The Care Commission has said that local authorities are not doing enough to identify and record Private Fostering Arrangements (PFAs), meaning many children, parents and private foster carers may not be getting the support or advice that they need.
The watchdog believes that, although many PFAs are beneficial for young people in Scotland, a number of children may potentially be placed in vulnerable situations because they are in private fostering arrangements that are not being properly identified.
A Care Commission report, Private Fostering – the Unknown Arrangement?, reveals that just 16 private foster care arrangements were recorded across the whole of Scotland during 2008-09 – with no cases reported in the largest cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow or Aberdeen. The report outlines that many more of these cases are likely to be happening across the country.
The Care Commission believes that a more pro-active approach is required by local authorities and children’s services partners such as health, education and the police, to ensure that privately fostered children are identified and their welfare is supported and secured.
The report also recommends that the Scottish Government works with local authorities and groups such as The Fostering Network and BAAF to promote publicity campaigns about private fostering, as well as advising private foster carers about the support and advice that is available to them.
Ronnie Hill, the Care Commission’s director of children’s services regulation, said: “It is clear that the number of children in Scotland who are privately fostered remains largely unknown and that not all local authorities provide good information to parents or the public on private fostering requirements.
“Many local authorities are also not incorporating private fostering fully within their safeguarding responsibilities. These are matters which must be addressed comprehensively and quickly if children and young people in private fostering arrangements are to be supported and safeguarded in the way that the law intends.
“We know that there are examples of good private fostering arrangements in place across Scotland. However, we need to ensure that all PFAs are being properly indentified and recorded and that the right information and support is being offered to the children concerned and to their private foster carers.
“Housing support officers, health visitors, police, schools, GPs and other government and voluntary agencies should be working together to identify PFAs and this information must be passed to social work authorities so that children’s wellbeing is promoted and protected.
“I am heartened by the initial response to the report that I have had from the Scottish Government, local authorities and other key agencies. There is commitment to work together to consider and address the recommendations of the report in the best interest of the children and young people concerned. This commitment now needs to be turned into action.”
Under current legislation, if a child stays with a person who is not a close relative or an official foster carer for 28 days or more at a time, their parents or the carer must notify their relevant local authority of the arrangement. However many private foster carers in Scotland are often unaware of the law and do not notify anyone about the arrangements, meaning that the children in their care remain unidentified and potentially vulnerable.
The Private Fostering – the Unknown Arrangement? report reveals that a total of 22 out of Scotland’s 32 local authorities do not have any information about private fostering on their websites – meaning that parents and carers may have difficulty in finding out how to notify local authorities or if they are entitled to receive additional support.
Only four local authorities in Scotland have comprehensive information about private fostering on their websites, while a further six local authority websites contain basic private fostering information.
The report showed that 71% of local authorities in Scotland had recorded no PFAs during 2008-09. The council with the highest number of notifications was Fife Council, with eight approved PFAs in 2007-08 and seven in 2008-09. In 2007-08, there were 21 PFA cases.
The Private Fostering – the Unknown Arrangement? report and all care service inspection reports can be found on the website www.carecommission.com.
