National Register of Foster Carers

[fostering]

So, I?d like to make a proposal for a National Register of Foster Carers then if you could all jump in with ideas and how it might or might not work please?

Body 1 recruits new carers (currently costs a LA £8k per foster carer I think), assigns groups of qualified people to form panels to approve and re-approve annually each carer. Panel members are paid equivalent to those sitting on LA panels.

Body 1 also soaks up carers from LAs and IFAs who are already approved.

Body 2 works with the carers and their social workers paid at national rates.

LA?s contact Body 2 to find a match for looked after children. There are standard charges for carers across the country with the usual weighting for inner London, thus negating the need for tenders and improving the chances of better placement matches so reducing the stress for children encountering many placement moves. Difficult children or those with disabilities move onto a different payment scheme rather then moving into the care of IFAs.

Accounts are matched between body 1 and 2 so excess profits are paid back to Las.

Better support for carers is ensured because there is no conflict of interest. When a problem arises, the carer?s social worker and the child?s social worker do not have the same service director ie. they don't all work for the same LA closing ranks to cover their backs.

LA's can concentrate on child protection and adoption and there will be a reduction in turnover of carers because they will be better supported by dedicated social workers who appreciate how hard they work.

Any ideas please??!!**!!??

[NanaNina]

Are you serious Maypole? So what happens to abused children in Ireland if the parents are married? And are there no adopted children in Ireland - assume you are talking about the republic. I find this very hard to believe??

[shaz298]

Nana the same applied in thE Netherlands. Nothing to do with being maried though. Children are removed and often placed in long term foster care, but adoption isn't an option. If Dutch couples want to adopt they need to do it from abroad.

I was shocked about that tbh. xx

[fishtankneedscleaning]

Maypole.

Of course it is an indication that parents are not ready to parent. Social Services still have to offer contact though - because they need the evidence to take to Court. The more SS bend over backwards to accomodate the contact between bio parent and child the more evidence they have that the bio parents parenting is not good enough. They usually put their own needs before their children's. I just find it upsetting that the children's lives are disrupted for too long simply to accomodate parents wants.

Let's be honest parents who prefer to spend their travel money on drugs and alcohol instead of seeing their children are not going to be the best parents in the world even though their children have travelled miles to see them are they?

[fishtankneedscleaning]

www.baaf.org.uk/ni

I am confused about adoption in ireland. From the link I have posted it seems that BAAF have been involved in Ireland for a very short time.

[maypole1]

yes nannina i was on the adoption thread a couple of months ago and they were talking about this very subject i find it very shocking my self

in Ireland is that children are never (as far as I know) placed for adoption without parental permission - they go into long-term foster care, and are often backwards and forwards between foster homes and family . This can go on for years, as under the Irish constitution the parents rights outweigh those of the child (amazing really, considering that in the case of abortion in this country, the rights of the child seem to outweigh those of the mother ).

There are no older children placed for adoption in Ireland. There are maybe 20 relinquished babies, and some step-parent and foreign adoptions. There may be a (very) few long-term foster children adopted by their foster parents, usually if the birth parents have died or disappeared.

It is very sad how many children are moved from pillar to post their whole lives

I understand that legally only children born to single mothers/unmarried couples can be adopted. Isn;t that a bit odd?

[maypole1]

Consent

The consent of the parent/guardian of the child to the adoption is a legal requirement. If the child is born outside marriage, and the father has no guardianship rights, only the mother's consent is needed. Under the adoption legislation , however, birth fathers are now being consulted (if possible) about the adoption of their children. In situations where the parents are not married and the father does not have guardianship rights, his consent is not necessary for adoption. However, the consent of the father is required if he marries the mother after the birth of the child or he is appointed guardian or is granted custody of the child by court order.

The mother, father (where he is guardian) or other legal guardian must give an initial consent or agreement to the placing of a child for adoption by an approved adoption service. He/she must then give his/her consent to the making of an Adoption Order. This consent may be withdrawn any time before the making of the Adoption Order.

If the mother either refuses consent or withdraws consent already given, the adopting parents may apply to the High Court for an order. If the court is satisfied that it is in the best interests of the child, it will make an order giving custody of the child to the adopting parents for a specified period and authorising the Adoption Authority to dispense with the mother's consent to the making of the Adoption Order.

If a mother changes her mind about adoption before the making of the Adoption Order, but the adopting parents refuse to give up the child, she may then institute legal proceedings to have custody of her child returned to her.

When an Adoption Order is made, a new birth certificate can be obtained for the child. Although it is not an actual birth certificate, it has the status of one for legal purposes. It gives the date of the Adoption Order and the names and addresses of the adoptive parents and is similar in all aspects to a birth certificate.

The procedure involved in adopting a child is thorough and takes time, at least a year. When you have contacted your local HSE Adoption Service, you will be invited to attend an information session along with other interested couples, to learn what is involved in the adoption process. If you want to proceed, you ask for the relevant forms to be sent out.




SHOCKING WE HAVE IT GOOD ME THINKS COMPARED TO IRISH FOSTER CARERS AND SOCIAL WORKERS ITS HARD ENOUGH WHEN YOU CAN LEGALLY TAKE AWAY A PARENTS RIGHTS WITH OUT THEIR PERMISSION

[NanaNina]

Thanks for info FT - I'm relieved to hear that if mother withdraws consent to adoption, the adoptive parents can apply to the High Court which gives the opportunity to dispense with mother's consent, and if successful, the adoptive parents can then proceed to apply for an adoption order. However it seems from what you say that at the same time mother can institute proceedings for child to be returned to her.

Presumably this can't apply to Northern Ireland as it is part of the UK.

Shaz - amazed about the Netherlands - it seems that children have to languish in the care system for their entire childhood - how on earth is this meant to give a very young child the stability and permance he/she deserves. I know that older children are most often in permanent foster care for their entire childhoods but this is usually because adoptors are not usually available for a middle years child.

I would have thought the Netherland's social policies were streets ahead of us in the UK.

[fostermumtomany]

wat would be good is for the childs social worker to liase properly with the carers social worker. we are having serious issues with our little ones social worker.
they were in court at the beginning of may for the final judgement and we as carers still do not know the outcome!
the childs sw has been off sick and apparently not one person in her team knows the outcome. my sw has phoned,emailed and even gone in person to the office and been told the same. an official complaint has now gone in.
i would love a system that meant i never had to deal with a childs sw ever again.
i have not had a single good experience with a childs sw yet!