Foster care and child placement under care orders
Dear Sir or Madam,
Under the FOI act could you please tell me out of all the children taken into Foster care or adoption by the Dorset Social services under care orders between 2000 and 2009 how many of them have been placed with family members as a priority before fostering as the law clearly states under the Children act?
Could you also state how many foster homes and carers are private companies and how much does it cost for a child to be placed into a Foster home per year. Some receipt of costs would be also sought.
Yours faithfully,
Ian King.
We acknowledge receipt of your request for information.
This will now be passed to the relevant area(s) of the authority and a
response sent within 20 working days.
If for any reason we cannot respond in full within 20 days, we will let you
know.
"This e-mail is intended for the named addressee(s) only and may contain information about individuals or other sensitive information and should be handled accordingly. Unless you are the named addressee (or authorised to receive it for the addressee) you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you have received this email in error, kindly disregard the content of the message and notify the sender immediately. Please be aware that all email may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation."
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Dear Sir or Madam,
Could you explain your reasons for not complying with the request in the legal time frame?
Yours faithfully,
Ian King
Dear Mr King
I am writing further to your email below. I apologise for the delay in
replying.
The best analysis we can provide (and this is not a standard process) is as
follows :
(Embedded image moved to file: pic15205.jpg)
This shows the number of young people taken into care under care orders and
the number placed with a relative or friend (the nearest category to
'family friends' that we record). There will be some repetition of the
same individual from year to year. Although data has been transferred when
computer systems have changed (2008) some code changes have complicated
matters. In order to determine and match dates regarding when placements
are made would entail examination of individual case files which would
exceed our FOI fees limit (37 hours) - see link below.
As to the costs of a foster placement (this is very generalised) are you
asking about 'true costs' which include administration time, social work
time etc. as that varies a lot, or simply the fees and allowances? In the
meantime, about 10% of children are placed via agencies or children's
homes. There are currently 267 LA foster carers. In passing, the request
has required a deal of interpretation and that has raised questions about
the validity of the premise regarding the law.
http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?ar...
If you are not completely satisfied with my response, please contact me
again, or write to the complaints officer at: Dorset County Council, County
Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XJ. Or you can follow the
complaints procedure that can be found on our website www.dorsetforyou.com
at http://212.104.140.176/index.jsp?article... If your appeal is
not resolved to your satisfaction, you have the right to apply to the
Information Commissioner for a decision.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Team
Dorset County Council
Ian King
<request-21464-df
107c16@whatdothey To
know.com> FOI requests at Dorset County
Council <[Dorset County Council request email]>
20/10/2009 22:46 cc
Subject
Freedom of Information request -
Foster care and child placement
under care orders
Dear Sir or Madam,
Under the FOI act could you please tell me out of all the children
taken into Foster care or adoption by the Dorset Social services
under care orders between 2000 and 2009 how many of them have been
placed with family members as a priority before fostering as the
law clearly states under the Children act?
Could you also state how many foster homes and carers are private
companies and how much does it cost for a child to be placed into a
Foster home per year. Some receipt of costs would be also sought.
Yours faithfully,
Ian King.
Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for the information supplied which I find to be disturbing as to why such a small percentage of children under care orders are placed with family members considering this is a pre-requisite of the children act and the PLO 2009 welfare check-list is anyone's guess?
My main question other than this is how many care homes are within the D.C.C boundry. I do not mean couples in a private homes fostering a single child but actual multi-occupancy Foster homes that would be registered with company house and inland revenue. I would like the details if any, of how many and their locations so I can ascertain who may have vested interest in them.
It has been found by Citizens in other districts that members of Social care teams have been allegedly shown to have financial vested interests in Care homes, and as such may explain the reason why so many children are used to "stock" this high value and very profitable business that can generate up to £42,000 per year, per child, instead of being placed with the family.
I wish to investigate this matter further to find if any member of the D.C.C has any interest what so ever in any care home, financial or otherwise.
Yours faithfully,
Ian King
We acknowledge receipt of your request for information.
This will now be passed to the relevant area(s) of the authority and a
response sent within 20 working days.
If for any reason we cannot respond in full within 20 days, we will let you
know.
"This e-mail is intended for the named addressee(s) only and may contain information about individuals or other sensitive information and should be handled accordingly. Unless you are the named addressee (or authorised to receive it for the addressee) you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you have received this email in error, kindly disregard the content of the message and notify the sender immediately. Please be aware that all email may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation."
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Dear Dorset County Council,
As always LONG overdue , while your there maybe you could look at my DPA request subitted just after this which has STILL not been completed and the info returned so far is a JOKE.
Yours faithfully,
Ian King
Dear Dorset County Council,
I have still not received the FULL request made here or the more extensive Data act request submitted in Person at County Hall in Dorchester last OCTOBER!
Mr Richard Drax candidate M.P is now investigating the matter on my behalf, the few sheets of A4 you returned is a joke given that I have had numerous dealings and complaints with the DCC from planning applications to housing to child court cases. I have speciafically asked for every item attributable to a DPA request from the Social Services especially as they have clearly broken the law and breached the HRA and civil law with regards ot my children and Me. One can only conclude a cover up and trashing of such evidence now ensues.
Yours faithfully,
Ian King
Ian King
We acknowledge receipt of your request for information.
This will now be passed to the relevant area(s) of the authority and a
response sent within 20 working days.
If for any reason we cannot respond in full within 20 days, we will let you
know.
