Transitioning from Foster Care to Shared Lives - Guidance for Children's and Adult Social Care Teams
Contents
Background
What happens if the young person doesn’t have eligible needs?
What if the young person has eligible needs which include personal care?
What does this mean for Foster Carers?
What is Shared Lives?
How can a Foster Carer become a Shared Lives carer?
What if the Foster Carer has concerns about becoming a Shared Lives carer?
How do I refer someone to Shared Lives?
When should the transition process begin?
How will the payments to Foster Carers/Shared Lives carers work?
When will the payments start?
Will the person using the Shared Lives scheme be charged?
What if the person is not in receipt of sufficient benefits to cover the Board and Lodging charge?
Is there anything else I need to consider?
Appendix 1: Foster Care to Shared Lives Transition Process
Background
If you're working with someone who currently lives with foster carers and they are likely to have eligible needs (needs which will be funded as an adult) upon reaching 18, you'll need tothink about how their care and support will be provided in the long term.
It's important that Children’s and Adult Social Care Teams work togetherwhen planning a young person's future care and support. This collaboration should ideally start when the person is aged 16,so that the necessary arrangements are in place once they reach 18.
What happens if the young person doesn’t have eligible needs?
If the person doesn’t have eligible needs for Adult Social Care services under the Care Act,you should consider if a 'Staying Put' arrangement would be appropriate.
In order to be eligible for a Staying Put arrangement the young person needs to be in a foster placement immediately prior to their 18th birthday and meet the following criteria:
- A young person involved in education or a training plan, which continues after their 18th birthday (note HE students are supported under the HE financial policy rather than the Financial policy for those staying put);
- A young person who is assessed as being vulnerable as a result of enduring health or learning disabilities but who does not meet adult services criteria;
- A young person who is actively bidding for social housing as part of the move on scheme, is bidding appropriately but has not been successful prior to their 18th birthday;
- A young person with no recourse to public funds who, following a human rights assessment, has agreed to return to their home country and is awaiting a returns package or is deemed 'non-returnable';
- Other young people to be assessed on an individual basis. The decision for them to become part of Staying Put will consider whether the arrangement will prepare them for independence, including engagement in education or training
You can find more information about Staying Put in the Children's Service Procedure Manual.
What if the young person has eligible needs which include personal care?
The law currently states that if personal care is being delivered as part of someone's eligible needs (including prompting), together with accommodation, the person or service providing thismust be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
What does this mean for Foster Carers?
This means that where a young person has eligible needs under the Care Act which include personal care and the intention is for them to remain with their Foster Carers, the carers will need to become Shared Lives Carers. It's important that you explain to the foster carer why the current arrangement cannot continue and reassure them that the council can support them in becoming a Shared Lives carer, if they and the young person wish to continue to live together.
What is Shared Lives?
Shared Lives is a scheme for adults in which the person needing care and support lives in a Shared Lives carer's home.
The scheme is open to any adult who has eligible needs for this level of service from Oxfordshire County Council, including young people approaching the age of 18. This can make it a good fit for people transitioning from foster care.
How does a Foster Carer become a Shared Lives carer?
The Foster Carer will need to undergo a dedicated training and assessment process in order to be recognised as a Shared Lives carer.Prospective carers are allocated a Shared Lives social worker who will work closely with them to guide them through the process.
The social worker will write a report which they present to a panel of people who will decide whether to approve the carers. They will also obtain a criminal record check, medical reference, work reference and two personal references.
What if the Foster Carer has concerns about becoming a Shared Lives carer?
In some cases the Foster Carer may be concerned about committing themselves to the process of becoming a Shared Lives carer, particularly if they have other caring commitments. In order to help address these concerns the standard training and assessment process has been modified, meaning that:
- Foster Carers can complete the induction training over a 12 month period (instead of 3-6 months) to allow for other caring obligations or commitments to be met.
- If needed, the Shared Lives social worker can deliver some of the training on a "one to one" basis in the home of the Foster Carer/Shared Lives Carer.
- Assessment work from fostering can be used to assist the assessment process - with agreement from the carers.
- The panel application to become a Shared Lives carercan be submitted before the person has completed their training - as long as there is an agreement in place that this will be completed.
You can also direct the person to the Shared Lives pages on the council's public website which provides more information about the scheme including some frequently asked questions about becoming a Shared Lives carer.
How do I refer someone to Shared Lives?
Children's Social Workers
If you work in the Children's Social Care Team and think the young person you are working with will be eligible for support as an adult, you'll need to refer them to the Adult Social Care Team for assessment and at the same time you’ll need to contact Shared Lives to initiate discussions with the family. The cases of looked after children who reach the age of 15½ years old must be discussed at the weekly LAC panel. This will provide a forum for checking that Staying Put or Shared Lives is being considered for young people in foster placements as they approach transition.
If you, as the children’s social care worker, believe Shared Lives will be an appropriate option then you'll need to find out at an early stage (when the young person is 16) how the young person and the foster carers feel about the possibility of continuing to live together under a Shared Lives arrangement. You should then pass this information to the Adult Social Care Team as well as letting the Shared Lives Team know.
The children’s worker will also need to refer the foster carer to the Shared Lives Team so that they can begin the process of assessing their suitability as a Shared Lives Carer. You can do this by calling them on01865897971 or by emailing them at . This should be done at least a year before the young person turns 18.
