These FAQs are to support The Fostering Network’s freely available resource, Allegations, Concerns and Complaints – Information for Foster Carers and those who support them.
Why is there such a focus on children in investigating allegations against foster carers?
Safeguarding children in the UK is underpinned[KT1] by legislation. The Children Act 1989, and equivalent legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland, enshrine the paramountcy principle that the welfare of the child is paramount (Children Act, 1989, Part[KT2] 1) in any decision made about their life.
Three fifths of children in care in the UK are living in fostering families where they can benefit from nurturing, loving family environments, where their trauma can be understood and where they can be protected. As foster carers you are central to supporting and significantly improving outcomes for children every day.
Regrettably, we know that for some children, this is not their experience. Some children are subject to harm and in some tragic cases, some have lost their lives (Safeguarding Children living with Foster Carers, Adopters and Special Guardians: Learning from case reviews 2007–2019). It is for this reason that those responsible for safeguarding and child protection have to think the unthinkable to protect children from harm.
Why do allegations against foster carers happen?
You have a key, and often unique, role in protecting the children you look after through your relationship with them. We know that foster carers, in common with others involved in children’s social care, can have complaints, concerns, and allegations being made against you. This can be stressful and upsetting when you are doing your very best for the children in your care. It is always important that you seek support if this happens.
As a foster carer your role is categorised as a ‘position of trust’ and local authorities have a duty to investigate any concerns, complaints or allegations that are raised.
What is the difference between complaints, concerns and allegations?
Complaint – a complaint can be defined as an expression of dissatisfaction, provided verbally or in writing.
Concern – a concern is different to an allegation as it is not deemed to meet the criteria for safeguarding procedures to apply. In fostering when concerns are raised, they are sometimes referred to as care standards or quality of care concerns. They can relate directly to the quality of care the children receive, or, they can relate to a foster carer not meeting the regulatory requirements expected of them as an approved foster carer.
Allegation – an allegation is determined by the following criteria:
It is deemed that a person working with children…
- Has behaved in a way that has harmed or may have harmed a child/ren;
- May have committed a criminal offence against the child/ren or that has had a direct impact on the child/ren;
- Has behaved towards a child/ren in a way that indicates they are unsuitable to work with children, or, pose a risk of harm to children.
What happens when a complaint, concern or allegation is made against me?
Your fostering service should have clear policies for managing complaints, concerns and allegations, the assessment or investigation of which will be undertaken from within your fostering service.
When an allegation is raised, your fostering service has a legal duty to report to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) or Designated Officer for Safeguarding (DOS) but the duty to investigate sits with the children’s social work team. This is under Section 47 Children Act 1989 in England and Wales and contained in The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 or Section 66 The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. The initial stage of safeguarding investigations focuses on gathering evidence to understand what harm, if any, may have been caused or is likely to be.
The key aim is to ensure the safety and protection of the child and is not about your suitability to foster. This can sometimes result in children being moved from your care. This can be worrying and frightening and it can feel as if you have been left to deal with this on your own. It is really important that your service offers you independent support, that you have a support network in place and an agreement with your agency as to who will provide you with emotional support.
What are the outcomes that could be reached following an allegation against me?
The outcome is categorised as below:
- Substantiated – means that there is evidence that the allegation has been proven.
- Unsubstantiated – means that there is insufficient identifiable evidence to prove or disprove the allegation.
- Unfounded – means there is evidence to disprove the allegation.
Why does this process leave me feeling like I am being guilty until proven innocent?
Foster carers often report that experiencing an allegations investigation can leave them feeling disempowered, like they are ‘guilty until proven innocent’. Legislation to protect children requires that all allegations are investigated but this process can mean foster carers feel that their experience and reputation are brought into question while they await the outcome of the investigation. This lack of a sense of agency is why it is essential that your service provides you with independent support to help you understand the process and to ensure you are receiving whatever emotional support you need while this investigation continues.
The investigation does not seek to determine innocence or guilt but whether the allegation is unfounded, unsubstantiated or substantiated. Innocence and guilt are terms only used in a court of law. An allegation will be investigated under safeguarding procedures and an outcome reached but even where this is substantiated, it does not necessarily mean that a foster carer can no longer foster.
When there is no evidence to prove an allegation, why is the outcome often still classed as unsubstantiated?
Unsubstantiated allegation outcomes can be particularly difficult for foster carers to accept and can leave them feeling judged and that ‘their record has been damaged’.
Whilst it should never be automatically assumed a foster carer has harmed a child, equally in the context of a safeguarding investigation with an unsubstantiated outcome, an assumption can never also be made that a foster carer has not harmed a child.
The emphasis is on protection of children and whether there is a likelihood that this may occur again and the subsequent discussions that take place to support foster carers and children.
What happens when an outcome is reached?
Once the safeguarding procedures have concluded, a review of fostering approval will then be undertaken by your fostering service. This will also consider what is needed to protect and support both you and the child.
What are the key recommendations of the new Allegations Toolkit?
The Allegations Toolkit recognises that the experience of an allegation is one of the most difficult aspects of foster care and can have far reaching consequences for the foster carer and the child/ren involved. It aims to make this process more people centred, transparent and supportive through advocating practitioners approach this process in a way that ensures responses to complaints, concerns and allegations against foster carers are proportionate, foster carers are supported, and children are safe.
The toolkit recommends:
- Creating an Allegations Plan with the foster carer at the start of your fostering journey which is reviewed regularly to ensure you know who will support you should you experience an allegation.
- Holding a ‘Threshold meeting’ when any concern is raised to give practitioners the opportunity to discuss the matter with the LADO or Designated Safeguarding Officer/Lead and agree a proportionate response. The aim of this is to prevent escalation to implementing safeguarding procedures where criteria is not met or issues can be dealt with and resolved at the earliest opportunity.
- That as a foster carer you are treated fairly and supported emotionally and financially, as is the case with others in children’s social care who are in positions of trust. You should have access to legal advice and support when you need it.
- The use of the term ‘Malicious’ outcome is removed. This follows NSPCC guidance “Why Language Matters: Why you should avoid labelling allegations as malicious”(May 2023) arising from the Serious Case Review (The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel: Child Protection in England: National review into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson 2022) of the murder of Star Hobson.
- A post outcome planning meeting is held with your fostering team manager, supervising social worker, child’s social worker, child’s team manager, Independent reviewing officer and any other participant deemed necessary. This is to analyse findings from the concluded investigation and make a recommendation in relation to the foster carer’s continued suitability to foster following a substantiated or unsubstantiated outcome. The level of detailed analysis required for this meeting has the potential to lead to more positive outcomes for foster carers.
- A foster carer resolution meeting is held between you, the children’s social care team and the fostering service as an opportunity for everyone to reflect, learn and identify changes that would be helpful.
- A child’s resolution meeting is held at the end of the process to support the relationship and help the child to understand what has happened and not feel shame or blame.