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Fostering Services
FCA offers a wide range of placements for children and young people of all ages. All placements are ‘matched’ to ensure a good fit between the needs of children and young people and the skills and experience of foster carers to meet those needs.
Many FCA foster carers have extensive experience and/or training in specialised areas of care, for example caring for those who have been sexually abused, display challenging behaviour or have disabilities. Needs and placement solutions are carefully and continuously monitored and supported.
All placements must be negotiated through the child or young person’s care authority (the Local Authority/Health & Social Care Trust) either through an individual placement contract or as part of a wider contract of service provision commissioned by the care authority.
FCA has specifically designated ‘Placement Managers’ who are the first point of contact for enquiries about placement choices and ‘spot purchasing’. On receiving a referral, the Placements Team will identify any possible match based on the young person’s needs and carer vacancies. The Placements Team will keep you up to date as the referral progresses and will endeavour to get back to you within your requested timescales.
For enquiries about service provision, FCA Business Consultants are available to discuss customer needs and contract options.
Placement Regulation
All placements of children and young people with FCA foster carers are made and monitored in accordance with the Fostering Services Regulations (these vary slightly across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
This means that:
- All foster carers are properly approved, reviewed and have signed a ‘Foster Care Agreement’
- All children’s placements are made using individual ‘Foster Placement Agreements’ which are prepared either before or at the point of placement and which include essential information sharing and care plans.
- Wherever possible, pre-placement planning is undertaken, including introductions between foster carers and child (ren). For emergency placements immediate care and placement planning is given very rapid attention
