteering within children's services such as advocacy and mentoring and increase the pool of people who understand the range of needs and who may themselves consider fostering or encourage others.
  
• Offering a reward to foster carers who introduce another carer. (Evidence shows that word of mouth is the best recruitment - this encourages it).
  

Positive and swift response to enquiries

• Having a dedicated phone line with a knowledgeable response.
  
• Following up of enquiries quickly.
  
• Portraying recruitment and assessment positively as helpful to carers and children rather than deterrent hurdles to jump.

• Completing assessment as quickly as the applicant wishes - appointments at times to suit the applicants.
  
• Making assessment and training available in places and at times that suit foster carers.
  
• Offering further training including NVQ that is available and well supported.

• Making placements and if none is available offering other tasks with children - foster carers want to use their skills.
  
• Ensuring good matching of children to placements.
  
• Matching support for the particular child and carer.

• Specialist link workers with time for regular contact not just crisis.
  
• Ateam response - so if the link worker is away the carer is still supported.
  
• Equipment provided without delay - not just the baby equipment, but all that is needed for the particular placement.
  
• Fostering allowances paid promptly - with an initial cash payment to ensure carer is not out of pocket.
  
• Good information sharing about the child - foster carer being treated as part of the team.
  
• Prompt resolution of practical matters for the child's care - clothing, spectacles etc.
  
• School (or day care or training) arrangements in place.
  
• Child supported by a social worker who also communicates well with the foster carer.
  
• Reviews of foster carers identifying skills and competencies and planning for the carers development.
  
• Debriefing at the end of placements.
  
• Retainer fees for carers who do not have a placement.

• 24 hour support available from a dedicated phone line - and with the potential for direct help to be available.
  
• Specialist advice and treatment available - for example, for difficult behaviour and for sexual issues from CAMHs and Education services.
  
• Respite built into placements of children who have complex needs - the carer should not lose their allowance for that period.
  
• Higher payment rates associated with defined competencies, expectations in relation to training and a career path for carers.

Broadening the types of placement used

Children looked after have a variety of needs which need a variety of placements. Care by friends and family is possible for many children and some councils achieve very high rates of care by the extended family. Fostering as a differentiated service, is better placed to meet these needs and will also widen the range of entry routes for potential carers.

Developing kinship care

• Family group conferences at point of entry to care can produce options within the family and friendship network.13
• Relative carers still need good assessment and a range of support - the council needs to be able to be flexible about what it can provide.14

Developing specialist foster care

• Specialist schemes can be effective at recruiting carers - some people are attracted to particular tasks. Specialisms that have been found to work well include: children with disabilities, emergency care, remand, adolescence, respite and care for children who are potential abusers.
• Specialist schemes also give potential career development to experienced carers.
• Some carers want a defined and limited role, such as respite.
• Specialist carers may move into other specialist areas of care.
• Dedicated and knowledgeable support is valued by carers on these schemes.

• Adoption should be considered an option for any child for whom it is inappropriate to return to the birth family or where such a return is unlikely within a reasonable timescale. This includes older children and disabled children.
• For older children, local placements may be beneficial to enable continuation of school and friendships, as well as contact with birth families and siblings.
• Developing consortia arrangements maximises opportunities to find suitable matches, while spreading the cost of recruitment, training and post-adoptive support. See Good Practice: Dudley (3).
• Membership of national networks can also increase options for sibling groups and children with special needs.
• Post-adoptive support is a sound investment in preventing placement breakdown. See Good Practice: Hull (2).

Planning placements across the children's sector

Education and social services have traditionally met similar needs in different ways. There are usually some jointly funded placements. There are potential gains in planning, commissioning and managing placements together.

• Develop common assessment processes across the sector.
• Pool placement budgets for externally purchased placements.
• Manage placement services together.
• Develop services to support children with special needs as a whole.

Securing Best Value from independent sector providers

Many authorities tend to do business with a limited range of suppliers but may not have explored the scope to contract in different ways. The possibilities include:

• Negotiating discounts for block contracts with independent homes or fostering agencies used on a regular basis.
• Forming purchasing consortia with neighbouring councils.
• Commissioning specialist services from the independent or voluntary sector.

This requires good data about the volume of past placements and good forecasts about whether trends are likely to continue.
See: Commissioning module

10Information about Choice protects - the review of fostering and placement services - is available at http://www.doh.gov.uk/choiceprotects/index.htm
11A discussion paper about the use and development of foster care is available here
12The Beacon award report is available here
Bexley demonstrated success in providing stability for children in foster care, and in recruiting more carers, against national trends, making a particular effort to recruit from ethnic minorities. See here
Cheshire provides a well-planned programme of training and support for foster carers, is keen to develop initiatives based on research, and has developed a successful, child-focussed approach to helping difficult to place children. See http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/SOCIAL/adoptfoster.htm
13The Family Rights Group has a Family Group Conferences Project http://www.frg.org.uk/index.asp
14The choice protects website has a discussion paper about family and relatives care at http://www.doh.gov.uk/choiceprotects/friends-family-paper-1nov02.pdf
the Family Right Group website (see 13 above) will have a paper about payments to relative carers available in October 2003
15For England see the Adoption website which has comprehensive information at http://www.doh.gov.uk/adoption/ and for Wales see http://www.wales.gov.uk/subichildren/content/adoptionfostering-e.htm