Councils Face Fostering Legal Risks

More than half of UK foster carers believe they have are not given sufficient information by local authorities to care for children safely, a leading charity has warned. Such shortcomings may expose local authorities to legal claims. The Fostering Network survey found in some of the most serious cases as many as 36% of cases local authorities were asking foster families to look after children they were not legally approved to look after.

The charity’s survey also found that 51% of foster carers had less information on children put in their care over the last three years than they thought was safe or appropriate. In around one third of cases foster families were not even told about a child’s medical needs.

While just under 70% said they were not told enough about the child’s general behaviour. The charity warns that this not only creates a risk for the child, but also for the foster parents. The charity added: “Court rulings, such as the Essex judgments in 1998 and 2000 reinforce the legal responsibility that local authorities have to fully inform foster carers about the children in their care.”