Staying Put

A Staying Put arrangement is where a Former Relevant child, after ceasing to be Looked After, remains in the former foster home where they were placed immediately before they ceased to be Looked After, beyond the age of 18.

It is the duty of the local authority:

• To monitor the Staying Put arrangement; and
• To provide advice, assistance and support to the Former Relevant child and the former foster parent with a view to maintaining the Staying Put arrangement (this must include financial support), until the child reaches the age of 21 (unless the local authority consider that the Staying Put arrangement is not consistent with the child's welfare).

Under the Care Leavers (England) Regulations 2010, Planning Transition into Adulthood for Care Leavers Guidance and Government Guidance Staying Put - Arrangements for Care Leavers Aged 18 and Above to Stay on With Their Former Foster Carers (2013), the Local Authority must provide information about extending foster placements post-18.

The intention of Staying Put arrangements is to ensure that young people can remain with their former foster carers until they are prepared for adulthood, can experience a transition akin to their peers, avoid social exclusion and be more likely to avert a subsequent housing and tenancy breakdown.

Note that the term 'arrangement' should be used rather than 'placement' - the term 'placement' denotes a situation where the local authority arranged and placed the child with a foster carer. Once the child reaches the age of 18 and legal adulthood, the local authority is no longer making a placement, but facilitating a Staying Put arrangement for the young person.

Consideration will need to be given to the impact on foster carers' approval and their terms of approval, including the numbers approved for, and whether this number includes the Staying Put young person.

Young people living with foster carers supported by independent providers should be treated in the same way as those young people living with local authority in-house foster carers when consideration is given to a 'staying put' arrangement. Local authorities should have discussions with independent fostering providers at an early stage regarding the option of a 'staying put' arrangement. This discussion should include the amount of allowance the local authority will pay the former foster carer.

If a young person feels that his/her wish to remain with their former foster carer has not been properly considered by the local authority or they are unhappy with the way in which the local authority has acted, they may wish to speak to their Independent Reviewing Officer who chairs their reviews before they turn 18 and request a review of their Pathway Plan. The young person should be told of their right to use their local authority's complaints procedure to voice their concerns, and of their right to have an independent Advocate.

Note: Where a Staying Put arrangement is in place, the local authority, where appropriate, may consider delegating part of the Personal Adviser function to the foster carer (See Leaving Care and Transition Procedure, Personal Advisers).

Discussion should start with the young person and foster carer regarding the option of staying put as early as possible. Ealing promotes Staying Put as a preferred living arrangement for young people aged 18 – 21 years.

If the child wishes to 'stay put' with their foster carer, it will be discussed during the 'needs assessment' and at pathway planning and statutory reviews held from age 16 -18 years. This will entail assessing the implications for both the young person and the foster carer.

When carrying out an assessment of an Eligible child's needs, the local authority must determine whether it would be appropriate to provide advice, assistance and support to facilitate a Staying Put arrangement. Where they determine that it would be appropriate, and where the child and the local authority foster parent wish to make a Staying Put arrangement, then the local authority must provide such advice, assistance and support to facilitate a Staying Put arrangement.

The decision to stay put will be based on the following criteria:

1. That it meets the child's/young person's needs as laid out in their 'needs assessment';
2. Staying put is consistent with the child/young person's welfare;
3. That the child/young person wishes to stay put;
4. That the foster carer is in agreement with the terms and conditions of the staying put arrangement.

Discussions with a child/young person about Staying Put should only happen once it is known that the carer would be willing to undertake a Staying Put Arrangement.

Social workers and IROs should not discuss staying put with the child before the Arrangements for Staying Put Process has been completed and the carer has agreed.

The young person's Pathway Plan should set out all of the practical arrangements regarding the young person remaining as a young adult in the Staying Put arrangement.

