Contact (Family Time) with Parents/Adults and Siblings

Most children who start to be looked after have been known to Children's Services for some time. Where a child is to be accommodated with consent the care planning process should begin in advance of the care episode, including discussions with the child and their family about arrangements for family time.

The Social Worker must:

• Ensure that the arrangements for family time are discussed and agreed at the pre-placement planning meeting. Children and their parents must be consulted regarding their wishes and feelings on family time should they not be present at the meeting;
• Complete an Initial Family Time Agreement;
• Ensure that the agreed arrangements for family time include:
  • The purpose of the family time (as linked to the objectives of the Care Plan). Why the specific family time arrangements are being proposed, and outlining how it is meeting the needs of the child as opposed to the wishes of the parents;
  • With whom family time is to take place (and any persons with whom contact (family time) is not permitted);
  • The nature, frequency and duration of the family time;
  • The venue of any visits/overnight stays;
  • Practical arrangements, for example, transport or means of letter exchange;
  • Whether the family time is to be supervised;
  • Whether family time is to be observed and the purposes of such observation;
  • The provision of any support services before, during and after family time to the child/young person, their parents, any other persons having contact and the carers;
  • Contingency plans if any aspect of the arrangements fail;
  • The process for monitoring and evaluating the agreed arrangements;
  • The process for reviewing the arrangements;
  • Whether there are any court orders relating to contact in force which need to be taken into consideration.
• Ensure the Family Time Agreement is signed by all parties to reflect understanding of, and agreement with, the plan.

Record the arrangements for family time in the Care Plan, the Placement Information Record, and the Family Time Agreement.

In circumstances where it has been necessary for a child/young person to enter the looked after system on an emergency basis then the social worker must give consideration to family time arrangements to meet the child's immediate needs.

It is important that the social worker does not rush into making immediate family time arrangements that do not meet the needs of the child. There may be pressure from parents and their advocates for immediate arrangements for family time to be made. The social worker needs to consider and balance the benefit of allowing the child to settle into their foster placement before they embark on a gruelling schedule of family time. Please see: Making Family Time Work - Good Practice Guidance.

Due to the crisis nature of emergency admissions it is likely that family time will need to change from this initial plan. The social worker must:

• In negotiation/agreement with the parents/those with 'parental responsibility' draw up an Initial Family Time Agreement pending the placement agreement meeting;
• Ensure the Family Time Agreement is signed by all parties to reflect understanding of, and agreement with, the plan;
• Record the interim arrangements for family time on the Placement Information Record and ensure copies are provided to all relevant parties.

If the child/young person remains Looked After and a placement agreement meeting is held, the Social Worker must:

• Ensure that the arrangements for family time are discussed and agreed at the placement agreement meeting. Children and their parents must be consulted regarding their wishes and feelings on family time should they not be present at the meeting;
• Ensure that the agreed arrangements for family time include:
  • The purpose of the family time (as linked to the objectives of the Care Plan). Why the specific family time arrangements are being proposed, and outlining how it is meeting the needs of the child as opposed to the wishes of the parents;
  • With whom family time is to take place (and any persons with whom contact (family time) is not permitted);
  • The nature, frequency and duration of the family time;
  • The venue of any visits/overnight stays;
  • Practical arrangements, for example, transport or means of letter exchange;
  • Whether the family time is to be supervised;
  • Whether family time is to be observed and the purposes of such observation;
  • The provision of any support services before, during and after family time to the child/young person, their parents, any other persons having family time and the carers;
  • Contingency plans if any aspect of the arrangements fail;
  • The process for monitoring and evaluating the agreed arrangements;
  • The process for reviewing the arrangements;
  • Whether there are any court orders relating to contact in force which need to be taken into consideration.
• Ensure the Family Time Agreement is signed by all parties to reflect understanding of, and agreement with, the plan;
• Record the arrangements for family time in the Care Plan, the Placement Information Record, and the Family Time Agreement.

In planning and delivering family time for children it is essential that there is a good quality assessment of the child's family time needs and how these needs can be best met. This should include any risks associated with family time with birth family.

Every effort must be made to have a planned family time arrangement based on the needs of the child and the circumstances of the case prior to any Court hearing. Good quality assessment and plans based on researched based evidence will prevent 'corridor negotiations' outside of the court room. See Making Family Time Work - Good Practice Guidance.

