Summary: Mr and Mrs X complain about the lack of support they experienced from the Council as registered foster carers since 2017. They said it caused them avoidable distress. We found the Council was not at fault in how it supported Mr and Mrs X. However, the Council was at fault for the frequent social worker changes, and it agreed to apologise for the frustration and confusion this caused to Mr and Mrs X.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs X complain that between 2017 and June 2023 the Council:
• frequently changed their social workers and each new social worker gave them different advice which was confusing;
• failed to share information with them about care planning for the children they fostered;
• did not support them when they escalated their complaints about the children’s behaviour;
• placed a young person with an unsuitable family member;
• failed to tell them they could hand in a 28-day notice to end a fostering placement early;
• out of hours social workers would not help them, and asked them to ring back during normal working hours; and
• did not provide the children’s full assessments for the duration of the placement.
2. Mr and Mrs X say that based on the information their social worker gave them they decided not to attend a fostering panel meeting but then later considered the social worker gave them incorrect advice. Mr and Mrs X say this has caused them distress and left them feeling not listened to.
3. Mr and Mrs X would like the Council to hold a fostering panel meeting that they could attend and speak at.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to tell us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
6. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
7. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
8. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

9. We have not investigated the Council’s actions before September 2022. This is because we consider that part of Mr and Mrs X’s complaint to be late. Mr and Mrs X were aware of the Council’s actions and if they were unhappy about the support they were receiving they could have complained to the Council, and then to us, sooner but they decided not to. They have not provided good reasons for not complaining sooner.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

10. I considered the information Mr and Mrs X sent me, and I have spoken to them about this complaint.
11. I considered the Council’s response to my enquiries.
12. Mr and Mrs X and the Council have had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Fostering

13. Family Courts can make Care Orders which place children in the care of a council because of concerns about the adequacy of the parents’ care causing significant harm to the child.
14. Councils have statutory duties to children in care to promote and safeguard their welfare. The ‘Care, Planning and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010’ and guidance sets out how councils should manage and arrange placements.
15. In relation to the termination of foster placements, the above guidance advises councils to carry out a statutory review of the child’s case and ensure the views of all the people concerned have been heard, unless there is an immediate risk of significant harm, requiring immediate removal.
16. The ‘Fostering Minimum Standards’ say that children should not normally be moved if the foster carers are willing to care for them.

17. When children are in foster care, the foster carers will have their own fostering social worker, who is responsible for supporting and assessing their care. The children will have their own social worker. Both social workers should work closely together.

Background

18. Mr and Mrs X are former foster carers for the Council. In 2017 the Council placed two children in their care, A and B.
19. The placement lasted until November 2022 when Mr and Mrs X gave 28-day notice and terminated A’s placement. They said they were available to keep caring for B, however the Council removed both children from their care.
20. This complaint related to the Council’s support for Mr and Mrs X with regards to managing A’s behaviour which they found challenging.

What happened

21. In early September 2022 a supervising social worker visited Mr and Mrs X to talk about how the placement was going. She made notes about some of A’s behaviours that she noticed.
22. Within two weeks Mr and Mrs X visited the Council’s offices and said they wanted to hand their notice in for A’s placement. Following this the Council arranged a temporary alternative placement for A for four days. The Council asked Mr and Mrs X to work together with support services whilst it found a permanent alternative fostering placement for A.
23. At the end of the month, the Council arranged another four-day temporary alternative placement for A. Between September and early October 2022, the Council called Mr and Mrs X to offer support and involved the Council’s play services and outreach workers to work with A and support the foster carers. It also made referrals for specialist services targeting the unwanted behaviours A was displaying at the time.
24. In mid-October 2022 Mr and Mrs X gave a written 28-day notice and said they could no longer care for A. Following this the Council began to look for an alternative fostering placement for A, but as nothing was available on the day Mr and Mrs X requested that A remained with them in the interim. In early November 2022 there was another incident and A was removed from Mr and Mrs X’s care.
25. In December 2022 the Council began a review process of Mr and Mrs X’s status as registered foster carers. In the same month Mr and Mrs X complained to the Council about the support they received from it.
26. The Council issued its findings about Mr and Mrs X’s status as foster carers in February 2023, and it told them that they did not meet the minimum standards and they could not remain registered with it as foster carers. Mr and Mrs X disagreed with some of the Council’s comments and records, but they did not wish to be registered as foster carers either.
27. In late June 2023 the Council issued its final response to Mr and Mrs X’s complaint. It addressed all the points of their complaints and accepted that there had been frequent (nine in total) social worker changes from the fostering team. This was the only aspect of the complaint that the Council upheld.
28. Mr and Mrs X remained unhappy with the Council’s responses and in July 2023 they asked us to consider their complaint.

Analysis

Social worker changes

29. The Council accepted that there had been many social worker changes for Mr and Mrs X as well as A. This caused Mr and Mrs X avoidable confusion and frustration.
30. Although we understand changes may be necessary at times, the Council accepted that there were many in this case, and we consider it should apologise to Mr and Mrs X for this.

Information about care planning for A and B

31. We do not consider the Council was at fault. The Council’s records show that it involved Mr and Mrs X in care planning for both A and B. The Council held several meetings before September 2022 and after September 2022 to agree what actions it would take to support Mr and Mrs X to successfully accommodate A and B and meet their needs.

Support after concerns about A’s behaviour

32. We do not consider the Council was at fault. The records show that following Mr and Mrs X’s reports of A’s behaviours the Council offered calls and meetings to support them and involved other services to address A’s changing needs.

Placement after A left Mr and Mrs X’s care

33. Mr and Mrs X questioned the suitability of the person the Council asked to take care of A after he left their home. The Council addressed their concerns and said that the new carer was checked before placing A there and there is no evidence to suggest there was fault in the Council’s considerations.
34. Because of this, we cannot question the Council’s decision, although we understand that Mr and Mrs X disagree with its assessment of suitability.

28-day notice to end a fostering placement

35. The Council’s records show that the fostering agreement includes information about the carers’ rights to terminate a placement. Mr and Mrs X were provided with copies of this agreement at the beginning of their placement and more recently in mid-August 2022.
36. We consider the Council was not at fault and provided sufficient information to Mr and Mrs X about their right to terminate the fostering placement if they wished to.

Out of hours social work

37. Out of hours services are designed to help in emergencies. The severity and required response are assessed by the duty social worker that takes the call.
38. Mr and Mrs X did not specifically tell us what they expected the out of hours social worker to help with, but we do not consider the Council is at fault for asking them to contact the social worker the following day. We consider this to reflect the duty social worker’s assessment of the urgency of Mr and Mrs X’s reports.

A’s assessment of needs

39. The Council’s records show that A’s needs were developing, and that it kept them under review. The latest review of A’s educational needs took place in October 2022 and Mr and Mrs X were involved in it.
40. We cannot say the Council was at fault for not sharing assessment information about A’s needs with Mr and Mrs X. This is because they were involved in the process and attended meetings with the Council and other of A’s support workers.

Back to top

Agreed action

41. Within one month of the date of the final decision statement the Council will apologise to Mr and Mrs X for the frequent social worker changes and the distress and frustration this has caused them. The Council should refer to our guidance on making an effective apology.
42. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Final decision

43. We found the Council was not at fault for the support it had given to Mr and Mrs X as registered foster carers and the information it shared with them about A’s and B’s needs. However, the Council was at fault for the frequent social worker changes, and it should apologise for the frustration and confusion this caused to Mr and Mrs X.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman