1. Care into practice: the legal framework
for looked after children and care leavers
Implementation of revised
Regulations and guidance

2. Why revise the legal framework?
Purpose of revisions:
To update, rationalise and streamline the framework to render it more accessible and coherent
To provide a stronger focus on the child

3. Who are looked after children?
About 2/3 of looked after children enter as a result of abuse and neglect eg domestic violence, substance abuse by parents
Around 20% enter as teenagers, for relatively short periods, but on average with complex needs, higher costs
Largest growing groups of looked after children are aged 0-5 and 16+
Social workers report that around 10% have severe learning and physical difficulties
Majority have been previously known to services which were not successful at keeping the child at home safely and thriving

4. What’s working? Evidence shows…
Care can be positive experience for most children. Outcomes are relatively good, compared to 20 years ago and compared to other vulnerable children and young people:
Eg Increased proportion of care leavers in ‘settled & safe’ accommodation
Outcomes are better for those in stable placements for longer periods
Improved & comparatively low rate of violent child death in England/Wales
Heightened awareness of health & educational needs of looked after children.

5. What are we trying to improve?
However, evidence from research demonstrates common difficulties:
Delay: in length of court proceedings and in achieving permanence
Instability: [Sinclair, Ward, Farmer etc]
Many children are not visited regularly
Drift in care planning eg may experience poor quality reviews
Lack of mental health services (children and adults)
Over half of return home to birth families break down
Giving priority to educational achievement and working with schools. Similarly poor mental/ physical health outcomes
Abrupt exit: poor experience of transition to adulthood [Stein]

6. What is causing this variation in practice?
Weaknesses in practice between areas and for individual children
Evidence, from inspections, research, consultation with stakeholders show that:
Professionals knowledge of current law and confidence in application of it is highly variable
Not consistent quality of care and permanence planning for every child by every authority.
Significant room for improvement for children & their families with most complex needs.

7. What is causing this variation in practice (2)
4. The voice of the child is often missing
As individuals: many children are still not consulted about changes to placement or other significant plans for how they are looked after
- As groups: local authorities and providers not consulting looked after children about the services they provide
What children said about care plans
When a sample of children were asked about their care plan, 26% had not been asked what they thought it should say. 5% did not think they had a care plan. (Being fostered – Dr Roger Morgan, Children’s Rights Director, 2005)

8. Legal context for the regulations and guidance
The revised legal framework confirms and in some cases extends, the Children Act 1989, which was amended by:
- Children Leaving Care Act 200
- Adoption and Children Act 2002
- Children Act 2004
- Children and Young Persons Act 2008
The Care Standards Act 2000 brings together requests for fostering and residential placements.

9. Identified Implications
Challenge to Resources:
Financial – arising in particular from the changes to Leaving Care Regulations and the Statutory Guidance in respect of ‘Family and Friends’ policies and the new statutory duty to provide ‘short breaks’ to children with disabilities.
Physical – Increased demand/expectations of social workers, social work mangers and IRO’s.

10. Identified Implications (2)
All procedures/policies/guidance in respect of CIOC and Care Leavers to be rewritten
A range of ‘new’ policies required:
‘Staying Put’ policy – young people do not need to leave their care placement on reaching 18 years unless they wish
‘Family and Friends’ policy to include support to be provided ‘informal arrangements’.
Ensure appropriate accommodation for children moving from care into ‘non-regulated’ provision.

11. Securing Sufficiency From April 2011
Working with partners, local authorities must be in a position to secure, where reasonably practicable, sufficient accommodation for looked after children in their local area.
The sufficiency duty applies in respect of all children Looked after … but the Commissioning Standard (Chapter 4) applies equally to children in need who are at risk of care or custody (children sometimes referred to as ‘on the edge of care’).