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Contents

1. Transition Planning for Young People with Disabilities or Mental Ill-health
2. Transfer of Foster Carers to Adult Placement Service
3. Providing Adult Placements for Young People Aged 16 and 17 as Part of Planned Transition to Adulthood
4. Transfer of AP Carers to Fostering Service
5. Simultaneous Applications to become both Foster Carers and AP Carers

1. Transition Planning for Young People with Disabilities or Mental Ill-health

Transition planning should preferably take place at the time of the 16+ review of the young person.  A Care Manager should attend this review, in order to consider eligibility for adult services, and to contribute and commit to the plan for transition to adult services, if appropriate.

The Adult Placement Service (APS) requires a ‘green light’ from a Care Management Team in Adult Social Care Services before it can proceed with seeking new adult placements or transferring existing foster placements.  It is not appropriate for this work to begin without a commitment from the Care Management Team involved because of the possibility of raising expectations inappropriately, and because of the significant time implications for the young person, their family, and their foster carers, as well as for Adult Placement Officers (APOs) and social workers in the Children, Young People and Families Directorate (CYP&F).

The social worker from CYP&F will alert the relevant Care Management Team to the need for forward planning, and try to engage a Care Manager in the process as soon as possible after the young person’s 16th birthday.  Even with full co-operation and information-sharing between Fostering and AP Services, the setting up of a new adult placement may take months, whilst existing Foster Carers still need to be trained and approved as Adult Placement (AP) Carers, in line with the regulatory framework for adult placements.  It is obviously in the interests of all stakeholders for transition plans to be clarified as soon as possible. 

Once the ‘green light’ has been given by a Care Manager, the CYP&F social worker will make a referral to the AP Team, and the work involved in taking this forward can be undertaken between APO and the CYP&F social worker.  Whilst every effort will be made to streamline the approval process, it is not possible to circumvent it altogether.  This means that if a Care Management Team cannot commit to a Care Plan until just before or after a young person’s 18th birthday, there may still be a time lag of some months before the process can be concluded (with no guarantees in the interim).

However, before deciding whether a young person should move on to an adult placement, the Care Manager should consider whether the support of the APS is actually necessary for maintenance of a placement.  There may be other alternatives which would still enable a service to continue for a young person, but in a form that would reduce dependency on Social and Health Care, and/or would not necessitate further assessment or training of foster carers – e.g. Direct Payments- see Direct Payments in Oxfordshire Procedure, or contracting directly with the foster carers.  There should not be an automatic assumption that because a young person has been in receipt of a long-term or short-term foster placement, this means he/she and his/her foster carer must transfer to APS. 

The Leaving Care Act also gives powers for young people to remain in foster placements up to the age of 20.  This is likely to be a more appropriate option when foster carers are only able to offer time limited involvement into adulthood – e.g. up to completion of full time education.  (However this would not alter financial responsibilities within the department.)

If there is a possibility of transfer to APS, CYP&F social workers will undertake preparatory work with foster carers by explaining:

• that different legislative and regulatory frameworks apply to services for vulnerable adults, and for adult placements in particular;
• that caring for an adult / being an AP Carer is a different job, not just an extension
• that the approval process for becoming an AP Carer is about ensuring they are equipped for this different job, i.e. caring for an adult not a child, not about doubting their suitability;
• that the approval process will be as seamless as possible, with CYP&F social workers, Leaving Care Personal Advisers and APOs working together to ensure that background history, assessment information, references, etc. are transferred between Fostering and APS;
• that the time spent on the approval process will be helpful in getting to know the APS and vice versa, and in establishing sound working relationships for the future.

An APO can be involved in joint visits or joint training with the CYP&F social worker at any stage, if this is helpful, in explaining the differences between fostering and adult placements, and in enabling foster carers to make informed choices about their potential role in supporting a young adult.

2. Transfer of Foster Carers to Adult Placement Service

When it has been decided that a young person and his/her foster carer should transfer to APS, the APO and CYP&F social worker will work together to ensure that the process is as seamless as possible, avoids duplication of effort, and minimises the time involved for the young person, his/her family, and the foster carers.  All records will be shared between the two services.