This will include:

• Preparation for adulthood and independence tasks;
• Finance - agreement about the young people using the address for credit cards, loan agreements and mobile phone contracts;
• Income and benefit claims;
• Friends and partners visiting and staying at the address;
• Staying away for nights/weekends and informing carers of movements;
• Education, training and employment activities;
• Health arrangements;
• Move-on arrangements;
• Issues related to younger foster care children in the placement, i.e. safeguarding, being a positive role model and time-keeping.

It should be assessed from the outset how the arrangement will help the young person develop the skills required for independent living once they move on. They should be supported to continue to develop a range of skills including:

• Relationships - getting on with neighbours; understanding acceptable behaviour; when and how to communicate with relevant professionals;
• Emotional Resilience - managing isolation and where to go for support. Building self-esteem;
• Finance and budgeting - opening a bank account, safe borrowing and managing debt, understanding basic financial products, benefits and welfare reform; budgeting for priority bills, household appliances and everyday shopping on a budget;
• Cooking - cooking healthily and on a budget; understanding nutrition and its impact on overall health;
• Managing a home - washing and ironing, cleaning, basic DIY, operating appliances and what is allowed within a tenancy; and
• Applying for jobs - understanding strengths and areas for personal development; developing job skills, understanding job/volunteering pathways and support available; understanding bursaries and other financial support; where to go for advice; understanding the impact of work on benefits.

As part of the planning process for a Staying Put arrangement, Ealing has a pro-forma ‘Living Together Agreement’ which should be looked at with foster carers and young people from aged 16 where possible. (see Appendix 2)

Ealing process following decision from carer:

1. Manager for Fostering Service provides Supervising Social Worker’s (SSW’s) with a list of all children looked after in ‘ in house’ foster care turning 16 for the coming month ( this will be from the Allocations List and for any new LAC case aged 16 or 17 that month;
2. SSW to arrange a meeting with the child’s allocated worker to discuss the case in relation to Staying Put within 4 weeks of the Child’s 16th birthday;
3. SSW to arrange a meeting with the carer to discuss their intentions re Staying Put within 8 weeks of the child’s 16th birthday;
4. SSW to inform allocated Social Worker (SW) of the outcome within 2 weeks of the discussion. SW will complete a Staying Put Arrangement confirmation sheet (see Appendix 1: Staying Put Arrangement - Confirmation Sheet);
5. SW to inform the IRO that staying put is not the care plan for this child so that there is not any expectation placed on the carer or false expectation of the child;
6. Leaving Care Panel will monitor timescale of the process. All young people aged 16 and 3 months will come to Leaving Care Panel for review of process;
7. The formal discussion about post foster care will happen at the following LAC review and all future lac reviews up until the child’s 18th birthday.

NB.It is noted that things may change over time and an agreement may be withdrawn by the carer

Following the young person's 18th birthday, the legal basis on which they occupy the property (former foster home) changes (the legal term is that the young person becomes an 'excluded licensee' lodging in the home) - this should not denote that the young person will be treated differently than they were as a fostered child. In addition, the carer may also become, and be deemed, the young person's landlord/landlady.

The associated change from foster child to adult member of the household, and for the carer from foster carer to Staying Put foster carer, (technically the young person's landlord) should be carefully and sensitively planned in order to ensure that both young people and the carer/s understand the nature of the arrangement and that the positive aspects of being in foster care are not diminished by the new legal and financial arrangements and terminology.

While Fostering Regulations will no longer legally apply to these arrangements, key standards should continue to govern the expectations of the placement when the young person reaches 18.

These should include in all cases but particularly in cases where there are no foster children living in the carers home:

• A written set of standards and expectations that make explicit and clear what the implications of the change from being Looked After to being in a Staying Put arrangement, including what the young person and the carer can reasonably expect of each other and of the local authority;
• A system for reviewing and approving the Staying Put arrangement and carer/s to ensure that the arrangement complies with local authority expectations;
• Safeguarding and risk assessment checks on household members and in certain circumstances regular visitors;
• Health and safety requirements (as a minimum this should comply with landlord and licensee/tenant requirements);
• Regular supervision and support, possibly, from their fostering supervising social worker; and
• Opportunities to attend appropriate training.

