Privatised foster care - Did you know about it?

MaizieD

DaisyAnneReturns

MaizieD

I know a lot of people don't like to follow social media links, but this one is relevant to this topic.

Financial problems with children in care in Hartlepool and apparent government indifference.

bsky.app/profile/barheys.bsky.social/post/3mg33icvzrs2j

An already biased view then.

What on earth do you mean by that comment DAR?

A Labour minister telling a local authority in one of the most deprived areas of the UK that they shouldn't be 'rewarded' for having so many children in care? It isn't the fault of the council that they don't have enough money to provide for them.

Biased?

My comment wasn’t about defending anyone. I was just noting that describing it as “apparent government indifference” is already an interpretation. Opinion pieces - and even summaries - inevitably reflect a viewpoint. That doesn’t mean they’re wrong, just that they’re framed.

I'm a social worker & sit on a foster panel & fostering was indeed privatised & both private & local authority provision run in parallel. Local authorities needing to place a child will do so depending on things like distance to schools, skill of proposed carers, access to family etc. all things being equal the least expensive is chosen. skilled people set up private agencies years ago & these companies bought up smaller companies & the head offices are often based in tax havens and charge enormous fees much of which does not return to frontline services. These are links to two old, but still valid articles. I'm delighted with this gov't changes which limit the fees private agencies are allowed to charge. I actually like the changes but they're preserving private agencies & I worked in both systems, if you don't get on with one agency you can go to another but in the old local authority only scheme that was your only choice like it or lump it.

www.fairerfostering.org.uk/news--jobs/ftse-member-news-tact-welcomes-bbc-report-on-golden-hellos-for-foster-carers

www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2016/jan/11/why-let-fostering-agencies-profit-caring-children

I can see lots of you have had first-hand experience in fostering/adoption. I've been learning a lot from your comments.

The process for assessing, training and supervising (supporting) foster careers is exactly the same for independent agencies and local authorities. Both are governed by legislation and Fostering Regulations. As others have said, independent agencies have been around for almost 40 years and came about because, even then, Local Authorities were struggling to cope with the demand for placements. The need for placements has risen dramatically over the intervening years. Sadly, LA fostering services have declined still further alongside the growth of IFA’s.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the disparity in pay between LA and IFA rates of pay. They are managed differently - IFA’s pay a single amount to cover all costs (which varies depending on many factors including the age and needs of each child), whereas LA’s pay a lower amount but have a myriad of allowances on top, such as school uniform allowance, Christmas and birthday payments, holiday allowance etc. Independent analysis suggests that overall, the payments are not as different as they appear at first glance.

Having spent most of my career working for LA’s I have always believed it was wrong to ‘privatise’ or farm out statutory services. I do not believe anyone should be able to profit from vulnerable children. Unfortunately that ship sailed so long ago that there is no way to turn back the clock. I will say that the IFA’s I have worked with and had contact with have, overall, provided a good service and excellent foster carers. Many carers have moved to IFA’s not so much for the perceived increase in pay but because they feel they will receive more support. In my experience this is often the case, not because LA’s lack the skills but because they are quite simply overwhelmed.

DaisyAnneReturns

MaizieD

I know a lot of people don't like to follow social media links, but this one is relevant to this topic.

Financial problems with children in care in Hartlepool and apparent government indifference.

bsky.app/profile/barheys.bsky.social/post/3mg33icvzrs2j

An already biased view then.

What on earth do you mean by that comment DAR?

A Labour minister telling a local authority in one of the most deprived areas of the UK that they shouldn't be 'rewarded' for having so many children in care? It isn't the fault of the council that they don't have enough money to provide for them.

Biased?

I can’t quote peoples posts but when we looked into it it was £625 per child a week. These were children with disabilities though

We didn’t explore it further so you are all most probably right. I don’t know

Money for old rope it’s a disgrace and kids are failed. 🥲

I know people that work for them, it’s scandalous what they charge and what goes on.

JaneJudge

To be fair foster carers are paid well by local authorities anyway

This is simply not the case. They get "allowances" which are not generous, and unless you have a number of foster children living with you it is unlikely that it would be anywhere near the average wage. The allowances cover the cost of feeding, clothing and caring for the children, with part supposed to be going into a savings account for when the young person leaves care.

Cossy

Also factor in that many many children in care either have disabilities (extra allowances paid) or severe trauma, or both, it is a job though many foster parents do this role because they want to help.

Another problem is that fostered children are not always properly assessed for SEN, they slip through the net.

