MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS TO BECOME A FAMILY LINK CARER
What is the Family Link Scheme?
Part of the Disabled Children’s Service. Aim to link disabled children with link carers to give them regular planned short breaks in the carers home
How does a child access the scheme?
Via Social worker and short breaks panel. Current assessment of care submitted to panel who agree best type of support needed to meet child’s needs
Who are the Family Link Carers?
Ordinary members of the public who offer their time and commitment and have an interest in supporting disabled children. Single, couples with or without children – all have interest in supporting disabled children.
How are Family Link Carers recruited?
In a variety of ways. Via current Link Carers, Posters / leaflet or responded to an advert or recruitment event. Or may have experience of disabled children.
Do prospective Link Carers have to be assessed?
YES. Comprehensive assessment taking up to 8 months including CRB checks, medicals, references and witness statements – in exactly the same way full time foster carers. Once completed the application is considered by the foster panel – who approve and oversee all Family link carers.
What training will I have?
Health & Safety First Aid Manual Handling. Opportunity to complete to update and develop skills and knowledge
Specific training based on child’s individual needs – epilepsy, autism etc.
How do Link Carers find out about the needs of the child?
A comprehensive assessment undertaken of the child. Likes/Dislikes, routines, communication and mobility.
BEFORE a child is linked – meeting arranged for link carers to meet the child and their family. Then introductory visits to get to know each other. In child’s or carers home.
How many introductory visits will there be?
There are no set number – agreed between everyone and depends on the child.
Who makes the arrangement for the child stays?
To start with the Family Link Social Worker will co-ordinate between you and child’s carers. Once link established – usually made between families and link carers.
Will we be able to meet the child before he/she stays with us on their own?
YES. Only after intro visits are satisfactory and everyone is happy will the child stay.
Can a child stay for daycare only?
YES. Maybe because are unable to offer overnight stays or because the child’s assessed needs are day care only.
Will the link arrangement be reviewed?
Reviewed regularly during introductory process – at least once and then every 6 months
Do Family Link Carers get paid?
The day is split into six hour sessions. Link carers receive a session fee of £7.40 for each six hour session completed or part six hour session completed. Sessions starts when a child arrives at the link carers home and ends when the child is black in the care of the child’s family. The session fee is to cover time spent with the child. An amenity fee of £38.55 once a week to reimburse Link Carers for their expenses incurred and is to cover activities, travelling expenses, cost of link families entrance fees eg cinema.
Do Link Carers pay for the child’s entrance fees or meals, drinks when the child is out and about with the Link Carers?
NO. The child should have their own money for activities, drinks, meals, entrance fees when out and about. The exact amount needed will depend on what they child will be doing during the stay.
How will the child get to and from our home?
It is the child’s parents responsibility to transport their child to and from the Link Carers house. However, many Link Carers agree to share this – negotiation
Is there a limit to the number of days the child can stay?
YES. The maximum number of days / time a child can have under the scheme is specified on the child’s care plan. In addition when the child is linked to a Link Carer a placement agreement is completed which will detail the number of days agreed with the specific Link Carers, the scheme and the child’s carers.
What happens if the family ask us for extra days?
Any request for additional days / support must be made directly by the child’s carers to the child’s social worker. If this is agreed your Scheme Link worker would then discuss this with you on an individual basis.
If the family contacts you direct you should ask them to contact the social worker and tell them you cannot agree to this yourself.
If you agree to provide extra support, you must obtain the agreement of the child’s social
worker before the child stays.
Sometime circumstances change after a placement has been established. If this occurs the Family Link Social worker will discuss this with you.
When the child stays what will they need to bring?
· Enough clothes to cover the stay
· Enough money to pay for outings, activities etc
· A sufficient no of pads (if required) to cover the child’s stay
· Special toy to sleep or play with
· Favourite video / book
· Car sear and / or other items of equipment that the child needs
What will happen if the child needs any special equipment?
This would normally be brought with the child when they come to stay. Additionally the scheme can purchase specific small items of equipment on an individual basis if this is needed that can be loaned to Link Carer.
What about insurance?
The scheme automatically covers all family Link Carers under a Public Liability Insurance policy and legal expenses to cover all carers in relation to the placement of a child. Link Carers need to ensure that they have comprehensive home insurance policy. If you transport the child you will also have to have comprehensive motor insurance that covers you for business use. You should also inform your insurer that you are an approved foster carer. We will re-imburse you any additional costs.
What will happen if the Link doesn’t seem to be working very well?
