Placement Team

1. Placement Team

The Placement Team is now fully staffed and overseeing all placements for looked after children. The Placement Team Manager is Sandy Pickup.

2. Commissioning Panel

The Looked After Childrens Commissioning Panel now meets every week on a Wednesday morning at 9am.

The purpose of the Panel is to approve all funding for placements, review placements and ensure best value for money is being achieved.

How the Commissioning Panel will work:

• A request for approval of a placement will be made on the Placement Request Form via the Placement Team.
• The child/young person's Social Worker/Personal Advisor  will be asked to attend the Commissioning Panel when requesting a placement
• If approved by Panel, the placement and funding will be agreed for a time limited period and will have an end date.
• Social Workers/Personal Advisors  will be given a date when the placement will be reviewed by the Commissioning Panel (a date before the previous funding approval ends) and you will be asked to submit a Placement Review Form to the Commissioning Panel Administrator: S&SPManagementAdmin@kirklees.gov.uk
• The Commissioning Panel will then review the placement; look at what the Social Worker/Personal Advisor is requesting for example continuation of a placement or request for an alternative placement. If appropriate, further funding will be agreed.

3. Requesting a Placement

All requests for any type of placement for a Looked after Child/Young Person now need to go to the Placement Team on a Placement Request Form.

If the young person is found a placement with an in house foster carer or in "in house" residential care the Placement Service will liase with the allocated worker to arrange for this placement to commence.

These placement requests do not need to go to the Commissioning Panel for approval. 

The Placement Team will refer placement requests for the following type of placements to the weekly Commissioning Panel for funding approval and put them into the reviewing process. No placement will be made without prior approval from the Commissioning Panel.

• Agency Foster Care for Short Term Foster Placements
• Agreement to seek a Long Term Foster Placement via Agency Foster Carers
• External Residential Care
• Mother and Baby Residential Assessments
• Semi Independence Placements – Supported accommodation, Supported tenancy, Supported Lodgings, Outreach Support
• Any request for a continuation of funding for a placement for a young person after their 18th Birthday.

4. Placement Strategy

Placements will be sourced based on young people needs. The table below is the pathway the Placement Team will follow to source placement options by age group:

5. Agency Foster Care /White Rose Contracts

When we started the new contract for Agency Foster Placement in December 2012 there were some important changes to what is included in the weekly price we pay which are listed below.

It appears that in some cases Kirklees Council are still being asked to arrange and fund some of the things set out below.

The following costs are included in the weekly agency price and will NOT be funded by Kirklees Council:

Transport

• Transport to School - in all cases, the Agency or their carer are expected to fund and organise home to school transport for the children placed with them. This means Kirklees Council will not arrange or fund home to school transport for children in Agency placements.

• Mileage – the weekly fee covers 200 miles per child per week, additional mileage fees will only be approved if the foster carer goes over the weekly 200 miles.

Clothing

• All clothing is included in the weekly fee. No additional costs will be paid for new school uniforms etc.

Contact

• Where it is risk assessed as appropriate, the Agency Foster Carers will supervise 2 contact sessions per week at an agreed location not the Kirklees Council Contact Team.

Reduced Notice Periods

1. 1 days notice if the child has been in placement for 7 days or less.
2. 7 days notice if the child has been in placement for more than 7 days but less than 12 weeks.
3. 14 days notice if the child has been in placement for more than 12 weeks