Agenda item

(a)       That the commitment to recruit additional Foster Carers be endorsed; and;

(b)       That the proposals to develop a National Fostering Service and seek a report on the implications  of the Service for Flintshire once these are known be noted.

The Chief Officer (Social Services) introduced a report to provide an update on the Corporate Parenting and Fostering Strategies.  He introduced, Karen Edwards, Team Manager Children’s First Contact,  and Janet Bellis, Service Manager, to the meeting.  The Chief Officer referred to the  Authority’s commitment to develop a unified Corporate Parenting Strategy and advised that the starting point would be to establish what was important to looked after children.  He also advised that the Welsh Government (WG) had endorsed a principle to develop a national framework for the delivery of fostering services to ensure the best quality foster care placements are available to all children and young people who need them.  He explained that the approach to developing a National Fostering Framework recognised the benefit of delivering some fostering services on a national and regional level whilst retaining the advantages of localism and local accountability.  

The Chief Officer invited the Senior Manager Children and Workforce to give an overview of the main considerations as detailed in the report.  The   Senior Manager Children and Workforce reported that during the Autumn the Authority would work with the Participation Forum to develop a range of approaches to establish what looked after children expect from their Corporate Parents and how they would like this to be delivered.  He said that Members would be invited to attend a Task and Finish Group in early 2017,  as Corporate Parents themselves to input directly into the development of the content of the Strategy document.

The Senior Manager Children and Workforce referred to the positive inspection of Flintshire’s fostering service which had taken place in 2015 and advised that whilst Flintshire does well to attract foster carers there are challenges in ensuring a sufficient number of skilled foster carers to support older children and teenagers, including those with challenging behaviour.  He explained that Flintshire was proactively working at a local, regional, and national level to maximise the number of foster carers to meet local need.  The Senior Manager Children and Workforce explained that as part of the strategy to increase foster carers proposals are being developed for Flintshire County Council to become a ‘Foster Friendly Employer’.  He also commented on the collaborative work being undertaken between the 6 North Wales authorities to develop joint working between Local Authority fostering services.   Referring to the WG principle to develop a National Fostering Framework, the Senior Manager Children and Workforce explained that a national briefing note was  appended to the report which set out the aims, and work programme for 2016-17.

The Chairman invited Members to raise questions.

Councillor Hilary McGuill asked what training and support would be provided for people interested in fostering older children.  She also commented on the need to provide information and support to older children to prepare them for independent living and cited money management and  employment ‘skills’ as examples.  The Senior Manager Children and Workforce acknowledged the points made and advised that the ICF fund had been extended to include children with complex needs.  He also referred to the joint work with Wrexham Local Authority to commission a comprehensive service for older children that works with Health, and  Social Services to support Foster Carers and children.  Jane Davies reported on the range of learning opportunities available through college based courses and  e-learning to inform and support foster carers and older children.

In response to the further question from Councillor McGuill concerning the need to recruit foster carers in Flintshire the Senior Manager Children and Workforce reported on a range of initiatives in place and the development of the Authority’s ‘Foster Friendly Employer’ project.

Councillor Dave Mackie expressed praise for the work of the fostering team and suggested that ‘active marketing’ of all businesses in Flintshire took place to increase the number of enquiries to local authority fostering teams.

Councillor Arnold Woolley agreed that the reputation of the Foster Team was good, however, he said that the report suggested that the Service was not keeping pace with demand in relation to children with complex needs.  The Chief Officer advised that during recent years there had been an increase in demand for placements for older children and young people which had led to an over supply of carers of younger children and under supply for the higher age group, however, work was being undertaken which should complement the targeted initiatives to recruit new foster carers for this age group.  In response to the additional query from Councillor Woolley around resources the Chief Officer advised that the proposals in the report, citing  ‘Foster Friendly Employer’ as an example, would not have an impact on resources..  

The Chairman referred to kinship carers and asked if there was an interest from family members in undertaking kinship care duties.  The Senior Manager Children and Workforce explained that kinship carers were treated the same as foster carers in terms of the training and support provided by the Service.

Referring to fostering recruitment events, Councillor David Williams suggested that it may be helpful if the events were held in different areas of the County so that the local Members were involved.   

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the commitment to recruit additional Foster Carers be endorsed; and;

(b)       That the proposals to develop a National Fostering Service and seek a report on the implications  of the Service for Flintshire once these are known be noted.