- Request
-
Who in the Lincoln (LA) deals with referrals and placements for children's social care?
1. Who commissions foster placements?
2. Are there currently any frameworks in that Lincoln? If so, when are they up for renewal and what is the process.
3. What is their urgent need in foster placements i.e. teenagers, families with two adults, those was can care for children with complex needs etc. Where are there gaps with their current providers?
4. How many foster children are you currently responsible for?
5. What Independent Fostering Agency's (IFA) do you currently work with?
- Decision
-
Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) Children's Services Directorate, Children's Strategic Commissioning Team working with social care teams.
1. LCC Children's Services Directorate, Children's Strategic Commissioning Team working with social care teams. For independent placements with external Providers- Amy Allcock, Commissioning Manager, Children's Strategic Commissioning Team, Lincolnshire County Council.
2. Lincolnshire County Council operate an Open Select List for the commissioning of independent placements for children and young people. Providers are invited to join the list on an annual basis in the summer period via ProContract. Providers on the list will receive referrals in the first instance, prior to circulation to the wider market. Being accepted onto that Open Select List does not guarantee a Provider any business as all referrals are subject to the mini-competition procurement process.
3. There is a national issue with sufficiency in the IFA market in general which makes placing any children challenging at this time, however LCC find it particularly challenging to find IFAs with capacity to support older children and young people, teenagers, those with complex needs or distressed behaviours. Within the Council the priority need for placements relate to sibling groups, permanence and older young people.
4. 64 (this includes 49 mainstream placements, one parent and child placement and 14 Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC)) children and young people are currently placed with an IFA as of 19/12/2022 - There are 520 in in house foster placements.
5. As of 19/12/2022, LCC have live foster placements with the following IFAs:
- Affinity Fostering
- ALL4U Fostering Ltd
- Banya
- By The Bridge
- Compass Fostering
- Connect Fostering
- Family First Fostering
- Foster Care Associates
- Foster Plus
- Fostering Connections
- Fostering People
- Fostering Solutions
- Greater London Fostering
- Jay Fostering (NFA)
- Lika Family Fostering
- National Fostering Agency
- New Life Fostering
- Safe Base Fostering Ltd
- Shining Stars fostering
- Silver Lining Fostering Agency
- St Christophers Fellowship
- Star Fostering
- Swiis Foster Care
- The CFT
- Reference number
- 5707753
- Date request received
- 9 December 2022
- Date of decision
- 6 January 2023