The Social Worker must ensure that:

• Family time supervisors are fully briefed on the case, know what the issues are, including risk; the expectations of the level of family time; and whether they are required to actively engage the birth family in tasks according to the family time plan;
• Family time is appropriately recorded by the family time supervisor including the nature and purpose of the family time; any significant events connected to the contact; any observations of the suitability of the arrangements; the parent and child interaction; and of the child's/young person's behaviour and emotional/physical state before, during and after family time. See Appendix 1: Supervised Family Time Activity Recording (Liquid Logic);
• The information collected by the family time supervisor is systematically recorded onto LiquidLogic;
• Foster carers are asked to routinely record the emotional state of the children or young person before and after family time;
• That the measures by which the suitability of the contact arrangements, in relation to meeting the objectives of the Care Plan, will be evaluated are clearly specified and known to all parties;
• That the views of the child/young person, their parents, others having family time and the carers on the family time arrangements are regularly and proactively sought by the social worker.

Good practice recommends that family time visits are followed up by the child's social worker through communication with the carers, family time supervisor, birth relative and child. The necessity of this follow up will depend on the purpose of the family time, any significant events which occurred during family time and the circumstances of the individual case.

In any family time arrangements there must be good quality standards applied to the provision and delivery of family time. The initial family time plan and agreement must be in place prior to family time taking place and finalised, at the latest, by the time of the time of the first Looked After review. All children and young people Looked After are expected to have a family time agreement in place.

Family Time Planning is an integral part of the overall Care Plan and must be subject to regular review.

As such the Social Worker must:

• Ensure the family time arrangements, their progress and any changes required to them are discussed at each meeting of the Care Team/Core group and that such discussions are recorded;
• Ensure that the Initial Family Time Agreement is amended by the time of the first Looked After Review to reflect the ongoing family time arrangement and that this agreement becomes a live document which incorporates up to date expectations of the parties involved in the family time;
• Ensure that the family time arrangements are discussed at each of the child's/young person's statutory Looked After Reviews and that the views of any participants in the family time process who are unable or not invited to attend the review are known and considered at the review;
• Ensure that the live Family Time Agreement feeds in to any risk assessment.

Independent Reviewing Officers must ensure that family time arrangements are reviewed within the child's/young person's Looked After Review.

In circumstances where care proceedings are current for a child/young person who is Looked After, the proposed and existing arrangements for contact/family time will need to be included in the care plan presented to the court. The plan for family time should cover the following:

• The purpose of family time for the child/young person (assessed solely in terms of their interests);
• The key persons in the child/young person's life and the steps taken to consult them about proposed family time arrangements;
• The child/young person's wishes;
• The arrangements for family time in both the short and long term;
• Any agreements reached by parties about family time or efforts to reach agreement;
• Frequency, time, venue and duration of any family time visits;
• If the home of the person having family time is not to be used as the venue, the plan should detail why it is not suitable;
• Whether supervision is necessary and, if so, why, who will supervise and for how long it is anticipated that it will be necessary to supervise the family time;
• Whether the family time is to form part of the assessment of the parent-child relationship or the capacity to parent and if so detail the purpose of the assessment and the qualifications of the worker(s) involved;
• Transportation (arrangements for the child/young person and those with whom family time is proposed);
• Escort for the child/young person while being transported;
• Details of support to be provided to the child/young person;
• Details of the advice and support to be provided to parents etc to maximise the benefits of family time for the child/young person;
• Provision for financial help to support visits;
• Whether overnight stays are appropriate and if so, who else is likely to be in the house overnight;
• If the family time plan does not propose face-to-face meetings, details of any alternative forms of family time being proposed, the arrangements for these (including the use of any intermediary) and why any other possible alternatives have been discounted;
• How the family time plan will be monitored and evaluated;
• How the contact/family time plan will be reviewed, by whom and how the child/young person and their parents/others having family time will participate in the review;

Any changes to the family time arrangements must be recorded on the child/young person's Care Plan and Family Time Agreement and the amended version circulated to all parties by the Social Worker as soon as is practicable. It is recognised that there may sometimes be subtle variations to a Family Time Agreement, for example changes to venue/family time supervisor.

In circumstances where the changes to the family time arrangements are a departure by agreement from the terms of a court order on contact made under Section 34 of the Children Act 1989 the social worker must in addition to recording the changes in the Care Plan ensure that written notification of the agreement is provided within seven days to:

• The child/young person, if s/he is of sufficient understanding;
• The child/young person's parents;
• Any guardian of the child/young person.

Where there are serious concerns that existing family time arrangements are detrimental to the welfare of the child, the Local Authority must review and take action if necessary. This may involve seeking legal advice and taking legal action through Section 34(4) Children's Act 1989 - permission to refuse contact with a child in care.

