What happens if there are no suitable carers?

[PatchworkPerfect]

Following on from my other post where I mentioned the shortage of baby carers in my LA - what happens if a baby needs to be removed from their parents but there are no suitable carers to place them with?

They go to an independent agency or out of county

Social workers ring everyone on the ‘will take emergencies’ list, contact any carers they can think of who they might be able to persuade to take the placement, then contact the various agencies.

Social workers ring everyone on the ‘will take emergencies’ list, contact any carers they can think of who they might be able to persuade to take the placement, then contact the various agencies.

You missed out, they ring them all more than once (even the unsuitable ones) and beg!!

It depends on various factors. But the urgency of the situation is key and the policies of the particular local authority you work for have an impact. In a good local authority, the situation will have been predicted and planned for (as far as possible). They will likely go to their LA carers first (as the LA in-house service is generally modelled to take younger children) and then, if there are no available carers in-house they will immediately send a referral to independent agencies (without having to go through any bureaucratic process to get permission for this). However, if the situation is urgent, the LA will contact independent agencies to look for a placement at the same time that they are looking within their own services. Independent agencies will have carers within the local authority borders (which they will prioritise for the match), but they may also offer carers in neighbouring local authorities. If the LA has no choice, they will opt for this.