4.8.1 Contact with Parents and Siblings |
Contents
- Approving and Planning Contact
- Making Contact Arrangements
- Recording Contact
- Cancellation of Contact
- Review of Contact Arrangements
- Suspension or Termination of Contact
1. Approving and Planning Contact
Also see Section 6, Suspension or Termination of Contact.
Every Child in Care should be encouraged and supported to maintain contact with their parents and siblings in a manner consistent with the child's Care Plan; which, itself, must take account of any Contact Order that may be in force.
Contact between children and parents or siblings may only be permitted if previously agreed by the social worker and should be set out in the child's Placement Plan/Placement Information Record.
The purpose of the contact and how it will be evaluated must be made clear in the Plan.
The need to supervise contact should be considered as part of the assessment and planning process by the social worker who will require approval from the Team Manager.
The primary focus of the assessment of this issue will be the safety and welfare of the child. Where supervised contact is deemed necessary, the reasons should be clearly recorded and the role of the supervisor or supervisors clearly defined.
A written risk assessment must be completed and approved before supervised contacts begin. This assessment must take account of all factors that could impact on the success of supervised contact and relevant safeguards including:
- Any history of abuse or threats of abuse to the child, other carers or staff.
- Previous incidents of disruption or threats to disrupt contact or failure to co-operate with conditions agreed for supervised contact.
- Previous incidents or threats of abduction.
- Previous incidents of coercion or inappropriate behaviour during contact.
- The transient or unsettled lifestyle of parents, as opposed to long-standing local connections.
Where any of the above features in the risk assessment, and supervised contact is to continue, the risk assessment must state the specific measures to be put in place to minimise risks.
Arrangements for contact should always be clearly detailed in the Placement Plan, setting out how contact will take place, the venue, the frequency and how the arrangements will be evaluated and reviewed - see Section 2, Making Contact Arrangements.
Where contact is extended as part of a plan to gradually return the child to the parents' care, the Procedure on Placements with Parents should be followed.
See Placement with Parents Procedure.
Parents can be assisted with travelling expenses to enable contact to go ahead. The social worker should submit a request for financial support to his or her manager, with reasons. Once the manager's approval has been given, the social worker should ask the team's administrative staff to arrange for the payments to be made or travel warrants to be issued.
2. Making Contact Arrangements
2.1 Professionals' Agreement
This involves all the relevant professionals agreeing to their roles and tasks, including the sharing of risk assessments, confirming the components of the service and setting up ongoing communication and review.
An agreement between those involved in the contact should be written up and signed by all parties. The agreement should clearly state any specific conditions relating to the contact including the expectations placed on the parents and the degree of involvement that the supervisor is required to take.
The carers and any other person involved in the contact should have copies the agreement.
Arrangements for contact supervised by staff from Children's Social Care has to be discussed at the Care Management Panel.
3. Recording Contact
The contact session should be recorded in full and the record kept on the child's file. The quality of the contact and the interaction between the parents and the child should be noted as should any concerns or risk factors.
4. Cancellation of Contact
Where contact does not take place in accordance with the Contact Service Agreement and/or the child's Placement Plan/Placement Information Record, there must be a good reason, for example that the child is too ill to attend. Wherever possible, the staff/carer should consult the child's social worker in advance if they consider there is a good reason to cancel the contact.
If contact is cancelled, the social worker or, if the social worker is not available, the staff/carer must ensure that the child and, as far as practicable, the parent is informed in advance and that the reason for the decision is explained. The social worker or staff/carer should arrange an alternative contact.
If contact does not take place and consultation has not been possible with the social worker, the staff/carer must inform the child's social worker as soon as possible and confirm in writing the decision to cancel and the reason.
For details of suspension and termination see Section 6, Suspension or Termination of Contact.
Contact arrangements must not be withdrawn as a Sanction imposed on a child.
See: Sanctions Procedure.
5. Review of Contact Arrangements
The social worker and his/her manager should keep contact arrangements, including the continuing need for supervision, under regular review.
The arrangements should also be reviewed at the child's Looked After Review and in Placement Plan Reviews.
Where a Contact Order is in force and it is considered that the contact arrangements set out in the Order should be altered, the agreement of the child and the parents should be sought and legal advice should be obtained as to the need to seek a variation of the Court Order.
6. Suspension or Termination of Contact
Where it is considered that the child's contact with the parents should be suspended or terminated, the social worker must be consulted and legal advice should be obtained.
Any such proposal should be made in the context of the overall aims and objectives of the Care Plan.
Any proposal to suspend or terminate the contact should be considered as part of the review of the Contact Service Agreement and/or the child's Looked After Review, unless the circumstances require an urgent decision to be made.
Where it not possible to hold a Looked After Review because of the urgency of the situation, the reasons for the proposal must be explained to the parents and to the child, and their agreement obtained if possible.
At the final review, the family will be given the opportunity verbally to feed back their views and opinions.
Where the proposal is to suspend the contact, the length and purpose of the suspension together with the basis upon which contact will be reinstated must be made clear.
The approval of the Team Manager should be obtained to any proposal to suspend or terminate contact.
Written confirmation of the decision made, together with the reasons, must be sent to the parents, child (depending on age) and any other relevant person (for example Advocate, Independent Visitor or Children's Guardian). Staff/carers and other agencies involved with the child's care must also be informed.
Where the child is the subject of an Emergency Protection Order,Interim Care Order or Care Order, an application to the Court for authority to terminate the contact will always be necessary if contact is to be suspended for more than 7 days.
As soon as such a decision is made, Legal Services should be contacted as a matter of urgency so that the necessary Court action can be initiated.
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