Staying Put

A Staying Put arrangement is where a former relevant child, after ceasing to be looked after, remains in the former foster home where they were placed immediately before they ceased to be Looked After, beyond the age of 18.

The purpose of this policy is to outline eligibility, planning and review protocols and financial implications of Staying Put arrangements. It is applicable to all young people who were previously eligible children living in foster care, and who were Looked After immediately prior to their 18th birthday. It should be read in conjunction with Surrey County Council’s Care Leavers Local Offer and Staying Put guidance.

It is the duty of the local authority:

• To monitor and support the Staying Put arrangement;
• Support its Care Leavers to decide whether to participate in a Staying Put arrangement;
• To provide advice, assistance and support to the former relevant child and the former foster parent with a view to maintaining the Staying Put arrangement (this must include financial support), until the child reaches the age of 21 (unless the local authority consider that the Staying Put arrangement is not consistent with the child's welfare). 

Under the Care Leavers (England) Regulations 2010, Planning Transition into Adulthood for Care Leavers Guidance and Government Guidance Staying Put - Arrangements for Care Leavers Aged 18 and Above to Stay on With Their Former Foster Carers (2013), the Local Authority must provide information about extending foster placements post-18.

Young people placed in Independent Fostering Agency arrangements will be considered against the same criteria as Surrey foster care placements. Surrey County Council will ensure that the process, as detailed within this policy, involves the Independent Fostering Agency at all key stages. It is expected that Independent Fostering Agencies that Surrey County Council commission arrangements with, will fully embrace the legislative and good practice guidance associated with the Staying Put initiative, as will their foster carer(s).

If a young person has a disability and will need to be supported by the transition team and/or adult services post-18, then a Shared Lives placement assessment will be needed. All aspects of this policy are still applicable and upheld in these circumstances.

The intention of Staying Put arrangements is to ensure that young people can remain with their former foster carers until they are prepared for adulthood, can experience a transition akin to their peers, avoid social exclusion and be more likely to avert a subsequent housing and tenancy breakdown.

(Note that the term 'arrangement' should be used rather than 'placement' - the term 'placement' denotes a situation where the local authority arranged and placed the child with a foster carer. Once the child reaches the age of eighteen and legal adulthood, the local authority is no longer making a placement, but facilitating a Staying Put arrangement for the young person.) 

Consideration will need to be given to the impact on foster carers' approval and their terms of approval, including the numbers approved for, and whether this number includes the Staying Put young person.

Young people living with foster carers supported by independent providers should be treated in the same way as those young people living with local authority in-house foster carers when consideration is given to a Staying Put arrangement. Local authorities should have discussions with independent fostering providers at an early stage regarding the option of a Staying Putarrangement. This discussion should include the amount of allowance the local authority will pay the former foster carer.

If a young person feels that their wish to remain with their former foster carer has not been properly considered by the local authority or they are unhappy with the way in which the local authority has acted, they may wish to speak to their Independent Reviewing Officer who chairs their reviews before they turn 18 and request a review of their Pathway Plan. The young person should be told of their right to use their local authority's complaints procedure to voice their concerns, and of their right to have an independent advocate.   

Note: Where a Staying Put arrangement is in place, the local authority, where appropriate, may consider delegating part of the personal adviser function to the foster carer (See Leaving Care and Transition Procedure, Personal Advisers).

Discussion should start with the young person and foster carer regarding the option of staying put as early as possible, ideally before the young person reaches the age of 16, and the young person should be provided with a guide outlining this information.

If this has not already been done, the first Child in Care review following their 16th birthday should consider whether a Staying Put arrangement should be an option. The scoping meeting coordinated by the young person’s social worker and chaired by the fostering social worker, should take place with the foster carer(s) in attendance.

This will entail assessing the implications for both the young person and the foster carer.

Should it be decided during this meeting that a Staying Put arrangement is not viable, the social worker will need to explore other options and meet with the young person to discuss these and incorporate an alternative into their Pathway Plan. A needs led assessment will then need to be carried out and a plan formulated to support the young person to develop the skills required to move on to semi-independent or independent living. This will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

However, should it be agreed that a Staying Put arrangement is viable, the young person’s social worker must explore the expectations and requirements of this with them and gain their thoughts and feelings. If the young person agrees to enter a Staying Put arrangement, this will be written into their Pathway Plan, and the appropriate support will be provided to prepare them and their foster carer(s).  The possibility and practicalities of a Staying Put arrangement should be discussed in every statutory care and Pathway Plan meeting to address any changes from the perspective of the foster carer(s) and/or young person. 

