Decision details

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Young People presented a report regarding the recruitment of a specialist foster carer group of Step Forward Carers who can care for children with more complex needs. The cohort of children who would be cared for by Step Forward carers are those who would be otherwise cared for in residential care or likely to need a residential care placement.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Approved a twelve-month pilot of the Step Forward Foster Carers Scheme, at a total cost to the Council of £369,324 for the term of the pilot; and

2.    Noted that the estimated time for mobilisation of the Scheme is 6-9 months from decision to fund (this allows time for safe recruitment, assessment, approval, training, matching and placing).

Reasons for the decision:

The Scheme offers a strategic, cost-effective way to grow a specialist fostering model and reduce reliance on residential care for our children. It supports better outcomes for children by ensuring they can become part of a stable fostering family environment, reduces the current high spend on residential care and aligns with national priorities for children’s social care reform.

Alternative options considered and rejected:

There is no doubt cost savings will be achieved via our current initiatives. However, doing nothing at this stage is not an option. The Scheme will complement the above initiatives already in progress and provide the Local Authority with more ways to improve the lives of children in care whilst significantly reducing current forecasted overspend on placements. This option builds on the already agreed cost-saving initiatives and strengthens the Local Authorities range of options available to them when placing children with complex needs in care settings. Often these decisions are made in times of crisis and when 'placement choices' are either nil or limited due to national sufficiency challenges.