News

A leaflet campaign outlining councils' and private foster carers' legal responsibilities is not "far-reaching" enough, according to the British Agency for Adoption and Fostering.

The Department of Health launched the campaign this month following concerns that many local authorities and private foster carers were failing to adhere to regulations set out in the Children Act 1989.

Under the act, local authorities must make home visits to the child, observe the overall standard of care and offer advice where needed. Private foster carers must notify their local authority six weeks in advance of a placement and when the child leaves their care.

But the leaflet highlights the current lack of awareness and enforcement of regulations by both carers and councils. It says that half of all private foster carers fail to notify local authorities about placement arrangements, and that even then reported placements are considered by councils to be a low priority, with little time allocated to inspecting them.

Describing private fostering as a "potential minefield", BAAF chief executive Felicity Collier said: "We're very glad that attention has been drawn to this issue. But it is not far-reaching enough and we are not convinced that there will be any more elements to the campaign."

She called for the implementation of measures outlined in the 1998 Utting report, which recommended it become a criminal offence to look after a child for more than 28 days without informing the local authority. The government rejected his proposals.

The leaflet, which will be distributed nationally, urges education, health and social care sector professionals to be more aware of private fostering and to be more proactive in identifying local councils of private fostering arrangements. Around 10,000 children, many of whom are aged under five, are in private placements.