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Contents

1. Overview of the Programmes
2. Eligibility Criteria
3. Referral Process
4. Child Assessment Process
5. Case Planning Process
6. Services to the Child
7. Permanent Placement, Aftercare, Birth Families
8. Assessment of Foster Carers
   
   Appendix - Job Description for Foster Carers

1. Overview of the Programme

Oxfordshire are piloting the Multi-dimensional Treatment Foster Care programmes for children aged 3-6 (MTFC-P Prevention) and 7-11 (MTFC-C Middle Childhood) with complex needs, emotional disturbance and challenging behaviour.

The programmes have an emphasis on positive reinforcement of pro-social behaviour and on behaviour management in a structured environment. A multi agency team of key professionals and specialist foster carers provide high levels of supervision with a focus on positive parenting.

The programme is specifically tailored to bringing about successful permanent placements including reunification with birth family, long-term fostering and adoption.

2. Eligibility Criteria

It is appropriate to consider the MTFC Programmes for children whose needs may not be fully met within the regular fostering services where the child is:

• Looked After by Oxfordshire and
• is aged between 3 and 11

It is likely that:

• The child has experienced abuse and neglect including harsh parenting
• The child has experienced multiple placements
• The child has severe emotional and relationship difficulties and is experiencing developmental delay
• The child is experiencing difficulties with learning and educational attainment
• The child displays a significant level of challenging behaviour

Children are not likely to be appropriate for referral if:

• They have a significant learning disability, where the degree of impairment is likely to limit their capacity to participate in the programme.
• Their parent or carer in their permanent placement is unwilling to participate in the programme.
• They are placed with siblings and separation is not appropriate. However, sibling placement will be considered at the discretion of the team.

3. Referral Process

Where social workers wish to have children referred, they will complete a referral form via the placement duty system and/or telephone the MTFC team to discuss the referral..

If appropriate, the MTFC-P Team will then meet with the social worker and Team Manager to consider whether to accept the referral and undertake an assessment.

4. Child Assessment Process

Assessment procedures will be decided on a case-by-case basis so as not to repeat elements of assessment already completed. It will be necessary to ensure that the following areas are covered: behaviour, functioning and developmental issues across all domains, intellectual functioning and educational attainment (where relevant), functioning of family of origin (where relevant) and the child's understanding and views (where possible/relevant).

Any previous assessment information must be provided to the MTFC Team and will be reviewed prior to the start of the assessment process

The assessment will be completed prior to the child entering the MTFC programme Consents will be obtained from the appropriate person with Parental Responsibility (including consent for the child to be videoed in the playgroup).

The written assessment report will be coordinated and signed off by the Programme Supervisor, following consultation with other Team members and the child's social worker.

The assessment will inform the following:

• Access to a MTFC Placement and the matching process
• The child's individual programme
• The need for any additional interventions
• Outcomes for individual children

5. Case Planning Process

The child's social worker will lead the case planning and will identify the child's permanent placement on leaving the programme.

Whilst in the programme, each child will have an individual treatment plan, which will be reviewed on a weekly basis in the clinical team meeting. The Programme Supervisor is responsible for leading the clinical team meeting as well as co-ordinating and overseeing the implementation of the treatment plan.

The child's social worker and any other relevant professional will be regularly informed of the child's progress within the treatment plan and a member of the Team will attend the child's Looked After Review and any other meetings, including PEP meetings, as appropriate.

6. Services to the Child

6.1  Individual Programmes

Foster carers through the Parental Daily Report (PDR) checklist provide daily recordings of problem behaviours. This is the heartbeat of the programme and provides information on behavioural patterns as well as opportunities for identifying problem behaviour. The PDR is also used to track rewards, time-outs and foster carer stress.

Each child's progress in the programme will be reviewed weekly in the clinical team meeting. The Programme Supervisor is responsible for leading the clinical team meeting as well as co-ordinating and overseeing the implementation of the treatment plan.

