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Caring for a 14-year-old on bail with no council support

2 replies

Woody8709 · 16/09/2026 15:42

I am currently looking after a 14yo boy whos mother is a close friend and he is on police bail and have been caring for him since early June,as part of his bail conditions he is unable to stay at home,however i have had no help thus far from the local council...any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

OP posts:
onlytherain · 16/09/2026 19:57

Hi, you don't specify what kind of advice you are looking for.

Are social services involved? If not, I would make a formal referral to MASH and ask for an assessment of need. Just because you have managed so far doesn't mean you can do so indefinitely (unless you want to). Tell the council you need an assessment, support and a clear plan from Children's services, if you haven't already done so. Make sure to do this in writing.

Is his Youth Justice Service caseworker involved? If not, I would ask them to get involved. They can assess bail supervision/support.

Have you asked for financial support? Ask for the legal basis of the current arrangement and what support this offers you. Is this an informal arrangement, a section 17 arrangement, a section 20 arrangement or an arrangement connected to youth justice? If section 20, he would be in care with you and the local authority has certain duties towards him. If you don't agree with how they classify this, then you need to make them aware of that. Do they see this as a private fostering arrangement? That has legal consequences for you as far as I know.

Keep a record of dates and times you have contacted the council, names of social workers, what you were told, your expenses, any issues (school, transport, medical), any problems. That might come in very handy at some point.

AntParade · 16/09/2026 21:38

This is classed as Private Fostering - social care have a duty to assess that it is safe and appropriate but I don’t believe you are entitled to any support (eg financial) if you are consenting to the arrangement.

https://kinship.org.uk/support-and-advice/advice-and-information/private-foster-care/

Private foster care

Information on private foster care, including how you become a foster carer, what that means and what support is available.

https://kinship.org.uk/support-and-advice/advice-and-information/private-foster-care/

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