What happens if an allegation is made against me or my family?

Every child has the right to be protected and to feel safe in foster care. Occasionally allegations and complaints are made against foster carers or those in their family. This can be a difficult and distressing situation. Carers and members of their families who face allegations must be treated fairly and transparently.

When a child is placed with you, their social worker will provide you with all relevant information needed to keep them safe, including details of any abuse or neglect they have experienced, and/or previous allegations made by the child.

All foster carers will receive training and guidance on how to provide a safe home environment for any children in their care and all other members of the foster family. You will also be provided with information on how to access the relevant Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership. It is important that, on an ongoing basis, you record any incidents or concerns involving children in your care and any complaints made by the child or their family as they can provide important evidence if an allegation is made.

• Ensure that you carefully consider the referring information from the social worker, question the gaps and seek additional clarity if needed from the service colleague who accompanies the child during the initial visit or introduction;
• Sometimes, concerns about a child will not be fully appreciated until more in-depth assessment is undertaken. Be prepared to raise any queries that you, as a foster carer, have at the Placement Planning Meeting (which should be held during the first 5 working days of the initial placement) or before if required;
• Keep a daily record of any concerns or incidents which occur;
• Be clear on 'house rules' and expectations around behaviour and ensure all members of the household are aware of these;
• Develop your own Safer Caring Plan to keep everyone safe, this should consider who in the household may be vulnerable to allegations, you may wish to compile this with your SSW
• Follow the training you have received and access support from your Supervising Social Worker;
• Make sure you have appropriate insurance cover;
• When needed, or if you feel unsure, approach your Supervising Social Worker to ask for advice and guidance in a timely way on any concerns you may have; and
• Work closely with other professionals, taking on board any practice advice or information provided. It is important you also share this with your Supervising Social Worker.
• Do not feel pressurised about making a decision to accept a young person into your home before all your questions have been answered. 
• Follow the procedures and guidelines contained in Children’s Services procedures and this handbook.

If an allegation is made against you or a member of your family you will be notified verbally and in writing as soon as possible after a Strategy Meeting, or Joint Evaluation meeting has been held.

Support should be given both to the child making the allegation and the person who is the subject of the allegation. The Fostering Service will contribute to and carefully assessed decisions if children need to be removed from you. This would always be a last resort and the final decision will be taken by the child’s social work team.

When allegations are made it is important that you feel supported. You can receive independent advice from the Fostering Network who are commissioned by Surrey fostering service to provide independent advice and mediation. 

The allegation will be investigated time appropriately, fairly and confidentially in line with the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Children Procedures (see Managing allegations against people that work or volunteer with children Procedure). All investigations into allegations are overseen by a Designated Officer in the local authority (also called the LADO) who will coordinate and oversee allegations and monitor the progress of cases to ensure they are dealt with as speedily as possible, consistent with a fair process.

Where there are concerns that a child has suffered significant harm, a multi-agency Strategy Meeting will be called within 2 working days of the allegation being made or received to decide whether an investigation by Children’s Social Care Services and/or the Police is required and if so, how it will be carried out. Your supervising social worker and/or their manager will attend this meeting.

Any Strategy Meeting will also consider whether, due to the nature of the allegation, your own children will be considered as part of a Child Protection Conference.

You will be given the chance to respond to the allegation before a final decision is made about what action to take. Your views and opinions will be sought in any investigation undertaken by the social worker dealing with the allegation. (Foster carer top tip – In circumstances such as these it is very easy to appear reactive and/or in denial. Take time to consider, answer questions and reflect, ensuring perspective and information are recorded.  You should provide any records that are relevant to the issues under consideration.

The minutes of the Strategy Meeting and any relevant information will be held on your record. In some situations, depending on the seriousness and nature of any allegation, the local authority may immediately remove the child from your care and a decision may be made not to place any other children during the investigation and until there is an outcome to the investigation.

Your Supervising Social Worker may not be able to discuss all the details of the allegation with you during the investigation, especially if a Police investigation is underway.

The fostering service provider will make sure you have information on the following:

• How you will be supported whilst you are under investigation, including the arrangements for payments; (See Financial Support to Carers during an Investigation following an allegation against a carer and/or a Standards of Care concern.);
• The address and contact telephone number of the Fostering Network who can provide you with support during the investigation;
• Insurance arrangements for legal expenses.
• Sometimes a child living with foster carers might make a false allegation of abuse. Possible reasons for this can include:
• Misinterpreting an otherwise innocent action;
• To bring attention to past or non-recent abuse for the first time and because you or someone in the household is trusted;
• As a way to have some control over their life which may seem out of control;
• To express some anger or frustration (albeit inappropriately);
• To bring an end to a foster placement.

In such situations, you should work alongside the supervising social worker to identify any additional support which could be provided to the child and yourself

The outcome of the investigation into the allegation may:

• Recommend that the child is transferred to another placement on a short term or permanent basis;
• Ask that a member of your household resides elsewhere, at least on a temporary basis. (Note that this will not include your child);
• Identify additional training needs for you;
• Recommend that a review of your approval takes place, and the Fostering Panel considers your approval category or considers your suitability to continue as a foster carer. (See: Reviewing my Approval and Making Representations Procedure).

If a child or other person tells you about any concerns they have in relation to another person, you should inform your Supervising Social Worker as soon as possible or within 24 hours. If you are concerned that the child is at immediate risk of harm, always contact the Police.

It is important to note that, although there may be insufficient evidence to support a Police investigation in some cases, this does not mean that action cannot be taken to protect a child and the possible termination of your approval could be considered.

See also: Reviewing my Approval and Making Representations Procedure.

If, as a result of the investigation into any allegation, the Fostering Service identifies that you should no longer be a foster carer, or seeks to change your category of approval, and you are unhappy with this, you can challenge this decision by making a representation in writing within 28 days to the fostering service provider or the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) (see: Information about the IRM for Foster Carers).