Every placement is reviewed regularly and will be monitored by the Family Link Social Worker. The main purpose of the review is to check if everything is working well and if not to look if there needs to be changes. An early meeting can be called if there are concerns
What does the Family Link Social Worker do?
Their role is to oversee the link and provide support to the Link Carers. The child will have their own Social Worker.
Will I have to sign any forms?
YES. Whenever the child stays with yourselves: you and the child’s family will need to complete an expense sheet to confirm the time and date that the child arrived and went home.
If I have a comments, compliment or complaint who can I go to?
Your Family Link Social Worker or if you wish you can make a formal comment, compliment or complain.
If I want any other information on the scheme who can I contact?
You may contact the Family Link Team 01443 827046 – Martin Elliott
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Experiences of Family Link from the child's, family and carers point of view - true life
Toby Morrison is 12. He lives in North London with his older brother and sister (Josh and Kate) and his parents who are both GPs. He has hydrocephalus, hemiplegia, a visual impairment and complex epilepsy. He also has semantic pragmatic disorder (which means he has difficulties with some aspects of language and understanding) and learning disabilities. Despite these disabilities Toby is a bright, funny and engaging child. He comes from a musical family and plays a special left-handed trumpet. He loves football, playing on his playstation and is passionate about Tottenham Hotspur. For Over 4 years he has been linked to short break carer Fanny Howard who he visits on a weekly basis.
Although Toby's health has greatly improved in recent years there have been times when he was
seriously and sometimes dangerously ill which has put enormous pressure on him and his family.
Toby's condition meant that before being linked with Fanny, Sue and her husband Richard hadn't had a night out or a day off in ten years. Toby's mother Sue Morrison says; “Toby is very isolated and that means we don't meet parents of other children so we don't meet people who would have the confidence to take him. He has been rushed into intensive care so many times and it is really scary. I hate it when he has seizures, so it was difficult to ask someone else to take that risk. And for us to feel confident they could manage to give him the medication because
there is a risk of further brain damage."
Sue remembers the first time she and her husband Richard had time off; ((We dropped Toby off and went to an art gallery and it was just absolutely fantastic. We felt like we had been released from prison. I know he has got as good care with Fanny as he has with us, probably better because she has children his own age. They have great rows and everything! The breaks also mean they can spend quality time with their other children. "Because Toby doesn't go anywhere and needs guiding in everything weekends are normally all about him. Now we can have an ordinary weekend _ the
house is Kate and Josh 's for a while and they can relax. lust being able to watch the TV without
him asking questions all the time - it is a break for them too."
In addition to his health problems Toby, like many disabled children suffers from isolation and lacks
confidence 'and social skills in his dealings with other adults and children. Sue says,
“A lot of children don't want to play with him because he is different. School hasn't been easy. So
he doesn't have a group of friends, he doesn't go anywhere and he goes to a special school out of
borough so there is no-one he sees regularly. JJ It was a Health Visitor who suggested a short break
carer might be the right kind of support- Toby and his family needed. Sue says, ((They couldn't find
anyone for at least 2 years because in those days he was more difficult to look after - he had lots of seizures, he had challenging behavior and would throw temper tantrums. Being linked with Fanny
has just been one of those things from heaven. It has developed his confidence and independence
and improved his life skills in ways we could not have dreamed of"
Toby spends time with Fanny and her children Tom (16) and Hannah (11). Toby says; “ like going
there despite the fact that Fanny has two very ARSENAL mad children called Tom and Hannah!
Even though me and Tom support opposite teams we have got common interests like we chat about the premiership and how are teams are doing. Tom is interested in the same game as me too”.
Fanny enjoys Toby's visits. She says; "We do lots of things. When he was younger he used to watch some of Hannah 's videos because he is quite young for his age and I remember he particularly liked Funny Bones - and Duplo and still does occasionally and he would make the most fantastic models and he would get all the toys cars out and we go to the shops, we play with Transformers”
Toby has also been able to take part in one of Fanny's interests - the Woodcraft Folk. Toby describes it as being “a bit like Scouts but not so mad on badges” - We talk about what we have done in our week and then we do an activity or just hang out. We play memory games or find out what something is in another language." Toby has even been on a few overnight camps which he has really enjoyed and is part of the equipment committee. Sue says; “Woodcraft Folk has been fantastic. It is the first group of able bodied children he has been in and this had given him a peer group. It is not easy for him to meet people - so socially it has made a big difference to him."
