(Last reviewed 05/12/2024)
When we place a child or young person with foster carers who are already caring for another child or children, we must first thoughtfully consider whether another placement serves the well-being and best interests of the child or children already living there.
This consideration should be thoughtfully undertaken by the Referral Response Team (RRT) and the relevant supervising social worker (SSW) during the matching process.
Frequently, the child already living in the home has been placed by another Local Authority, and we have a duty to obtain agreement for any concurrent placement from that child or children’s social worker (SW).
This agreement MUST be secured before the new placement begins, so obtaining it is a priority task.
The agency RRT officer– will contact the relevant SSW to remind them to contact the SW for the child or children currently in placement.
The proposed foster carers’ supervising social worker (who should have a professional relationship with the child or children’s social worker), or their line manager, is responsible for contacting the child or children’s social worker to obtain this agreement in writing (for example, by email or letter).
When contacting the child or children’s SW, the agency should share all information about the child or children we propose to place, ensuring that every detail is fully anonymised.
We must emphasise the urgency of obtaining this agreement, as any delay could result in the proposed placement being lost.
For some longer-term placements, and where appropriate, it may be beneficial to gain an in-principle agreement to place another child concurrently.
Even with this kind of ‘open’ agreement, we still have a duty to inform the social worker of the child or children already in placement that another child will be placed, and we may need to obtain their specific written consent for this particular placement.
All correspondence about concurrency (emails or letters) MUST be emailed by the SSW to the agency placement team.
The agency RRT team will save all correspondence in the carers’ file.