The Local Authority will need to assess individual circumstances and consider the appropriateness of all of these checks particularly where the young person is the only person placed/living with their carer/s and it is not envisaged that further children will be placed. In circumstances where it is clear that the carer will not be fostering any further children, it may be deemed appropriate to terminate their approval as a foster carer. In situations where it is possible that they may foster again in the future, it would be inappropriate to terminate their approval, given the length of time that re-approval would take. Where a foster carer's approval is terminated, it will be necessary to ensure that the Staying Put arrangement continues to meet appropriate standards.

Safeguarding arrangements will need to be sufficient, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks on over 18 year olds and issues relating to fostered children in households.

Where Foster Children are Living in the Staying Put Arrangement

Where fostered children are living in the household, the checks and requirements associated with fostering legislation will apply and will provide a framework for safeguarding and checking arrangements for the whole household.

In these situations, the carer must remain an approved foster carer and the Fostering Services (England) Regulations and Guidance will apply with the consequential requirements of supervision, review and safeguarding. Whilst the fostering legislation will primarily apply to the placements of the fostered children, it does ensure that a system of approval, checking and supervision is applied to the whole household.

Additionally, where foster children are in placement, the foster carers will need to be returned to the Fostering Panel due to a change in circumstances as the child/young person staying there will have reached adulthood and become an adult member of the fostering household.

Young people remaining in a foster care household at the age of 18 will become adult members of the household and will require a valid Disclosure and Barring Service check in settings where a foster child or foster children are living. To ensure that the check (and possible subsequent risk assessment) is completed by the young person's 18th birthday the process will need to commence in sufficient time.

The local authority will discuss with the former foster carer whether they require any particular training and guidance to help support the young person. Ealing will provide the necessary training and tools to enable staying put foster carers to best meet the needs of young people. The type of support that a former foster carer will need to provide in a 'staying put' arrangement is likely to be different to that they provided when fostering the young person. It should be explored with the former foster carer the type of training and support they think they will require, particularly in helping the young person develop their independent life skills. Whether the former foster carer is from the local authority or an independent fostering service, careful consideration should be given to continued support which could include peer support.

The level of financial support payable will be as set out below as in Section 5.1, Staying Put Allowances.

It will be necessary to consider:

• How extending placements will impact on the allowances provided by the Local Authority and whether other funding, e.g. funding for housing related support, will contribute to meeting Staying Put costs;
• Whether additional allowances provided when the child was a foster child to ensure they were embedded in the family will continue, for example holiday allowances, birthday and Christmas/festival allowances;
• Any financial contributions from the young person from their wages, salary, benefits or educational allowances. Depending on their circumstances, young people who remain in a Staying Put arrangement may be able to claim means tested benefits for their personal needs from their 18th birthday;
• How the income tax, national insurance and welfare benefits situation of carers may be affected by post-18 payments. Where a young person continues to reside with their former foster carer after their 18th birthday on a non-commercial and familial basis, and the child was Looked After immediately prior to their 18th birthday, and the payments are made by the local authority to the carer under section 23C of the Children Act 1989 (continuing functions in respect of former relevant children), then the payments are disregarded in calculating the carers entitlement to means tested benefits. When a commercial arrangement is made, (i.e. any element of the cost of the arrangement comes from a source other than section 23C), the non-section 23C element will be taken into account in the calculation of the carer's own means tested benefit claim;
• Insurance issues including liability and household insurance. Staying Put carers should be provided with information about liability insurance cover in situations where Staying Put young people may make an allegation against a foster child in placement, or against their Staying Put carer/s, or an allegation is made against the Staying Put young person. The majority of foster carers hold public liability insurance.

The local authority will explain to the young person their full entitlements, including how they will provide the young person with their leaving care grant once they move on from a 'staying put' arrangement and live independently.

Where a young person attends a university and they live with former foster carers local to it and it remains their main home, this will be considered a staying put arrangement. The Education grant paid by the Leaving Care Team (with the exception of the £2000 Government bursary in year 1) will take into account the rent costs incurred by the young person remaining in the staying put arrangement.

Where a young person moves out of home to go to a more distant university, the young person will not be considered to be staying put. In these cases, young people can make private arrangements to pay for vacation accommodation with previous carers if they wish and can afford to from the grant they receive from the Leaving Care Team.

In Ealing, young people receive up to a maximum £6500 per year (including the £2000 Government bursary in Year 1) as a grant to support them at university. This is subject to application and approval by the Care Leavers Funding Panel.

The payment covers the statutory duty to ensure a young person has accommodation for the vacation period. The remainder of the grant is to be used for accommodation and subsistence for the rest of the year. The Personal Adviser for the young person will develop a financial agreement with the young person on how they wish to use their grant and will also advise them about bursaries and loans they can apply for.

There is an expectation that young people supplement their income whilst at university by working if they need to do so. This not only develops the CV and skills of young people, but also prepares them for the world of employment post university.

If a young person wishes to stay put and attend university, they will need to supplement their income with loans, bursaries and work in order for the staying put arrangement to be financially viable. This would be the same expectation for young people not in a staying put arrangement.

Exceptions

In exceptional circumstance i.e. the young person will never live independently due to specific disability/needs and will require support from Adult Services, representations can be made to the Care Leavers Funding Panel by the personal adviser/social worker for the full fostering allowance to continue.

If a young person has to defer their entry to university to retake their A levels, representations can be made to the Care Leavers Funding Panel by their social worker/personal adviser to extend the financial arrangements

Where young people may have ongoing needs for care and support which arise from a physical or mental disability or illness, they should be referred to Adult Services for a needs assessment under the Care Act 2014. Any eligible needs for care and support should be met by Adult Services under the Care Act. It may be possible for the staying put arrangement to be converted to a shared lives arrangement. This is important to ensure that both the young person and the carer have a formal regulatory and safeguarding framework that addresses their respective needs. A young person's needs assessment under the Care Act must be conducted where:

• The young person is likely to have needs for care and support after becoming 18;
• It would be of significant benefit to the young person to do so;
• The young person consents to the assessment if they have the capacity/are competent to do so, or if they do not that the assessment is in the young person's best interests.

The Staying Put arrangement extends until:

• The young person leaves the Staying Put arrangement; or
• The young person reaches their 21st birthday.

Local authorities may wish to continue supporting a young person beyond age 21 if it meets their individual needs, such as finishing their course of education.

The local authority will want to ensure that the end of a 'staying put' arrangement is not another 'cliff edge' for the young person but a gradual transition to independent living. Procedures should be agreed at the outset about how any wish by the carer to bring the arrangement to an end should be managed. The social worker/personal adviser should discuss with the young person their transition from such an arrangement to another type of accommodation and agree the type of support the young person will require. These arrangements should be developed alongside joint protocols with the housing authority, setting out how access to social housing and care leavers 'priority need' status will be discharged.

An excluded licensee can be asked to leave the property by the Staying Put carer, who must give 'reasonable notice'. In extreme circumstances it may be considered reasonable for the carer to give very short notice and ask the young person to leave on the same day.

If a young person in a Staying Put arrangement dies up to and including the age of 24, notifications should be made in accordance with the procedure on Death or Serious Injury to a Child (Looked After, Child in Need or Care Leaver Up to and Including the Age of 24) Procedure.

Carer Name: …………………………………has been asked by the allocated SSW Name ………………………………………………if they are in agreement for:

Child/Young Person Name: ……………………………………to remain living with them post 18 in a Staying Put Arrangement

Child has been asked about their wishes by the allocated worker in Leaving Care and agrees to a Staying Put arrangement post 18.

Child’s view:

IRO has been informed of the decision by email and signposted to document section of the child’s mosaic file

Date:

Please upload in documents section on child’s file and add a copy in the carers file

Appendix 2. Staying Put Living Together Agreement proforma.