"This e-mail is intended for the named addressee(s) only and may contain information about individuals or other sensitive information and should be handled accordingly. Unless you are the named addressee (or authorised to receive it for the addressee) you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you have received this email in error, kindly disregard the content of the message and notify the sender immediately. Please be aware that all email may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation."
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Dear Mr King
I am writing further to your email below.
I am taking it that your request relates to independent providers of foster
care within Dorset, as opposed to foster carers who have been approved
through Dorset's Fostering Panel and are Local Authority foster carers.
Unfortunately we do not keep information on independent providers who have
foster placements which are located within Dorset's boundaries.
We do make limited use of independent fostering providers, and are
currently using 8 different providers for the placement of children within
Dorset's care. Only two of those placements are within Dorset's boundaries,
and are located in Weymouth (National Fostering Agency) and Blandford
(Enhanced Foster Care). The other agencies currently in use provide
placements which are located in Authorities outside Dorset. Those
organisations and the location of the placement(s) are: Blue Sky Fostering
(Poole); TACT (Kent); Foster Care Associates (Cornwall, Poole,
Bournemouth); Five Rivers (Poole); Integrated Fostering (Devon); and
Fosterplus (Gloucester). These and other independent providers may also
have foster carers within Dorset's boundaries, but as indicated previously
we do not hold information about this.
To the best of my knowledge no member of Dorset County Council staff or
Member has a financial interest in any of these organisations. However I
would not know that for certain unless the person in question had declared
their interest.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Team
Dorset County Council
Ian King
<request-21464-df
107c16@whatdothey To
know.com> [Dorset County Council request email]
cc
25/11/2009 13:13
Subject
Re: Freedom of Information request
- Foster care and child placement
under care orders
Thank you for the information supplied which I find to be
disturbing as to why such a small percentage of children under care
orders are placed with family members considering this is a
pre-requisite of the children act and the PLO 2009 welfare
check-list is anyone's guess?
My main question other than this is how many care homes are within
the D.C.C boundry. I do not mean couples in a private homes
fostering a single child but actual multi-occupancy Foster homes
that would be registered with company house and inland revenue. I
would like the details if any, of how many and their locations so I
can ascertain who may have vested interest in them.
It has been found by Citizens in other districts that members of
Social care teams have been allegedly shown to have financial
vested interests in Care homes, and as such may explain the reason
why so many children are used to "stock" this high value and very
profitable business that can generate up to £42,000 per year, per
child, instead of being placed with the family.
I wish to investigate this matter further to find if any member of
the D.C.C has any interest what so ever in any care home, financial
or otherwise.
Yours faithfully,
Ian King
Dear Dorset County Council,
Thank you for finally getting back to me with that, albeit grossly past it's time period. I am a little concerned at your statement which reads.
"Unfortunately we do not keep information on independent providers who have foster placements which are located within Dorset's boundaries."
Surely ANY fostering of ANY kind would require significant Police checks, legal requirments, registration and documentation of great detail whether it be Husband and Wife fosterers or corporate Fosterers? Could you please explain this statment further are you saying that there are people fostering children in Dorset and no fully detailed records are kept about them and thier inner workings?
Yours faithfully,
Ian King
We acknowledge receipt of your request for information.
This will now be passed to the relevant area(s) of the authority and a
response sent within 20 working days.
If for any reason we cannot respond in full within 20 days, we will let you
know.
"This e-mail is intended for the named addressee(s) only and may contain information about individuals or other sensitive information and should be handled accordingly. Unless you are the named addressee (or authorised to receive it for the addressee) you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you have received this email in error, kindly disregard the content of the message and notify the sender immediately. Please be aware that all email may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation."
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Dear Mr King
Thank you for your email.
In answer to your question, the independent providers referred to are
independent fostering agencies. They are not necessarily based in Dorset,
but they may have recruited foster carers who live in Dorset. They operate
their own recruitment, assessment and approval processes via their own
Fostering Panel, undertake their own statutory checks, maintain their own
records and are inspected by Ofsted. Local Authorities are not responsible
for these independent agencies.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Team
Dorset County Council
Ian King
<request-21464-df
107c16@whatdothey To
know.com> [Dorset County Council request email]
cc
01/02/2010 16:12
Subject
Re: Freedom of Information request
- Foster care and child placement
under care orders
Dear Dorset County Council,
Thank you for finally getting back to me with that, albeit grossly
past it's time period. I am a little concerned at your statement
which reads.
"Unfortunately we do not keep information on independent providers
who have foster placements which are located within Dorset's
boundaries."
Surely ANY fostering of ANY kind would require significant Police
checks, legal requirments, registration and documentation of great
detail whether it be Husband and Wife fosterers or corporate
Fosterers? Could you please explain this statment further are you
saying that there are people fostering children in Dorset and no
fully detailed records are kept about them and thier inner
workings?
Yours faithfully,
Ian King
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Ian King left an annotation ()
To add further I would also like to know the following, if it cannot be included in this request I shall make another. Please advise:
What is the Dorset County Councils Local PSA adoption and placement target figures?
What value is the payments made to date under local PSAs
Local authority Amount of 'reward grant' paid to the DCC under this.
Also I request the details of every Foster home in Dorset that is registered as a company or for taxation purposes as a business (not including individual citizens/Couples who Foster) ie. Foster homes etc.
I request their individual identities for the purposes of referencing them with Company House records as part of an investigation that is in the public interest.