Following on from the first Child in Care review after the young person turns 17-years old, a Staying Put meeting should be held with the social worker, young person, personal advisor and Staying Put carer. At this meeting the Staying Put agreement should be completed and signed by all parties. The Pathway Plan should set out the 'ground rules' of the household as well as the areas of responsibility that all parties to the arrangement are expected to fulfil. Many of these will be an extension of the expectations on them when they were a foster child. This will cover arrangements such as:

• Preparation for adulthood and independence tasks;
• Finance, including young people having credit cards, loan agreements and mobile phone contracts registered at the address;
• Income and benefit claims;
• Friends and partners visiting and staying at the address;
• Staying away for nights/weekends and informing carers of movements;
• Education, training and employment activities;
• Health arrangements;
• Move-on arrangements;
• Issues related to younger foster care children in the placement, i.e. safeguarding, being a positive role model and time-keeping.

It should be assessed from the outset how the arrangement will help the young person develop the skills required for independent living once they move on. They should be  supported to continue to develop a range of skills including:

• Relationships - getting on with neighbours; understanding acceptable behaviour; when and how to communicate with relevant professionals;
• Emotional Resilience - managing isolation and where to go for support. Building self-esteem;
• Finance and budgeting - opening a bank account, safe borrowing and managing debt, understanding basic financial products, benefits and welfare reform; budgeting for priority bills, household appliances and everyday shopping on a budget;
• Cooking - cooking healthily and on a budget; understanding nutrition and its impact on overall health;
• Managing a home - washing and ironing, cleaning, basic DIY, operating appliances and what is allowed within a tenancy; and
• Education and training – accessing and engaging with  education and training to support career planning.

Applying for jobs - understanding strengths and areas for personal development; developing job skills, understanding job/volunteering pathways and support available; understanding bursaries and other financial support; where to go for advice; understanding the impact of work on benefits and the amount they will be expected to contribute to the arrangement

Following the young person's 18th birthday, the legal basis on which they occupy the property (former foster home) changes (the legal term is that the young person becomes an 'excluded licensee' lodging in the home) - this should not denote that the young person will be treated differently than they were as a fostered child. In addition, the carer may also become, and be deemed, the young person's landlord/landlady.

The associated change from foster child to adult member of the household, and for the carer from foster carer to Staying Put carer, (technically the young person's landlord) should be carefully and sensitively planned in order to ensure that both young people and the carer/s understand the nature of the arrangement and that the positive aspects of being in foster care are not diminished by the new legal and financial arrangements and terminology.

While Fostering Regulations will no longer legally apply to these arrangements, key standards should continue to govern the expectations of the placement when the young person reaches 18.

These should include in all cases but particularly in cases where there are no foster children living in the carer's home:

• A written set of standards and expectations that make explicit and clear what the implications of the change from being Looked After to being in a Staying Put arrangement, including what the young person and the carer can reasonably expect of each other and of the local authority;
• A system for reviewing and approving the Staying Put arrangement and carer/s to ensure that the arrangement complies with local authority expectations;
• Safeguarding and risk assessment checks on household members and in certain circumstances regular visitors;
• Health and safety requirements (as a minimum this should comply with landlord and licensee/tenant requirements);
• Regular supervision and support, possibly, from their fostering supervising social worker; and
• Opportunities to attend appropriate training.

The Local Authority will need to assess individual circumstances and consider the appropriateness of all of these checks particularly where the young person is the only person placed/living with their carer/s and it is not envisaged that further children will be placed. In circumstances where it is clear that the carer will not be fostering any further children, it may be deemed appropriate to terminate their approval as a foster carer. In situations where it is possible that they may foster again in the future, it would be inappropriate to terminate their approval, given the length of time that re-approval would take. Where a foster carer's approval is terminated, it will be necessary to ensure that the Staying Put arrangement continues to meet appropriate standards.

Safeguarding arrangements will need to be sufficient, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on over 18 year olds and issues relating to fostered children in households. Where foster children are in placement, the foster carers will need to be returned to the fostering panel due to a change in circumstances as the child/young person Staying Put will have reached adulthood and become an adult member of the fostering household. As such, they will require a valid DBS check. To ensure that the check (and possible subsequent risk assessment) is completed by the child/young person's eighteenth birthday the process will need to commence in sufficient time. Surrey County Council will be responsible for ensuring all Staying Put former foster carer(s) have an up-to-date DBS check. Any adult safeguarding concerns must be referred to Surrey County Council’s adult safeguarding service in line with the Surrey safeguarding adult board procedures.