Adult Services Social Workers
If you work in the Adult Social Care Team and you receive a referral for a young person living with a foster carer, you'll need to complete an overview assessment. This needs to be completed well before the young person is 17.5 years old and will need to be prioritised through the monthly transition meetings, as it takes time to convert a foster placement to Shared Lives, and the young person cannot legally remain in the placement once they turn 18 if they have eligible needs.
Ifthe young person has eligible needs under the Care Act, and Shared Lives is a suitable option, you should refer the young person to the Shared Lives Team via an Inter-team referral on LAS. You'll also need to ensure that the foster carer is referred to them if this hasn’t already been done.You can do this by calling them on 01865897971 or by emailing them . This should be done at least a year before the young person turns 18, so it is important to carry out assessments for young people in foster care at an early stage.
When should the transition process begin?
The transition process should begin before the young person's 17th birthday, when they are 16 to ensure the carer has time to complete the Shared Lives assessment process. If agreement to convert to a Shared Lives placement has not been reached with all parties by the time of the young person’s 17th birthday, the adult team social worker should commence twin track planning so that an alternative service can be in place by the young person’s 18th birthday if necessary.
How will the payments to Foster Carers/Shared Lives carers work?
It's important that you discuss the issue of payments at an early stage as it's likely the carer will receive a lower level of payment, and be responsible for fewer of the young person’s costsas a Shared Lives carer than they were as a foster carer.
This is because the fostering allowance includes an amount for the young person's day to day expenses such as clothing, toiletries, etc. Once they reach 18 the young person is expected to meet these costs from their own benefits and so the Shared Lives payment is reduced accordingly.
The Shared Lives Team can provide you with more information about the level of payments that the carer will receive.
When will the payments start?
As long as Foster Carers have started the assessment process, they can be paid through Shared Lives from the young person's 18th birthday (or before by agreement).
There will need to be exceptional circumstances for a Direct Payment to be made instead and this will need to be agreed by a manager. It cannot be paid directly to a carer
Will the person using the Shared Lives scheme be charged?
The person using Shared Lives will be expected to pay for their board and lodgings as well as being assessed separately to determine if they can afford to make a contribution towards the cost of the service.It's important that you tell the person and their appointees about these costsand advise them to seek advice on benefit entitlement, as they won't have been charged for services received before they were 18.
Contribution towards board and lodgings - The young person will be expected to pay their rent and any contribution for food, utilities, and laundry. Some of this cost may be covered by Housing Benefit and the Shared Lives Team can help the person to make a Housing Benefit claim where appropriate.
Contribution towards the cost of the Shared Lives service - Once the person reaches 18 they will alsoneed to undergo a financial assessment to determine how much they can afford to contribute towards the cost of the service. The assessment will be completed by the Financial Assessment Team and you can find out more information about this on the council's paying for care web pages.
What if the person is not in receipt of sufficient benefits to cover the Board and Lodging charge?
In cases where young people do not have sufficient benefits to cover the Board and Lodging charge and where this is meeting their personal needs, the Adult Social Care social worker will need to apply to the panel to have this cost underwritten by the Personal Budget.
Once this is agreed by the panel,the social worker will need to inform the Shared Lives Admin Team so that they can record this on LAS and also the Financial Assessments Team so that they can supress this charge.
If you are the allocated Adult Social Care worker you'll need to review this arrangement regularly to ensure you pick up any change in the young person's financial circumstances, i.e. if the person receives an increase in their benefits. If their circumstances changeyou'll need to tell the Shared Lives Admin Team and the Financial Assessment Team so that they can make the necessary adjustments.
Is there anything else I need to consider?
Ordinary Residence
If the council has placed a person in foster care in another local authority area or if another authority has placed the person in Oxfordshire, you'll need to consider Ordinary Residence. This will determine responsibility for funding the placement.
The rules around Ordinary Residence mean that ifa local Authority places a person in foster care in another local authority and they then transition to Shared Lives, it's the original local authority which retains responsibility for funding their placement. You can find more detailed information about Ordinary Residence here.
Costing packages
In theory the costing should be same as for all packages.However, it may be that as mentioned above young people have insufficient benefits to cover the board and lodging charges so this will need to be factored in. The Shared Lives Service Guide explains in detail what is provided by the Shared Lives Scheme. There are 3 rates or “bands”. The appropriate band is determined by the needs of the person needing support and on very rare occasions a special rate might be agreed.The Shared Lives Team can provide you with more information or advice if you need it.
Respite
A Shared Lives package includes up to 42 nights respite provision for Shared Lives Carers.The usual allowances apply although you'll need to be mindful that young people with complex needs may have respite in other specialist services and you'll need to factor this into the cost of the care package.
Some foster families have other family members who provide respite care and these people will need to either be approved or become support volunteers if any actual support is needed. If not, then a few hours unpaid company may be just on a friendship basis rather than actual support. The Shared Lives Social Worker will need to clarify this on a case by case basis.
Sally Ellis, Shared Lives.Teresa Rogers, Fostering Service
Approved by Strategic Transitions GroupAugust 2017
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Appendix 1: Foster Care to Shared Lives Transition Process
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