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Supporting children

Once a child is placed in care and the relevant initial paperwork completed, this can often mean that social workers feel there is a chance to focus on other cases which may have not been given as much attention recently. It is however important that there is continuing support provided to the child and the placement to ensure that things run as smoothly as possible. This section considers some of the specific support that may be required.

The Care Plan and Placement Plan should set out the immediate, medium and long term aims of the placement.  They should also set out what support will be provided by the multi-agency team around the child to achieve these aims.

If the child is placed in foster care then the carers will have their own social worker.  This is an important form of support for the carers as the social worker will look out specifically for the needs of the carer and their family.  These relationships have often been in place for a long time and in many cases the fostering social worker can identify and address issues whilst they are still in their infancy, instead of when the placement is at the point of breakdown.

Where a child is in residential care, then it is important their relationships with the other young people in placement are monitored to ensure that they remain safe and that any changes in the placement are closely monitored.

Ultimately the question that should always be asked is - "what would I do if this were my child?"

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