Introduction to Children in CareWhen children need to be looked after by us, it is often a time of stress and trauma for children and young people, and their parents. We will make every effort to help children and young people through this time and provide a caring environment in which they are able to come to terms with living away from home. We want to work closely and in an open way with parents.
Putting children first
When a child is first looked after by Southwark we try to identify the best place for them to stay. For many children, fostering will be the first choice. For a few, residential care will be preferred. Under the Children Act 1989 we have to be sure that looking after children is the best option available.
Finding the best way we can help you and your family
We will look very closely at what is happening in a family before agreeing to look after a child. This careful look is called an ‘assessment’. A social worker will work with you to find the best way we can help you and your family. For example, in a situation where a parent has a short-term health problem and there is no-one else to look after the children, we can look after them.
Helping families stay together
When a family is going through a difficult time, particularly with teenagers, parents sometimes feel that having the children looked after by us is a good idea. However, it's usually far better to help a family to sort out their problems and stay together than to provide a very temporary solution by having the child looked after by us.
Sometimes this may be done by involving the extended family. Your social worker will therefore be looking very carefully at what support can be provided for your family to reduce the need for care or to ensure that the period spent in care is kept to an absolute minimum. To assist this process we may ask families to be involved in a family group conference.
Special support for families who are in crisis
We have partnerships with other agencies to provide special support for families who are in crisis. This service is organised by our alternatives to care team who provide different skills and help for families according to the type of difficulty they are experiencing. Your social worker will know about them.
If a child goes into care
Every child or young person looked after by us will have a personal care plan explaining short and longer term goals. They will also include details about your child’s health and education. These plans are drawn up with the involvement of parents. Wherever possible every effort is made to ensure the child’s return home happens at the earliest possible opportunity.
Visiting children when they are in care
 The Children’s Act 1989 requires social workers to ensure that there is positive and regular contact between children and their parents. Help will be made available with transport and fares for this to happen. Contact can also include telephone and letters.
The only time there might be problems with contact is where there is a problem guaranteeing the safety of a child, or where a young person is refusing to cooperate. These situations take a little
longer to sort out and need more careful attention.
Quality of care
We seek only to employ foster carers and residential workers of the highest quality. We will place your child with people who have the necessary skills to meet your child’s needs. In exceptional circumstances this may even result in Southwark using a specialist unit outside the borough.
Individual needs
Your social worker will try to involve you and other significant people in your child’s life in drawing up detailed plans about their development, health, education and social development. These plans
will need to take into account their race, culture, sexuality, disability, diet, religion, language and family traditions.
Regular review meetings
Regular review meetings are held called ‘statutory reviews’ which parents are strongly encouraged to attend. These meetings are important because they review progress and plan for the future.
If you are not ready to have your child back home
Your social worker will work with you to identify any problem areas which are stopping your child returning home. However, we do have to look very carefully at future arrangements for children who may not be going home. Sometimes more permanent arrangements might need to be considered so that the child is able to feel more safe and secure.
Getting more information
If you feel you do not have enough information about what is happening with regards to your child, you can ask for a more detailed child care agreement and plan to be drawn up which highlights those areas you feel do not have enough detail. If you prefer you can ask your social worker to provide a written response to your queries.
Leaflets about children in care
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Contact
Children in care
Tel: 020 7525 1921
1 Bradenham Close
Boyson Road
London
SE17 2QB |