Before they came to live with my daughter, my grandchildren were with a private foster carer for several years during Covid and she was not great. It sounds trivial, but she never let them play outside or took them for walks, never listened to my granddaughter read, and seems to have fed them on oven cooked breaded chicken pieces and chips.
Supervision by social workers is often very sketchy to say the least in these cases - though even those carers who foster through the local authority find that social workers change posts frequently and are not thorough or supportive to foster carers.
The training before fostering for the local authority lasts a year in this area and is very thorough, and fosterers have to take more courses every year to keep up to date. I help my daughter out sometimes with her foster children and they ensured that I had a DBS check.

Private fostering has been around for decades. Private placements may well have faults just as those via S.S. have faults to.

They've been around for years. I applied to be a foster carer for the council about 20 years ago, I was rejected due to my eldest son and our (lack of) relationship. But they then sent me lots of information about private fostering, I applied and they accepted me with little to no issues at all. The pay was a lot more than the council but the support was practically none existent, the training was almost laughable, I specifically wanted to foster pregnant teenagers and they said my experience of being a teenage mother was enough and I didn't need further training... I was a pregnant teenager 20 years previously! And while I had to pass an enhanced crb they didn't do any background checks about me or close family members that would have been around the foster kids. I decided not to do it in the end because I strongly felt if something was to go wrong or something bad happen then I'd have had no support and would have carried all the blame regardless.

Cossy

Apple3pie

I agree that councils are struggling mostly because of ever-increasing social care costs. There isn't enough money to fund it properly. I think it's also a systemic issue. Just like in housing where councils pay billions to house people in hotels and B&B's due to the low number of council homes. They are haemorrhaging money into temporary solutions. There is a need for a systemic overhaul.

I agree, but privately fostering has been around for years and years and hasn’t solved any issues.

I wasn't advocating for privatisation, quite the opposite! I don't think profit-oriented companies should be anywhere near fields where there is a public need like social care, health care etc.

MaizieD

I know a lot of people don't like to follow social media links, but this one is relevant to this topic.

Financial problems with children in care in Hartlepool and apparent government indifference.

bsky.app/profile/barheys.bsky.social/post/3mg33icvzrs2j

An already biased view then.

Chocolatelovinggran

It has been the case for many years.

Many, many years. Fostering in the UK has never been fully “privatised” in the sense of being removed from public responsibility. Local authorities remain legally responsible for children in care. However, independent (private and voluntary) fostering agencies were introduced and expanded at different stages.

Before the 1980s – Fully Local Authority Run
After the Children Act 1948, fostering was almost entirely managed by local authorities. Foster carers were recruited, assessed, and supported by councils. There was no significant private fostering agency sector at this time.

1980s–1990s – Introduction of Independent Fostering Agencies
The shift began during the Conservative governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, when market-based reforms were introduced across public services. The key legal moment was the Children Act 1989. This came into force in 1991 Allowing local authorities to place children with independent fostering agencies (IFAs). This step formally established a mixed system and is generally considered the starting point of fostering “marketisation”, not full privatisation.

By the time one factors in time and the allowances spent directly on foster children, foster parents probably “earn” far less than minimum wage, if you work it out across an early basis.

Also factor in that many many children in care either have disabilities (extra allowances paid) or severe trauma, or both, it is a job though many foster parents do this role because they want to help.

JaneJudge

To be fair foster carers are paid well by local authorities anyway

That depends on how you’re looking at this, a large proportion of foster parents allowances are to fund said foster child, clothes, school uniform, toys, phones, books, bus fares, school trips etc etc

Apple3pie

I agree that councils are struggling mostly because of ever-increasing social care costs. There isn't enough money to fund it properly. I think it's also a systemic issue. Just like in housing where councils pay billions to house people in hotels and B&B's due to the low number of council homes. They are haemorrhaging money into temporary solutions. There is a need for a systemic overhaul.

I agree, but privately fostering has been around for years and years and hasn’t solved any issues.

I know a lot of people don't like to follow social media links, but this one is relevant to this topic.

Financial problems with children in care in Hartlepool and apparent government indifference.

bsky.app/profile/barheys.bsky.social/post/3mg33icvzrs2j

To be fair foster carers are paid well by local authorities anyway

Agree entirely with Chestnut that council tax is not the right mechanism for funding social care. In principle that’s a separate point. Things are certainly not helped when increases in the council tax are made such a political football.

In practice a vicious circle is created with private agencies enticing in foster carers with bețter pay, leaving councils with no alternative but to use these agencies, and then pick up the pieces when placements break down, all increasing the costs of care.

Chestnut, it used to come out of central government money but this changed during austerity. The government knew it would put local authorities under pressure but it went ahead anyway.

I agree that councils are struggling mostly because of ever-increasing social care costs. There isn't enough money to fund it properly. I think it's also a systemic issue. Just like in housing where councils pay billions to house people in hotels and B&B's due to the low number of council homes. They are haemorrhaging money into temporary solutions. There is a need for a systemic overhaul.