Surrey County Council will be responsible for all payments made to the Staying Put carer. The fee payable to the Staying Put carer will be dependent on the amount agreed with the local authority at the time and such payments will commence directly following the end of fostering payments to avoid financial difficulties. It is expected that Independent Fostering Agency foster carers(s) will be paid at the same rate as Surrey foster carer(s) in line with what is documented within this policy.  Surrey County Council do not commit to Independent Fostering Agency rates for Staying Put accommodation arrangements.

The payments to the Staying Put carer (to be reviewed in 24/36 months unless a change of guidance/legislation requires this to be completed earlier) will therefore be made up in conjunction with funding from: 

• Surrey County Council support fee £284.31;
• Rent £70.00;
• Contribution from the young person towards food - negotiable £20.00.

All carers that receive a Staying Put payment have a duty to inform the local authority of any changes in circumstances.

Payments may vary in some circumstances, some of these are outlined below:

• If a young person is studying or training within a full-time education course or apprenticeship after they turn 18-years old, the full fostering payment will be granted from their 18th birthday until the end of the academic year (31st August) while they are still studying. Agreement for the fostering rate to continue past 18 years of age should be decided on a case-by-case basis. Young people who remain in education will claim universal credit from the end of the academic year in which they turn 18. Young people will then contribute £20.00 towards food, should they wish for this to be provided to them by their Staying Put carer, and £70.00 towards rent from their universal credit funding. Where a young person decides against completing their course of education or training, the fostering payment will cease, and the Staying Put carer will be paid Staying Put fees;
• If a young person is attending university and returning during holiday periods, the Staying Put carer will be paid the standard rate, and rent, for the time that the young person stays with them during the holidays. During term time, whilst the young person is away the Staying Put carer will receive £70 per week from the LA;
• Some young people may wish to attend a local university and therefore may choose to remain in their Staying Put accommodation. In these cases, the Staying Put accommodation provider support element will be paid all year. However, the young person will be required to pay towards their rent during term times through their student loan(s). Surrey County Council will pay the rent element during the holiday period and all other allowances will be paid to higher education students that are supported through the Care Leavers Service.

In situations where a young person does not pay their rent, either by not making the required payment or by not claiming Housing Benefit (unless otherwise agreed), they may be subject to an eviction process.  

In all situations where a young person owes 4 weeks rental contribution, a network meeting will be called. The network meeting will decide on the action required by the young person to address the rental arrears. Young people will be given every opportunity to repay any arrears and eviction will only take place as a last resort in situations of rental arrears

The Staying Put arrangement extends until:

• The young person leaves the Staying Put arrangement;
  or
• The young person reaches their twenty-first birthday, or if they choose to leave the household;or
• The young person reaches twenty-five if they are in full time education, an apprenticeship or equivalent training that commenced before their twenty-first birthday.

The Staying Put arrangement can end by either the young person or the Staying Put carer by providing 14-days’ notice. A planning meeting should be held to prepare for the young person’s transition into new accommodation. 

The local authority will want to ensure that the end of a Staying Put' arrangement is not another 'cliff edge' for the young person but a gradual transition to independent living. Procedures should be agreed at the outset about how any wish by the carer to bring the arrangement to an end should be managed. The social worker/personal adviser should discuss with the young person their transition from such an arrangement to another type of accommodation and agree the type of support the young person will require. These arrangements should be developed alongside joint protocols with the housing authority, setting out how access to social housing and care leavers 'priority need' status will be discharged.

Should the young person wish to remain with the Staying Put carer after they turn 21 or 25 if in full-time education, an apprenticeship or equivalent training, it will become a private arrangement between them, and no funding will be provided by Surrey County Council. 

An excluded licensee can be asked to leave the property by the Staying Put carer, who must give 'reasonable notice'. In extreme circumstances it may be considered reasonable for the carer to give very short notice and ask the young person to leave on the same day.

If a young person in a Staying Put arrangement dies up to and including the age of 24, notifications should be made in accordance with the procedure on Death or Serious Injury to a Child, Looked After, Child in Need or Care Leaver Up to and Including the Age of 24.