Such situations may include consistent failure of parents to attend family time resulting in undue distress and disruption to the child, or parents who pose a risk to their child or others including social workers and family time supervisors.

In circumstances where the social worker reaches a view that the agreed arrangements for family time for a Child Looked After/young person are no longer in the child or young person's best interests and all efforts to improve family time have failed, the social worker should consult with their team manager and agree whether:

• If the child/young person is subject to a care order/interim care order – immediate suspension of contact is warranted or that an application to court to vary or suspend the existing arrangements should be made.
  NOTE: If the child/young person is subject to an interim care order, the child/young person's guardian must be consulted on the matter;
• If the child/young person is accommodated under Section 20 whether legal action (urgent or otherwise) to address the matter is required.

Where immediate action is required:

NOTE: in reaching a decision and as far as is practicable given the urgency of the decision, the Social Worker must ascertain the wishes and feelings of the child/young person, their parents/others with 'parental responsibility' and any other relevant persons.

If immediate action is considered necessary, the social worker/team manager must consult with the relevant operations manager and legal services, giving clear reasons why such action is needed.

If the child/young person is accommodated and dependent on advice from legal services and the requisite authorisation from the operations manager, the social worker must follow the relevant procedural guidance to issue care proceedings.

If the child/young person is subject to a care order/interim care order and the operations manager is satisfied that such action is necessary to safeguard or promote the child/young person's welfare and is required as a matter of urgency, they may authorise the suspension of contact for up to seven days (Section 34(6) Children Act 1989).

The operations manager must then ensure that written notification of the decision is given as soon as possible to the following:

• The child/young person, if s/he is of sufficient understanding;
• The child/young person's parents;
• Any guardian of the child/young person;
• Where there was a residence order/Child Arrangements Order in force with respect to the child/young person immediately before the care order was made, the person in whose favour the order was made;
• Where immediately before the care order was made, a person had care of the child/young person by virtue of an order made in the exercise of the High Court's inherent jurisdiction, that person; and
• Any other person whose wishes and feelings the operations manager considers to be relevant to the matter.

The notification in writing must contain:

• The decision;
• The date of the decision;
• The reasons for the decision;
• The duration;
• Remedies available if the recipient is dissatisfied with the decision, for example redress to the court, and how to make a complaint through the complaints procedure.

If consideration is being given to not reinstating reasonable contact arrangements after the seven days allowed by Section 34 (6) and a court order will be required. The operations manager must convene and chair an emergency planning meeting within 3 days of contact being suspended. A representative from legal services must be invited to the meeting. See Section 5.10, Application to the Court.

In circumstances where there have been cumulative concerns leading to a view that the current arrangements for contact (family time) do not safeguard the child/young person or promote their welfare, then the social worker following consultation with their team manager must convene a planning meeting (to be chaired by a team manager or operations manager) to which a representative of legal services must be invited.

Arrangements for chairing the meeting should be determined by the specific circumstances. In particularly complex or contentious situations, consideration should be given to the meeting being chaired by an operations manager or a team manager without line management responsibility for the child/young person.

The purpose of the meeting will be:

• To consider the concerns regarding the existing arrangements for family time;
• To review the evidence of the extent to which the arrangements do not safeguard or promote the child/young person's welfare;
• To review the steps taken to address the concerns and the outcome of these;
• To ascertain whether there are any other options to address the concerns that could be explored;
• To consider the previously obtained views on the matter of the child/young person, their parents/others with Parental Responsibility, others having family time and the carers;
• To consider the nature and duration of any restrictions that should be place on family time and in the case of a child/young person who is subject to a care order/interim order whether any such restrictions would be considered unreasonable;
• To identify the actions to be taken, the persons responsible for those actions and the timescales.

The meeting must be formally recorded. The record must include key discussion points, outcome and any action to be taken.

The nature of the action required after the planning meeting will be determined by the outcome of the meeting and the legal status of the child/young person concerned.

In all situations the social worker must ensure that:

• The record of the planning meeting is placed on the child/young person's file;
• The child/young person, their parents/others with parental responsibility, others having family time and the carers are notified of the outcome of the meeting, what will happen next, the complaints procedure if they are dissatisfied and as applicable their access to legal redress;
• Where applicable, written notifications as required by Regulation 8 are sent to all relevant parties;
• Where applicable, consult with the relevant Independent Reviewing Officer to agree whether the changes to the family time arrangements are such that a Looked After Review should be brought forward to review the overall Care Plan.

Every child/young person who is Looked After must have a plan for permanence in place at the point of the second statutory Looked After Review (4 months). The plan for permanence must include a plan for family time.