6.2  Children's Therapeutic Playgroup (Prevention Programmes only)

Each child who enters the MTFC programme (for 3 to 6 year olds) will attend a weekly two-hour therapeutic playgroup. Behaviour management strategies are employed for shaping positive behaviour and managing negative behaviour.

6.3  Skills Coaching Sessions

Each child will participate in weekly individual skills coaching sessions lasting approximately 1-2 hours. Sessions will typically take place in the community, the child's home or at school. Behaviour management strategies are blended and employed to shape positive behaviour and manage negative behaviour to help the child successfully achieve treatment targets.

7. Permanent Placement, Aftercare, Birth Families

The Programme Supervisor co-ordinates the transition and aftercare placement plans for each child in conjunction with the Birth Family Therapist and child's social worker.

They will identify the aftercare support and training needs for the receiving family and ensure their delivery.

Aftercare support and consultation will be maintained for an appropriate period following permanent placement to be determined by the Team.

8. Assessment of Foster Carers

Foster carers are assessed in the same way as mainstream carers with an additional assessment of their suitability for the programme.  Details about the foster carer's tasks can be found in the Job Description. See Appendix - Job Description for Foster Carers

8.1 Recruitment Assessment and Approval

Foster carers will go through the standard approval process - see Assessment and Approval of Foster Carers Procedure. 

They will then undergo MTFC training and be approved at the Fostering Panel as MTFCP carers.  For existing carers, a report will be submitted to Panel, recommending them as carers for the programme and updating any information and checks as necessary.  For new carers, this report is incorporated into the full Form F.

The report will include the following:

• Motivation for joining the programme
• Chronology of placements to date
• Any changes to Form F within each section - family composition, career history, matching considerations, health etc.
• Report from 2 referee visits - we send information about the programme to the referees prior to visiting.  If we have recent references (less than 3 months old), this can be a verbal reference via telephone.
• How carers meet the specific requirements of the treatment model - working as a member of the team, sense of humour, emotional regulation, an ability to put behaviour into context, implementing behavioural programmes and so on (see Appendix - Job Description for Foster Carers )
• Strengths and any areas of potential difficulty
• Recommendation

8.2 Fostering Panel Process

Cases need to be heard by the same Panel that carers were originally approved by, if carers are already active.  If the application is new, then it comes to whichever Panel is convenient.  As with all applicants, the Fostering Panel encourage prospective MTFC-P carers to attend Panel to discuss their application.

Panel will endeavour to meet the deadline of the scheme requiring a child to be placed within a month of carers completing the MTFC-P training and will create a prioritised agenda space for MTFC-P applications from the time the Panel Chair is informed of prospective carers.

Panel recommends that the Foster Carer Consultant assessing the carer(s) checks what the Panel minutes say about active carers and whether their First Annual Review has been completed and presented to Panel, as an indicator of any Panel concerns and responds, where possible, to these concerns in their report and presentation.

Panel Chair welcomes consultation about prospective carers at any time.

Following Panel decision and ratification by the Agency Decision Maker, an approval letter and contract will be sent to the foster carer(s). 

The fee will be paid to approved carers from this approval date.

8.3 Training and Support

Foster carers are trained in the social learning model and employ a behaviour management system that emphasises encouragement, reinforcement, consequences and clear expectations. This system adds structure and predictability into the home environment and helps increase opportunities for the child to experience success.

Foster carers are required to attend a weekly foster carer meeting and to have daily phone contact with the team to complete the Parental Daily Record checklist for the previous day. Foster carers can access out of hours support from team members 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

Appendix - Job Description for Foster Carers

The UK National Standards for Foster Care and the Code of Practice recommend that Fostering Services make explicit the skills and competencies required by carers.

It is suggested that this is used alongside the Cue Sheet for Initial Home visits to new or existing foster carers interested in the MTFC scheme. A copy can be given to the applicants.

