My Placement may be Breaking Down

Placement Support

Support to you and your child will be offered from the start of the placement and will be discussed as part of the placement plan when the child is first placed with you. It is important that you raise any concerns or support needs you and the child have with your supervising social worker in supervision and in meetings with the child’s social worker.

Placement Support Meetings can be held at any time during the child or young persons’ placement. The meeting is chaired by the Fostering Team Manager and is used to anticipate and identify support needs of the child or young person in placement. Anyone involved in supporting the child and carers can be invited to this meeting and if appropriate the child/young person can also attend.

See Hertfordshire’s policy on placement support meetings: Placement Support Meetings Procedure

Placements ending in an unplanned way nearly always leave all those concerned left with difficult feelings. Your Supervising Social Worker will want to work with you to make sure that everything is done to support you with children and young people living with you and to manage difficulties.

When you are struggling, use your support mechanisms to help you to find a way forward.

Placement Disruptions

However, not all foster care placements work out. Disruption is the word used to describe a placement which ends before it was supposed to.

A disruption can also occur when Children's Social Care feel the placement is no longer meeting the child's needs or you decide that you are no longer able to care for a child or the child decides they do not want to stay in the placement.

It is vital that for whatever reason the placement ended, you make the move for the child as positive as possible.

A Disruption Meeting may be arranged by the child's social worker.

These meetings may be held a little while after the actual disruption so that some of the immediate feelings of upset have reduced. They will consider all aspects of the placement in an attempt to understand what happened. Disruption Meetings can sometimes feel threatening, but it is important to recognise that their purpose is not to blame anyone but to reach a better understanding of what happened, including whether more support should have been provided. Most carers who have been through a placement breakdown have found the Disruption Meeting helpful.

Who may attend:

• You;
• The child, if appropriate;
• Your Supervising Social Worker and their Manager;
• The child's social worker and their Manager;
• The proposed carer;
• Independent Reviewing Officer;
• Any other relevant people. 

The Chair of the meeting should ensure that the circumstances that led to the disruption are reviewed, and that everyone has the opportunity to express their views in order to:

• Find out how and why the disruption happened;
• Learn from what happened and avoid the same thing happening again - for the child/others in your home;
• Identify the positive work and good experiences for the child amongst all the difficulties;
• Support all parties involved and help them carry on and recover;
• Contribute to the future planning for the child;
• Identify work to be done and who will do it.

The Chair will make sure minutes are sent to all those involved. The report of the Disruption Meeting may be presented to the fostering panel.

For more information see link to Hertfordshire’s policy in Disruption meetings: Placement Disruption and Disruption Meetings

A Looked After Review should also be arranged.

An annual Foster Care Review may be held to look at your approval terms.