Long Term Matching of Children to Connected Person’s Carers – Policy and Practice Guidance

This chapter was added to the manual in August 2023.

1. Temporary approval of relative, friend or other person connected with C

  24.

  1. Where the responsible authority is satisfied that:
    1. The most appropriate placement for C is with a connected person, notwithstanding that the connected person is not approved as a local authority foster parent; and
    2. It is necessary for C to be placed with the connected person before the connected person’s suitability to be a local authority foster parent has been assessed in accordance with the 2002 Regulations;
      They may approve that person as a local authority foster parent for a temporary period not exceeding 16 weeks (“temporary approval”) provided that they first comply with the requirements of paragraph (2).
  2. Before making a placement under paragraph (1), the responsible authority must:
    1. Assess the suitability of the connected person to care for C, including the suitability of:
      1. The proposed accommodation; and
      2. All other persons aged 18 and over who are members of the household in which it is proposed that C will live, taking into account all the matters set out in Schedule 4.
    2. Consider whether, in all the circumstances and taking into account the services to be provided by the responsible authority, the proposed arrangements will safeguard and promote C’s welfare and meet C’s needs set out in the care plan; and
    3. Make immediate arrangements for the suitability of the connected person to be a local authority foster parent to be assessed in accordance with the 2002 Regulations (“the full assessment process”) before the temporary approval expires.
  3. In this regulation “connected person” means a relative, friend or other person connected with C.
  • Connected Person’s foster carers, often referred to as Kinship carers, will initially be recommended for approval by the Fostering Panel as long-term carers for a named child/ren who they have an existing relationship with, usually through being a birth relation. The Panel’s recommendation for approval as Connected Person’s foster carers is ratified by the Agency Decision Maker (ADM) for the Independent Fostering Agency (NCT’s Fostering Service);
  • On condition that the ADM has agreed approval for the Connected Person’s foster carer/s, a decision should be made at the child's second Child in Care (CIC) Review about the permanency plan for the child. The foster carer’s Supervising Social Worker (SSW) should be included in this CIC review; 
  • After the child/ren has been in the care of the Connected Person’s carer/s for twelve months, Statutory Visits can be reduced to being carried out at twelve weekly intervals, if it is appropriate to do so.  For such a decision to be made, the IRO and the Connected Person’s foster carers must be consulted by the allocated children’s social worker and this reduction in visits then agreed. The frequency of Statutory visits can also be increased again should any issues arise within the home, more frequent visits can be undertaken. This criterion is also applied in respect of reduced supervision visits to the Connected Person’s foster carers by their allocated SSW and in line with the Fostering Services’ Supervision policy and Practice Guidance;
  • Linking and Matching reports are not required as part of the Permanent Matching considerations as the Initial Viability Assessment (IVA) has already been approved by the ADM and Registered Manager, as the Nominated Officer, for the Independent Fostering Agency (NCT’s Fostering Service). It is also considered that an arrangement with a Kinship carer is automatically considered to be 'long term matched' by the nature of their Kinship relationship and the fact that all assessments and approval terms sought are always for the named child/ren only, until the age of 18 or until they are no longer looked after;
  • Once the plan for Permanence has been agreed at the second CIC Review, the child/ren’s status should be altered within their CareFirst file and the decision noted the child’s ‘Running Record’ within the Fostering Service’s TEAMS record to ‘long term matched’;
  • The event should be celebrated with the foster carers and child in a suitable manner. This may include the provision of a voucher, a Certificate or a ‘Thank You’ letter to the Connected Person’s foster carers. Support with souring a certificate for a child can be sourced through emailing the Fostering Panel Co-ordinator at  fosteringpanel@nctrust.co.uk.

2. References

The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010