2.1	The CYP&F social worker should refer the young person and/or foster carers to the APS as soon as the Care Management Team has agreed that an adult placement is the appropriate plan for the future.
2.2	The APO and CYP&F social worker will undertake a joint visit to the foster carers to explore the implications of a transfer by: explaining the current regulatory framework for adult placements, and the need for a new application, approval/registration, and medical and police checks (unless recently updated); clarifying process and procedures with the foster carers so that they understand what needs to happen; explaining that the approval process will be geared to ensuring they are equipped for supporting a vulnerable adult (rather than querying their caring abilities) and to establishing effective working relationships and support networks within APS; offering to put them in touch with other ex-foster carers who have already transferred to APS; ascertaining their expectations and level of commitment offered; explaining that police checks must be completed for all household members aged 16 or over, (unless recently completed – i.e. within the 12 months prior to the application going to the Approval Panel); discussing rates of payments and tax implications; leaving written information about the assessment and approval process, stressing that most information will be gleaned from fostering records and the CYP&F social worker.  Also that personal and employee references will not be required as the CYP&F social worker will provide a reference for Panel instead. leaving an AP Carers’ application form and other related forms for them to fill in, or offering to help them complete these, if appropriate.
2.3	If the foster carers decide to proceed with an application to become AP Carers, then the APO will: read the CYP&F files and any information passed from CYP&F to familiarise him/herself with the foster carers’ backgrounds, references and experience, and relevant information about the young person concerned (the aim being to reduce the amount of repetition and time involved in re-assessment); participate in the Foster Carers’ Reviews if possible/appropriate – see Review of Foster Carers Procedure; request a new reference from the relevant CYP&F social worker; complete Criminal Records Bureau forms for all relevant household members (unless recently updated information is already available within Directorate) update medical references; complete the assessment by pulling all the sources of information together, and draft a report for Approval Panel; agree the rate of payment for this adult placement/ensure funding is available; if applicable, contact the Regulatory Authority to arrange pre-registration visit* (i.e. if the service user has personal care needs and has lived with the foster carer(s) less than 5 years ); ensure the foster carers undertake AP induction training; follow the usual approval procedures (except that a reference will be supplied by the CYP&F social worker), plus registration procedures* if applicable; complete the Service User Guide.
2.4	During the above process it will also be necessary to contact service users and / or their family to: prepare a Service User Plan and Placement Agreement and, if there is no active involvement from a care manager at this stage, to: ensure awareness of S&HC charges for adults and ensure that a Financial Circumstances Form or Fairer Charging assessment is completed ensure that the young person is receiving appropriate welfare benefits and consider whether Money Management Service is required. consider whether any other adult services, resources or support should be accessed for the young person and/or their families.

3. Providing Adult Placements for Young People Aged 16 and 17 as Part of Planned Transition to Adulthood

In most cases the preferred option would be for the the carers to hold dual approval, as both foster carers and AP Carers. 

However if for some reason this is not possible, the situation must be discussed with OFSTED.  Decisions will be made on a case by case basis.  Reference should be made to ‘Guidance on defining care for 16 and 17 year olds’, which was issued by the Oxford branch of the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) in December 2003, in order to help decide if the young person is in need of registered care. 

If so, the adult placement would be expected to show satisfactory compliance with the ‘Supplementary Standards for Care Homes accommodating young people aged 16 and 17’.  The AP Carer would need to apply to vary their registration to include 16 and 17 year olds.

4. Transfer of AP Carers to Fostering Service

If AP Carers apply to become foster carers, a similar process will apply – i.e. APS will share records and undertake joint visits with the CYP&F social worker, in order to facilitate the approval process and minimise duplication and time for the carers.

5. Simultaneous Applications to become both Foster Carers and AP Carers

If new applicants have applied to become both foster carers and AP Carers, the assessment information will be gathered jointly by the CYP&F social worker and APO.  Personal and employers references will be shared, as will Criminal Records Bureau information and any other checks.  Applicants will undergo a medical as required for fostering, and information from this will be shared, rather than a separate medical reference being requested for APS.  Standard letters will need to be adapted to make it clear that information will be going to both teams.  A joint report will be submitted to both Approval Panels, which can have separate appendices attached if necessary – e.g. if there is a particular issue or reference that would have to be covered by one Panel, but not the other.  For more information on the approval process for foster carers, see Assessment and Approval of Foster Carers Procedure.

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