3.8.6 Allegations and Complaints against Foster Carers

In addition to allegations suggestive of Significant Harm or risk of Significant Harm to a child, this procedure should be applied in all situations where it is alleged that the foster carer or member of the household has:

• Been involved in an incident in their private or professional life  which could have implications either directly or indirectly on the care of a child;
• Behaved towards a child or children in a way which indicates that he/she is unsuitable to continue to act as an approved foster carer.

If following an allegation of abuse against a foster carer it is found that the allegation does not meet the criteria for investigation under the Safeguarding Children Section 47 Procedures, (see Knowsley Safeguarding Children Board Procedures, Section 47 Enquiries and Core Assessments Procedure) any outstanding concerns about the practice or care of a foster carer should be considered under this procedure. 

The procedure must be read in conjunction with the Knowsley Safeguarding Children Board Procedures, Management of Allegations against People who Work with Children and Young People of the SCB Procedure.

The timing of the initial Strategy Meeting will be influenced by the degree of urgency, but should be held no more than 5 working days following the decision to convene the meeting. 

Depending on the allegation, consideration should be given to inviting the following people to participate:

• Police in all cases;
• Child's social worker and Children’s Social Care Manager with responsibility for the investigation in all cases;
• Foster carer’s supervising social worker and his or her Team Manager/Assistant Team Manager in all cases;
• Any other relevant professionals with specialist knowledge of the child/carer i.e. CAMHS, school;
• A representative of the Regulatory Authority;
• LADO.

The key purpose of the initial Strategy Meeting is to:

• To share information about the allegation and agree who else should be informed and by whom (e.g. subject of the allegation, parents of child) and in what detail;
• To confirm that any necessary immediate protective action has been taken and to consider if there is a risk to any other children. This may include advising a manager of any perceived risk to other children in the foster placement, and consideration of potential risk to the foster carers own children;
• To confirm the outcome of any earlier Strategy Discussion;
• To decide the scope and nature of the enquiries/investigations – and whether it should be a joint investigation with the Police or a joint investigation between the social worker and fostering service. This should include consideration of any measures needed to ensure equality and anti-discriminatory practice in the conduct of the enquiry/investigation;
• To recommend whether any of the parties, particularly any child should have an advocate;
• To identify support for foster carer against whom the allegation has been made, both from the Fostering Team and from an independent agency source through fostering network; 
• To set a date for the meeting to reconvene within a maximum of four weeks, either to conclude the enquiry/investigation or to allow the investigating social workers to report back and seek assistance in respect to any difficulties they may be encountering.

The purpose of a reconvened strategy meeting is to:

• Establish the facts from the investigation;
• Agree the outcome of the investigation i.e. whether the allegation is substantiated, or not substantiated;
• Agree who else needs to be informed of the outcome, the terms in which they are to be informed and by whom;
• Consider the need to undertake any further investigation as a consequence of the outcome of the investigation and formally consider whether there is a need for a Child Protection Conference (See Knowsley Safeguarding Children Board Procedures, The Initial Child Protection Conference Procedure) for any child;
• Record a common understanding of what will happen next which could include:-no further action,  further investigation by the fostering team as a matter of complaint, criminal charges, referral of the foster carers to the foster panel for consideration regarding their terms of approval or de-registration. 

There may be occasions when an allegation is not substantiated but the investigation has identified concerns about the practice of a foster carer that should be considered as a complaint.

The Chair of the Strategy Meeting should forward the action plan to the LADO, Registered Fostering Manager, Service Manager (CLA) for the child concerned.

Any requests for copies of minutes/reports etc. should go via the Senior Independent Reviewing Officer. Parties against whom allegations have been made requesting such documentation are not allowed full copies of these documents, but should receive a synopsis of the information in respect to themselves, which does comply with Knowsley's requirements under the Data Protection Act 1998.

At the end of the enquiry/investigation  the Registered Fostering Manager and the LADO, should also give consideration as to whether any other action may need to be taken including referral to the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

When the Fostering Service receives a complaint about a foster carer, the receiving supervising social worker must ensure an accurate recording of the complaint is made on every occasion. Where the information comes from a professional source, the professional concerned must be asked to follow up any verbal communication in writing. On occasions, referrers may ask to remain anonymous. Where this happens, the person receiving the information must take care to explain that whilst care will be taken not to disclose the identity of the referrer, foster carers will be informed of all information relevant to the complaint and it may be possible for them to know or speculate about the provider of the information.

Immediately after receiving a complaint about a foster carer, the supervising social worker must inform the Registered Manager for Fostering or their delegate if absent. If the complaint relates to the care of a child looked after, the child’s social worker should also be informed. The Registered Manager in consultation with the social work manager will initial judgement about what action to take as follows:

• To undertake further investigations within the Family Placement in accordance with this procedure;
• To refer to the Quality Assurance Unit, Service Manager for consideration under Section 47 procedures – see Knowsley Safeguarding Children Board Procedures, Section 47 Enquiries and Core Assessments Procedure.

Where there is any doubt or disagreement about the appropriate route of investigation, the matter must be speedily resolved.

The investigation should always take into account the following information:

• The nature and source of the complaint;
• assessment of the foster carers and for their placement history including any previous complaints and placement history;
• Any supporting, corroborating or mitigating information that should be taken into account;
• In the event of any of the complaint being substantiated/accepted, the foster carers ability to take responsibility for any aspects of complaint and whether they are capable of making any necessary changes.

In circumstances where the complaint is upheld, the investigating social worker, supervising social worker (if different) and the Registered Manager should agree the most appropriate way forward. This could include:

• Convening a foster care review to review to clarify expectations;
• Refer to the fostering panel with a report which documents the process of investigation and makes a recommendation about any changes to the terms of approval including de-registration.

In circumstances where a complaint against a foster carer is referred to the Fostering Panel, the function of the Fostering Panel is to:

The panel will consider all written and verbal information made available from the following sources:

• The foster carer(s) and their representative;
• The supervising social worker;
• The investigating officer;
• Child’s social worker.

The Fostering Panel will then make the following recommendations in relation to the foster carer to the Agency Decision Maker:

• To take no further action;
• To make changes to the terms of the foster carer(s) approval;
• That the foster carer should undertake specific activities such as training and attendance at support groups;
• To defer for further information;
• To terminate the approval of the foster carer(s).