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4.10.5 Death of a Parent or Close Relative of a Looked After Child

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This procedure covers the death of a parent or close relative of a looked after child. It details ways in which children may be affected, how they can best be supported at such times and the importance this may have in making long term plans for the child.

Issue Date: February 2010 

Review due: February  2011

Legislation, Regulations and Guidance:

  • Children Act 1989
  • Children Act 2004
  • Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
  • Human Rights Act 1998

Link Documents:

"Bereavement": Professor Colin Murray Parkes.


Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. The Legal Framework 
  3. Departmental Policy
  4. The Use of this Procedure to Maximise the Life Chances of Looked After Children
  5. Bereavement in childhood;age differences and patterns
  6. General reactions to bereavement
  7. Helping bereaved children
  8. Procedures and responsibilities
  9. Support for staff and carers


1. Introduction

1.1 This procedure provides broad guidance on issues to be considered, and actions to be taken, in the event of the death of someone close to a looked after child. In any individual case where this happens, specialist advice should be sought to inform detailed care planning and case management, taking account of the particular circumstances of that child.


2 . The Legal Framework 

2.1 There is no specific reference in legislation or guidance to looked after children experiencing the death of a parent or close relative. This procedure is based upon the underpinning principles of the Children Act, 1989, and the knowledge and experience which generally inform bereavement services. Under the Race Relations Act we must give due consideration to the young person's ethnic, cultural and religious background.


3. Departmental Policy

3.1 The Department has a duty to promote the welfare of looked after children. We recognise that they will already have experienced unusual loss as a result of coming into the care system. In the event of the death of a parent or close relative, we will ensure that we provide all possible support to help the child deal with that situation. We will also ensure that we take the possible continuing effects of bereavement into account when working with that child to plan for his future. We will identify the specific, cultural, race and religious issues that may be relevant to the child in relation to their bereavement

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4. The Use of this Procedure to Maximise the Life Chances of Looked After Children

4.1 While this remains a relatively rare occurrence, there are factors, which suggest a growing probability that looked after children could experience the death of a loved one. Asylum seeking young people who become looked after may have had such experiences before coming to the U.K., or subsequently. More children are becoming looked after in circumstances linked to parental drug misuse, and we know that this can cause premature death.
4.2 Conversely, many more people now live to an older age than previously, so that fewer children in the general population experience the death of a parent. Looked after children therefore have a statistically higher chance than other children of having to deal with such problems.
4.3 Staff and carers should not exaggerate or dwell unnecessarily on the possibility of such an event. However, it is advisable to take account of such a possibility in care planning, so that they are not entirely unprepared.
4.4 Staff and carers will recognise that looked after children in such circumstances will need additional support and input. Although specialist advice and guidance will be sought, social workers and carers themselves have a particularly important role to play. They can provide stability, consistency, and reassurance to the child that they are not alone in their grief, and that this will not last forever.
4.5 It is important to keep situations in perspective. The great majority of children can be helped ultimately to understand and recover from such trauma. We have a responsibility to remain aware of the plans in place to assure the child's successful development in terms of health, education,  identity and so on. We need to continue to keep a focus on those long-term aims, and to try to build the child's current experience, and his ways of coping with it, into that process of helping the child grow into a strong and resilient adult

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5. Bereavement in childhood;age differences and patterns

5.1

Introduction
  5.1.1 There is a good deal of research into bereavement and loss in childhood. From this there are some general themes about how children of different ages generally understand and react to bereavement.

5.2


Children under 5
  5.2.1 Very young children, under the age of five, generally tend to think of death as something temporary, and that the person who has died will return. Although they will have little concept of death, they may still mourn for a lost parent. They will experience fear and insecurity and there are often physical symptoms such as bed wetting or constipation, disturbed sleep and feeding difficulties.

5.3 


Children aged 5 to 11
  5.3.1 By the age of 5, children have a much greater understanding of death, recognising that it is irreversible and has a cause. They will understand that dead people cannot move, see, hear or speak. They will have a conception of separation as permanent, but they may have difficulty in understanding their own reactions, which can include feelings of guilt or fear
  5.3.2 From around the age of 8, children have a very realistic understanding of death and the implications of permanent separation. They tend to react with similar emotions to an adult, of extreme sadness and anger.

5.4


Teenagers
  5.4.1

The adolescent is already in the process of changing and learning to separate from parents. Teenagers who are looked after may be in the throes of relationship conflicts in their families. They may have grown up with unrealistic expectations about their level of maturity and responsibility. The death of a parent or close relative can be a particularly devastating experience for young people in this situation, bringing a heightened sense of guilt and "unfinished business". This may bring about or exacerbate;

  1. symptoms of depression, sleeping difficulties, restlessness and low self-esteem
  2. academic failure or loss of interest in school
  3. deterioration of personal relationships
  4. risk-taking behaviour such as substance abuse, offending and sexual experimentation
  5. denial of any problem or unhappiness
  5.4.2 The task of judging how far such behaviour is "normal" in a looked after child, and how far it has become pathological as a result of bereavement, is a complex and difficult one. It will require a skilled, thoughtful approach from staff and carers. However, we should not underestimate the potential for damage to children, who are already vulnerable, arising from the loss of a loved one


