Promoting Contact Course (‘Relationships are motivated and shaped by our past experiences’) Supporting children’s relationship with family and friends Course designed by: Astell Evans (2008)
Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com Aims To look at the implications of legislation and national standards for foster carers in promoting and facilitating contact for children and young people in care To identify the issues of contact between children/ young people in care and their birth families To examine the impact contact can have on: foster carers Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com Objectives Be introduced issues related to supporting children and young people to identify their own contact and relationship needs Have been given the opportunity to take part in group discussions about ways to work with children and young people to maintain appropriate contact and relationships with people that are significant to them Explore strategies to support children and young people to develop appropriate and supportive relationships Discussed appropriate issues linked with: National Fostering Standards & Regulations 2011 and TSD Standards (2.3 a + b) Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com The course makes leadership and management links with issues around managing a provision of care services that supports parents, families, carers and significant events. It also makes links with managers’ abilities to manage provisions that promotes development through engagement relationship-based, child-centred practice Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com Scope This workshop will not cover every aspect of contact and the resulting issues. However it will help you to understand what is involved in contact as well as the roles and responsibilities of foster carers and or Residential care staff. Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Schedule 8, Contact Orders Children Act (1989) - Sections: sch2, paragraph 15(1) Duty to promote contact A clear duty to seek out, create and maintain (for all children looked after) relationships with: parents (includes non-married fathers without parental responsibility who may be living elsewhere) other people with parental responsibility Friends others connected with the child Schedule 8, Contact Orders Available to any child not in compulsory Care Could be used in relation to a child in accommodation Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com TSD Standards 2.3: Relationship with parents and others 2.3a: Understand the importance of families and friends for children and young people 2.3b: Demonstrate how you involve families and others in the lives of children and young people and the important role of foster carers in helping a child maintain contact Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
What is the purpose of contact? How does it fit into the child’s care plan? Form contact takes – indirect versus direct Quality versus Quantity Developmental considerations (including managing behaviour issues) What needs to be done to make contact work for the child? Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com Purpose of Contact (1) Assess the parent or carer and child relationship Assess the parents’ or carers’ ability to care for and relate to the child adequately and appropriately Help the parents or carers develop appropriate parenting behaviours Help the child interact with the parent/carer Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com Purpose of contact (2) Identify and resolve problems before the child returns home Evaluate the family’s progress towards targeted changes Assess the feasibility and timing of return home Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com Benefits of contact Contact enhances the possibility of a clearer sense of identity (Aldgate 1990, Thoburn et al 1989) higher self esteem in the child as she/he grows up (Fanshel and Shinn, 1978, Aldgate 1980) Higher educational attainment is possible where contact with birth families is maintained (Aldgate 1990) Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com Benefits of contact (2) Stable foster placements are more likely where contact with birth families is maintained (Berridge and Cleaver 1987, Fanshel and Shinn, 1978, Aldgate 1990) Black children in foster families were much more likely to have frequent contact with their families than white children except when they were placed trans-racially when they had far less contact with their families than those placed with black families. (Barn 1993) Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Regular positive Child contact There is evidence that children who have regular and positive contact are more likely to be reunited with their birth parents. However, while such children are likely to remain in care for shorter periods, this is not a result of the contact per se. Rather it relates to a range of positive factors such as stronger parent-child attachment and good social work support with parents (Biehal, 2006). Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Contact for Looked After Children 40 - 50% of looked after children have contact with a family member on a weekly basis. Benefits of contact can help a child to maintain their identity and come to terms with what has happened to them. serves to reassure children to see that their parents/siblings are alright. helps keep children abreast of changes at home helps in assessment of whether return home will be safe: contact is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for reunification. Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Challenges of Contact(1) For some children contact associated with placement breakdown and further abuse when contact poor quality or problematic (Moyers et al, 2006; Selwyn, 2004) Types of contact difficulties: Unreliable contact when a parent does not turn up or is consistently late Inappropriate amounts of contact Safety, particularly where contact is unsupervised Replay of negative relationships Diminishing the influence of the foster carer (Moyers et al,2006) Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Challenges of Contact(2) High frequency contact for infants can produce high levels of stress through discontinuity of care/insensitive care Disruption to infants’ daily routine, making it difficult for infants to experience settled caregiving Infants who have experienced unreliable or chaotic care in the past far worst: distress from frequent and often unsatisfactory contact can add to difficulties in aiding their recovery Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Foster Carers and Contact Foster carers crucial to supporting contact and helping children make sense of their history They accept its importance but can find it stressful Difficulties include: birth parents' aggressive or violent behaviour negative impact of birth parents behaviour on child perception that social workers put birth parents' needs first (Austerberry et al, 2013) Foster carers need practical and emotional support to meet the difficulties that often emerge during and after contact Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Facilitating Contact for Children in Care (DFE 2014) To ameliorate difficulties associated with contact social workers need to: consider the purpose of contact arrangements for each child influence the frequency, quality and safety of contact ascertain the wishes and feelings of the child, parents and significant others provide appropriate support for the child, birth family and carers regularly discuss the effects of contact with the foster carer review contact arrangements on a regular basis facilitate contact with other relatives (e.g. grandparents) as they can be a source of stability and continuity and counteract troubled relationships with parents (Moyers et al, 2006; Sen and Broadhurst, 2011) Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com
Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com reflection exercise (‘Relationships are motivated and shaped by our past experiences’) Following today’s discussions, what is different about family and friends for children in your family, compared with children who are looked after by the Local Authority? How would you support a child or young person where there was no parental contact or contact had a negative impact on the child? What do you do (or what would you do) – to access records to understand any limitations that have been placed upon relationships and contact with children and young people? What further actions do you need to take to continuously promote your knowledge about contact? Slides designed by: Astell Evans (2012) www.emptlondon.com