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Contents

1. Kinship Team
2. Duty System
3. Referrals
4. Responsibilities

1. Kinship Team

The Kinship Team consists of one senior social worker, three social workers, one social work assistant and a part time team manager. 

Management of the Family Group conference Service sits within the Kinship Team. 

The Kinship's team's remit is as follows:

• To complete short term fostering assessments of all kinship carers;
• To supervise and support kinship fostering placements;
• To provide support and advice to area colleagues on undertaking kinship assessments;
• To complete all permanency assessments of kinship carers where children are looked after or the case is in proceedings and/or an interim supervision order has been made;
• To complete all SGO assessments for LAC and CIN;
• To provide a special guardianship support service;
• To operate a duty system two days a week to undertake regulation 24 assessments.  Also to undertake viability assessments where children are looked after or are about to become looked after.

2. Duty System

The Kinship Team will offer a duty system on a Monday and a Thursday between 9am and 5pm only.  In an emergency only a social worker will be available to undertake a joint visit after 5pm on those days.  Joint visits can be requested on the day or arranged in advance.

Normally two people will be available on duty.  However due to the size of the Kinship Team when a social worker is on annual leave or sick only one person will be available.

Priority will be given to requests to complete temporary approval assessments. 

Due to the size of the team our availability to complete viability assessments for permanency will be limited and will depend on the work allocated in the team and timescales for completing the assessments.  If the court has requested a viability assessment you must liaise with the Kinship Team Manager or Senior Social Worker in her absence about whether we have the capacity to accept this work.

The duty service can be contacted on 0208 825 7379

3. Referrals

Duty referrals should be made via Framework i and separate guidance is available. However, as the duty service only operates two days a week you MUST telephone if you want to arrange a joint visit the same week. Duty visits will only take place on Monday and Thursdays.

You must state clearly what assessment you require and you must fill in part 1 of the child and carers basic details.

If your referral is not a duty case you must fill in part 1 and part 2 before your referral will be accepted.

Currently it is not possible to refer SGO support cases via Framework I.

Purpose of the Duty System

Social Workers from the Kinship Team will be available to undertake joint visits to kinship carers with the child's social workers in the following circumstances:

1. When a child is about to become looked after (i.e. court proceedings are imminent or the child is likely to become accommodated) and an assessment of a family member or friend is required to ascertain if the child can be placed with them under regulation  S24 (temporary approval);
2. When a child is looked after (s20/s38/s31) and a viability assessment is required of a family member or friend to assess them as short-term foster carers (kinship) or as permanent carers for the child.

It is good practice for the child's social worker to accompany the social worker from the Kinship Team particularly in circumstances where an emergency placement  is being considered.  Where this is not possible the Kinship Team will complete the assessment and write it up.

Social Workers from the Kinship Team can offer guidance to their colleagues in the area teams who are assessing family and friends where children are not looked after but, due to the size of the team, we will not be able to undertake joint visits with social workers in these circumstances.

4. Responsibilities

The Kinship Team Manager & ultimately the Operation Manager for Children's Placement Services will be responsible for deciding whether  a carer is viable or  whether to recommend that the carer should be temporarily approved a a foster carer.

Where there is a difference of opinion between the two assessing social workers as to the viability of the carers the manager of the kinship team will discuss the case with the child's social worker's manager and thereafter the Operation Managers of the respective areas.

The Kinship Team social worker will remain responsible for completing any additional assessment visits, writing up the assessment and presenting the case to Fostering Panel.

Viability assessments for permanency

The Kinship Team will be responsible for completing and writing up the assessment.  They will make a recommendation to the area team as to whether or not a fuller assessment should be completed.

The area team will decide whether or not they wish to request that a fuller assessment should be completed by the Kinship Team.

End