The social worker must ensure that the plan for permanence contains:

• Each person the child/young person will have family time with;
• The purpose of the family time (and how this relates to the overall plan);
• The type of family time (direct/indirect), location, frequency and duration;
• Arrangements for support, monitoring, supervision and review of the family time arrangements.

The Social Worker must ensure that a clear written account is made of the process by which decisions regarding the plan for family time have been made, whose views were taken into account and the reasons for the decisions. This account must be placed on LiquidLogic.

NOTE: All decision making processes regarding the planning for permanence for a Child Looked After/young person have the potential of court scrutiny both within any current proceeding and in any future judicial challenge to the local authority's actions. As such it is crucial that all decisions regarding contact are clearly recorded and soundly evidenced.

Supervised family time will, wherever possible, be undertaken by the child's social worker, or by the family worker or social work assistant within the team.

The child's social worker is expected to observe family time at least once a month. When a child is the subject of legal proceedings the court will expect the social worker to be able to report to the court with first-hand information.

Where supervised family time cannot be managed by a team or there is a need for continuity of existing supervised family time arrangements, a referral can be made to the Supervised Family Time Service. Appendix 3: Supervised Family Time Service Referral Form (including Risk Assessment) should be e-mailed to SCSReferrals@durham.gov.uk. The Supervised Family Time Services will require a minimum of 24 hours notice to set up contact arrangements.

The Supervised Family Time Service do not provide a specific service to children and young people with a disability. Any referral will be considered subject to an assessment of the needs of the child and balanced against an assessment of risk and the service the Supervised Family Time Service is able to provide.

As far as possible, the same contact supervisors should be used to supervise family time for a particular child. This ensures less disruption for the child and birth family. It may also support the child to develop trust and confidence in the security of the family time arrangements.

Family Time supervisors should be appropriately trained and be confident in managing the family time.

Where the Family Time supervisor is not the social worker, the social worker must ensure the Family Time supervisor is fully briefed on the circumstances of the individual child, and understands what the issues are and the level of supervision required. The social worker should also ensure the family time supervisor is notified of any changes to these circumstances.

The social worker will ensure there are opportunities for the family time supervisor to attend regular case management meetings with social worker and relevant team manager. This will ensure the family time supervisor is able to develop a clear understanding of the case, and to seek professional advice and guidance.

If the family time takes place at a carer's home it must be clear as to whether they are facilitating or supervising family time. Facilitating is simply providing the venue for the family time. Supervising implies a much more active monitoring role. Where the carer is supervising family time it must be clear that the carer has sufficient training and experience, and is well supported.

Some family time may be observed by expert witnesses and CAFCASS officers.

The supervisor's observations of the family time must be clearly recorded in the child's record and shared with the parents within 3 months of the visit (Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman finding).

The family time supervisor will assist in promoting family time between the child and his/her parents; any person who has parental responsibility for the child; any relative or friend or other person connected with the child, at a range of venues across the County.

The family time supervisor should not engage in discussion with parents or carers about the case, or offer opinions or personal views of professionals or circumstances surrounding the case. Family members should be advised to contact the child's social worker is they wish to discuss the case.

The family time supervisor should terminate the session if:

• Anyone attending is under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
• Anyone attending is abusive to another person, including the family time supervisor;
• If the child becomes too distressed at the session;
• If there are any circumstances that put the wellbeing or safety of the child at risk.

Where an incident that leads to the termination of a session, the family time supervisor must inform the social worker immediately after the session. The social worker will contact the parents/nominated others to plan how future incidents will be avoided. This will include revisiting the risk assessment. No further sessions should take place until the risk assessment is reviewed and signed off.

The family time supervisor must be aware of the policies and procedures in place for safeguarding children (see Durham Local Safeguarding Children Partnership: Multi-Agency Child Protection Procedures). Urgent concerns should be reported immediately to the relevant social worker, manager or the Emergency Duty Team.

If a child goes missing during or just after family time ends and fails to return to the family time venue within a short period of time, they should be reported missing to police immediately by the family time supervisor, and the allocated social worker, manager or the Emergency Duty Team informed. Carers and parents of the child should also be advised immediately. See Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures, Children Missing from Home and Care Procedure.

The family time supervisor should be aware of the guidance on taking photographs of children during family time sessions.

It is the family time supervisor's responsibility to ensure that the venue is appropriate to facilitate family time safely and securely. Any issues with health, safety and security must be raised with the management of the building in which family time is being held and also raised with the relevant manager/social worker.