1. Caring for Children

• The ability to understand and provide a good standard of care to 'Looked After' children which promotes healthy emotional, physical and sexual development as well as their health and educational development.
• An ability to communicate appropriately with people who are important to the child. To facilitate contact where appropriate. Understanding the possible vulnerability of family members when caring for a child who has been sexually abused.
• To undertake work with children towards achieving specific goals with appropriate supervision and consultation from team members. To see challenging behaviour as skills deficits due to developmental delay and to help children develop appropriate social behaviour, encouraging positive behaviour patterns.  An ability to grasp social learning theory and set appropriate boundaries to manage children's behaviours within the individualised behavioural programme devised with the clinical team.  To adhere to this exactly, working within a positive/ reward-based model.
• To never use physical chastisement and other inappropriate punishment.
• A knowledge of normal child development and an ability to communicate with children appropriate to their age and understanding
• To observe and assess children and clearly record and track their development.
• To promote the educational attainment of looked after children by ensuring nursery/ school attendance, liasing with these establishments, participating in child-focused school/ nursery events and supporting achievement e.g. attending parent/toddler meetings and sports days.
• To facilitate the child attending the weekly children's group as part of the programme (P programme only). 

2. Providing a safe and caring environment

• An ability to provide a home with adequate sleeping space and privacy. To maintain an appropriate standard of furnishing, fitting, decoration, cleanliness and hygiene.
• An ability to care for children in a home and network that is free from harm and abuse.
• An ability to help children keep themselves safe from harm or abuse and to teach them to seek help if their safety is threatened

3. Working as part of a team

• An ability to welcome the child into your family and to form a real relationship even if only for a short time. To help the child move on in a positive manner by assisting and supporting them and working along side the Department's plans.
• An ability to work with other professional people, working to Placement Agreements and contributing to the individually devised programme for the child. To also contribute to the broader planning for the child at the Department's planning meetings. To attend any meetings such as medical, education meetings court and act as advocate for the child.
• To attend the weekly foster carer meeting facilitated by the PS and FCCs.
• An ability to communicate effectively by maintaining written diary recordings and to verbally convey daily information about children's behaviours via daily phone call to complete a behavioural checklist/ Parental Daily Report (PDR).
• An ability to keep information confidential and only share information about a child/ family with the permission of the fostering provider.
• To translate your awareness of discrimination e.g. gender, race, sexuality,  social status etc. into anti-discriminatory practice.

4. Own development

• To take responsibility for your own development, recognising your role and your abilities or limitations.
• The ability to appreciate and reflect of how personal experiences have affected yourself and your family and the impact fostering is likely to have on you all.
• An ability to have people and links within the community which provide support.
• An ability to use training opportunities to increase skills. This includes attending a two day course in London specifically on Treatment Fostering as well as post approval foster carer training provided by Oxfordshire County Council. To identify your own training needs.
• An ability to sustain positive relationships and maintain the quality of family life incorporating warmth and humour through periods of stress. To be able to stand back from a stressful situation and regulate one's own emotions, rather than get caught up in the child's behaviour. To recognise the effect of secondary stress on yourself and your family.
• To monitor the effect fostering is having on you and your family and to share experiences generally with you Foster Care Consultant and other members of the Team. This means issues can be resolved early and you remain supported to stay positive and true to the Programme.
• To become familiar with the Department's policies and procedures and to work within the legal framework.

In addition

• Carers will be supported by a 24 hours emergency duty rota run by the Clinical Team.
• Foster Carers can have periods of relief care to be arranged on a case by case basis, with careful consultation with the Clinical Team and the child's social worker.
• Only one child on the Programme will be placed in a foster home at any time. No other foster children will be residing in the placement unless they are siblings.
• One adult in the foster home will be expected to be at home undertaking the fostering role full time.
• In the face of an allegation an independent support worker can identified by the Department. The investigation will be carried out by a separate team.
• You will be asked to sign a Fostering  Agreement on approval setting out the Agency's terms and conditions.
• All carers can contact the local Fostering Network Representative in case of queries and advice as well as the National Fostering Network help line.  They can also attend mainstream support groups locally.

Please see separate details of fees and allowances.

End