Safeguarding Children from Abroad by Emma Kelly Farhat Bokhari

Author:Emma Kelly, Farhat Bokhari [Emma Kelly, Farhat Bokhari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Social Work, Health & Well Being, Medical
ISBN: 9781846428944
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Published: 2009-01-15T05:00:00+00:00

Identifying privately fostered children

In order to carry out the statutory safeguarding assessments and follow-up visits, children’s services must first be aware that a private fostering arrangement exists, or is proposed. According to the law, parents or private foster carers must notify the authorities in advance of any arrangement. However, our research revealed that this very rarely happens in practice. Rather, the vast majority of known private fostering arrangements are ‘discovered’ by practitioners rather than notified by the parties involved. It is thus assumed that an even larger number of such arrangements must remain unknown to the authorities; and the children living in such circumstances should be considered – until confirmed otherwise – to be vulnerable and potentially at risk.

One (benign) reason for the under-notification of private fostering arrangements is undoubtedly widespread ignorance about private fostering and the duty to notify. Such ignorance is endemic both among the general public (including those actually or potentially entering into such arrangements) and, perhaps more worryingly, among professionals who routinely come into contact with children and families through the course of their work. Thus some children are missing out on safeguarding checks and possible support simply because the adults in their lives do not recognise or understand the term ‘private fostering’.

Of greater concern is that some arrangements are being hidden from the authorities. There may be various reasons for this, including a generalised distrust of statutory agencies (which in itself may be a result of negative experiences in their home countries or in the UK), because they actually ‘have something to hide’ (e.g. the arrangement is a cover for trafficking, exploitation or abuse) or because they themselves are fearful victims of human trafficking. While actual numbers of concealed arrangements are unknown, it is likely – for the reasons outlined above – that a high proportion of these hidden private fostering arrangements are those involving children from abroad.

Somewhere in between these two extremes lie situations in which individuals may have some awareness of private fostering law, but do not proactively inform the local authority. This may arise from a lack of understanding between the individuals and agencies involved. Within some cultures, where it is acceptable for children to be cared for by distant relatives or people unrelated to them, the need for local authority ‘interference’ is not always comprehended.

Nor is a lack of knowledge and confidence necessarily confined to the parents and carers involved in private fostering arrangements. Practitioners can be equally reluctant to get involved. When carrying out our research, we heard reports of teachers who were unwilling to enquire closely about the relationship between a child and carer for fear of being accused of racism, and of social workers who failed to fully challenge or probe when investigating possible private fostering arrangements out of ‘respect’ for cultural traditions. Nevertheless, some local authorities have had considerable success in gaining the trust and cooperation of their local communities, leading to increasing numbers of direct notifications of private fostering arrangements of children whose parents are abroad.

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