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Contents

1. Reasons for a Placement Stability Meeting
2. Support Opportunities Available
3. Planning a Placement Stability Meeting
4. Outcomes of a Placement Stability Meeting
   
   Appendix - Placement Stability Meeting Format

1. Reasons for a Placement Stability Meeting

A Placement Stability Meeting will be called when the placement of a child in foster care is considered to be at risk of disrupting.

This could be if:

1. Concern is raised through the child's or foster carer's review process.
2. Where an allegation or complaint has been made.
3. The child or young person is absconding or being absent from placement on a regular basis.
4. Where there is relationship fragility of the placement because:
   1. The relationship between the child and foster carer gives cause for concern that the placement may breakdown
   2. The child or young person has made it known that they want the placement to end.
5. The carers have expressed concerns that they are experiencing difficulties or that they feel they can no longer care for the child or young person.
6. The child or young person's social worker or other professionals raise cause for concern that the placement does not meet the needs of the child or young person.

It will always be the aim of the "in house" fostering service and agency fostering providers, in conjunction with the child's social work team, to make every effort to prevent the disruption of a placement.

Where it appears that the placement is unstable every effort will be made to resolve the presenting difficulties. This will be in the form of added support to  address the issues of concern. In many cases, this will be sufficient to resolve the concerns.

2. Support Opportunities Available

Examples of support opportunities available and preventative methods to promote placement stability include:

1. The supervising social worker (SSW)  will offer support to the foster carer to identify the difficulties that are giving cause for concern about the stability of the placement. The SSW will also support the carer to try to resolve, the areas of difficulties.
2. Initially the child's social worker will offer a consultation to the child/young person to enable them to express their views or to consider how the difficulties can be understood
3. Fast tracked referral to the CAMHS/Health,Education Access and Resources Team (Heart) service.
4. Convene a network meeting to discuss possible resolution of    difficulties
5. The HEART service may also be involved if the cause of the difficulties in the placement are considered to be associated with education and/or health.
6. In some cases it may be appropriate to involve the Children's Rights   Service.
7. Drawing up of a contract between the foster carer and young person in respect of the expectations of the placement. This would include a review of the Placement Agreement Meeting decisions made at the commencement of the placement
8. Added support in the form of respite or outreach services to give the child some "time out" and the carers a period of rest from the care of the child will be considered.

3. Planning a Placement Stability Meeting

A Placement Stability Meeting will be held, where a more intensive approach is required. This meeting will consider the influencing factors that could result in the disruption of the placement.

The focus of the meeting will be to gain an understanding of the quality of the child/foster carer relationship. The meeting will also aim to identify the areas of difficulty

If the placement is considered to be in the best interests of the child the meeting will consider how best to support the placement to prevent breakdown.

The Placement Stability Meeting will:

1. As the Placement Stability Format. See Appendix - Placement Stability Meeting Format
2. Be called by the fostering service in conjunction with the social work team.
3. Be chaired by the relevant fostering deputy manager i.e. Support and Development or Kinship team, or the social work manager

There will be minutes of discussions of these meetings. In this way an effective Chronology can be formulated of the child's behaviour and responses to intervention.

4. Outcomes of the Placement Stability Meeting

If the responsibility for the placement difficulties is considered to lie with the carer and his/her response to the child, a structured plan of work to improve this situation will be formulated, along with an appropriate training programme. The issues of concern will be presented as part of the foster carer's annual review.

In the case of serious concern about the foster carer's practice, the circumstances will be presented to the next available fostering panel.

Where further work for the child and foster carer is identified, recommendations and decisions will be made. These will be carried out within agreed timescales to prevent delay for the young person and the carer/s.

In these circumstances a second Placement Stability or a follow up Network meeting will be arranged where continuing recommendations will be made about the future of the placement. 

Where it is not possible to prevent the breakdown of a placement a Disruption Meeting will be held. See Disruption Meetings Procedure.

 The Placement Stability meeting should include some or all professionals closely associated with the care of the child/young person e.g.:

• Child/ Young Person
• Child's social worker
• Social work manager
• Foster carer/s
• Supervising social worker
• Fostering Support and Development Manager
• CAMHS / HEART
• Other relevant professionals
• Advocate for the Young person where appropriate
• IRO

Details of planning, meeting minutes and decisions will be placed on the child's and the carer's files.

Appendix 1 - Placement Stability Meeting Format

Click here to view format form

End