terms of maintaining links with their family and their sense of identity. It can also be problematic, especially when birth families are rejecting or unreliable. Social workers need to manage the complex emotional needs of children, birth families and carers when planning contact. Foster carers have a crucial role to play in supporting contact and they need to be supported to do this by their social worker. Relationships with people who care for and about children are the thread’ in ‘golden children’s lives and the quality of a child’s relationships is the lens through which we should view what we do and what we plan to do. (Source unknown) Things to consider when setting up contact: What is the purpose of contact? What sort of contact direct, indirect, supervised or supported? – Who should attend contact and how would this help achieve the identified purpose? Where should contact take place? If it does need to be supervised, by whom? What should happen / not happen during contact? When should it be increased? When should it be reduced? When should it be stopped, if at all? Things to consider when reviewing contact plans: What is working well? What are we worried about? What are the views, wishes and feelings of the child, parents and significant others about contact? What are the observations of the foster carer? What is the impact of contact on the child? In what ways are the contact arrangements beneficial to the child? What is the outcome of any assessments being undertaken for example parenting assessments or sibling together or apart assessments? How does this shape the child’s care plan and contact? Is the contact suitable? Does the frequency of contact need to be increased or reduced? What are the perceived benefits of future contact and/or reunification? What are the emotional Are there any other significant relatives who need to be included in contact plans? If contact is disruptive to a child’s routine, and emotional welfare is the current upset to the child manageable in the interests of their longer-term well-being? If so, what support can be put in place?
terms of maintaining links with their family and their sense of identity. It can also be problematic, especially when birth families are rejecting or unreliable. Social workers need to manage the complex emotional needs of children, birth families and carers when planning contact. Foster carers have a crucial role to play in supporting contact and they need to be supported to do this by their social worker. Relationships with people who care for and about children are the ‘golden thread’ in children’s lives and the quality of a child’s relationships is the lens through which we should view what we do and what we plan to do. (Source unknown) Things to consider when setting up contact: What is the purpose of contact? What sort of contact – direct, indirect, supervised or supported? Who should attend contact and how would this help achieve the identified purpose? Where should contact take place? If it does need to be supervised, by whom? What should happen / not happen during contact? When should it be increased? When should it be reduced? When should it be stopped, if at all? Things to consider when reviewing contact plans: What is working well? What are we worried about? What are the views, wishes and feelings of the child, parents and significant others about contact? What are the observations of the foster carer? What is the impact of contact on the child? In what ways are the contact arrangements beneficial to the child? What is the outcome of any assessments being undertaken for example parenting assessments or sibling together or apart assessments? How does this shape the child’s care plan and contact? Is the contact suitable? Does the frequency of contact need to be increased or reduced? What are the perceived benefits of future contact and/or reunification? What are the emotional Are there any other significant relatives who need to be included in contact plans? If contact is disruptive to a child’s routine, and emotional welfare is the current upset to the child manageable in the interests of their longer-term well-being? If so, what support can be put in place?
TX391%20Practice%20note%20on%20Contact.docx