6. General reactions to bereavement

6.1 In general, it is characteristic that the death of a parent brings about an increase in activity, possibly leading to behavioural problems. Suicidal feelings and hallucinations of the deceased person are not unusual.
6.2 Florid reactions tend to last no more than a few weeks. However, research studies suggest that up to 40% of bereaved children still show some disturbance one year following the bereavement
6.3 Bereaved children may become so anxious about the possibility of losing other loved ones that they over-normalise their behaviour, to disguise their distress. This can lead to false assumptions that they have recovered from their bereavement.
6.4

While most children do recover from bereavement, some are more vulnerable to psychiatric disturbance in later childhood and adult life. These are often

  1. children who are bereaved at a particularly early age
  2. children who experience multiple bereavements
  3. children who experience especially traumatic bereavements.

This compounds the increased vulnerability to psychiatric illness that looked after children already have

 
6.5 Different cultures grieve in different ways. Staff need to identify aspects of race, culture, ethnicity and religion and respect the young person's views.


7. Helping bereaved children

7.1 It will sometimes be possible to prepare for the death of a parent or relative. We know that grieving is eased when people have helped to develop a "foreknowledge of the imminence and inevitability of death"(Prof. Colin Murray Parkes, "Bereavement"). In situations where a death can be anticipated staff and carers, with specialist advice, will use the Placement Planning process to work out in detail what can be done to prepare the child
7.2 Following a death, careful consideration should be given to the issues of attending the funeral and possibly viewing the body. In general, and depending on the age and background of the child, it is usually helpful to involve the child as meaningfully as possible, in the rituals and processes that follow a death. However, staff and carers will take heed of the general emotional health and stability of the child, and his need for support and protection
7.3 As indicated in Paragraph 6.4 above, we need to be aware of the dangers of children and young adults developing clinical psychiatric illnesses, especially depression and anxiety. Social work staff and carers should keep this in mind in the long term.


8. Procedures and responsibilities

8.1

Preparation for death of a parent or close relative
  8.1.1 Where a death can be anticipated - for example, in the case of a parent with a degenerative illness- the Care and Placement Plans will reflect this. They will identify what steps can be taken to prepare the child for the death I the individual circumstances of that family.
  8.1.2 The Care and Placement Plans will also identify how the child is to be informed of the death, when it happens, and by whom. This will normally be the responsibility of the Social Worker and Team Manager.
  8.1.3 However, the planning should also take account of the possibility of the death occurring out of hours, in circumstances where the child needs to be informed before the next working day. It will then fall to carers to inform the child and the Placement Plan should address this and any need for immediate support, perhaps from the Emergency Duty Team that the carer might have. The Placement Plan must reflect the child's needs in relation to culture and religion when a death in the family occurs
  8.1.4 In circumstances where death can be to some extent planned for, staff will be able to seek specialist advice from the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, including bereavement counselling for the child, and this will also be incorporated into the Placement Plan.

8.2


Actions in the event of sudden death
  8.2.1 In the event of the sudden death of the parent or close relative of a looked after child, the Social Worker and Team Manager will be responsible for informing the child.
  8.2.2  The Social Worker will liaise urgently with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services for specialist advice on how to manage the situation, and, in particular, on the method and timing of referral for bereavement counselling or other direct work with the child
  8.2.3 The Social Worker will convene a Placement Planning meeting to discuss and agree the detailed arrangements for the immediate situation. This will include attendance at the funeral, viewing of the body, the possible need to purchase clothes to wear at the funeral and how best to support the child in dealing with other friends and relatives. This should always be planned with consideration to the child and their family's cultural and religious values.
  8.2.4 Staff will need to be aware of the particular issues, which may arise as a result of religious considerations. For example, some faiths will require that the funeral take place very quickly. In line with the fundamental principle of the Children Act that we take account of religion, along with race, language and culture, in the way that we look after children, we will ensure that services are sufficiently flexible to meet with such requirements.
  8.2.5 The Team Manager will advise the Area Operations Manager, and the Director of Children and Families (for information) of the sudden death of the parent or close relative of a looked after child
  8.2.6 The Department may have some financial responsibility arising out of the death of a looked after child. It may be appropriate, for example, to contribute to funeral and memorial arrangements. Where this is felt to be in the best interests of the child, the social worker must obtain the agreement of the Team Manager and Operations Manager to approach the Director of Children and Families, in writing, with a detailed funding request.
  8.2.7 The Team Manager will liaise with the Review Unit to determine whether the Statutory Review needs to be brought forward.
  8.2.8 The Social Worker will liaise with administrative staff to ensure that all necessary notifications and reports are made.


9. Support for staff and carers

9.1 These situations are not easy for staff or carers. They have to be "strong" for the child while, at the same time, there will inevitably be associations and reminders of their own personal bereavements. There may therefore be a need for increased support from managers, link workers, Occupational Health, cultural or religious advisors or other sources in these circumstances.

End