In fact Sue puts down a lot of Toby' s improved health, well being and happiness to short breaks and his widened social circle and as well as the reduction in stress in the family. She says, "I do feel that a lot of his health problems were to do with the complete frustration he felt. Because he is bright enough to know what he can't do and bright enough to know that kids don't want to play with him. He is so friendly but he is different. For Toby it is a break from us and Fanny is another adult who he can feel completely safe with because he used to say “it is good you are doctors because I know as long as I am always with you I will be okay'. It is very important for him to trust another adult."
Fanny herself is a special needs teacher. Fanny really enjoys Toby's company. ((He fits in so well- it has just been really, really good. Toby is light relief after the kids I work with and also sometimes easier to look after than my own children. He is such an easy kid. We have lovely conversations. Inthe ride from his house to here we just sit and chat - I do enjoy his company- he will chat away. Sometimes I feel guilty because I think Toby is relatively easy and I know there are lots of families who need help but -I am in my fifties, I am older now and it is hard work. But I feel this just works as both families get on so well together - we have become friends."
The two families seemed to click from the start. Sue says, "We didn't know what to expect but we arranged to meet up and it was just amazing. She was a special needs teacher so had all that background, she had children on either side of Toby. She was really easy to talk to, she made it so easy and she was so welcoming to Toby and we had this experience of no-one wanting to know him _ well it was just extraordinary and without sounding too sentimental;- it was just a real change in all our lives from then on."
Although,Fanny says that becoming a short break carer is not something you can take on lightly - she says it has had a positive impact on her life. "He is a brilliant child to have because I feel I am doing something for him but it is not too taxing for me. I was very aware he didn't have much of a social life and I really wanted it to work - I wanted his self esteem to get better. It has been lovely to see how Toby has improved. I have valued seeing him grown up, becoming more confident. I just feel this is a very small thing to do to help families. With a little effort to have made such a difference to a disabled child and their family is incredible really."
Sue agrees; "It has been lifesaver for our family. You couldn't buy this. I know it sounds a bit over the top but I think that for Toby this may be the single most important thing that has ever happened
to him."
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Recently Rhondda Cynon Taff Council released a new recruitment DVD to aid recruitment of foster carers
BETHANY
Hello, my name is Bethany. I am 17 years old and my family have been short break carers for 10 years with the Rhondda Cynon Taff Link Scheme.
We have been short break carers for as long as I can remember really as I was only 7 years old when we started. The first child to come to our house was a boy who was interested in wrestling, Pokemen, action men and all that boy's stuff, so he got on really well with my brother. But after a year we met Tom.
Although I was disappointed at first because I wanted a girl to play with me, but despite him being another boy Tom and I hit it off straight away and now we get on really well. Tom always seems pleased to see me which gives me a good feeling. He comes to see me in my school concerts and other music productions, he comes to archaeology club, he knows my friends and joins in our family parties. He's just around.
I think its good being part of the short break scheme as I like helping not just Tom but Emily, Holly and Alison. It's not always easy doing things like shopping, having your hair done and stuff like that as Tom isn't very good at waiting. So when Tom's with us the rest of the family can catch up. But I also like hanging out with Tom as he is really funny and good company
So even though doing the DVD and having all of you looking at me is really embarrassing, I’m glad that you are trying to get more people to join short break scheme
KEN
Hello everyone.
My name is Ken, and myself and my family have been short break carers for about 10 years now. We first heard about the service from a colleague of my wife Siobhen when our own children, Bethany and Aled were 7 and 5. Although I certainly did not expect it to lead to me standing in the Sennedd building talking to you....
We began our involvement with the short break scheme in Rhondda Cynon Taff by developing a link with a boy, then 6 years old, with physical disabilities and then a year later we were introduced to Tom who has been part of our lives ever since.
Throughout these nine years we have had the pleasure of seeing Tom grow from a small boy into a great young man and to become part of not only our household but part of our extended family too. We have also enjoyed seeing how well his sisters Emily and Holly are getting along in their lives and the care they show in supporting their brother.
Tom has a real zest for life and even on those days which begin with us less than enthusiastic, a few minutes in his company is usually enough to give us a lift, as you can tell form the DVD. Tom has brought us fun, affection and a great deal of laughter plus the satisfaction of witnessing his many achievements. Even after all this time he still surprises us with a new word or skill.
Our children Bethany and Aled have undoubtedly benefited too. When they were younger time that could have been spent on domestic chores, odd jobs, or not very much at all, was instead spent on activities and outings. They have learnt just because you have a disability doesn't mean you can't be friends.
So we had no hesitation at all in supporting the new DVD, which we hope will convey to others just how positive an experience Short Break Schemes are for everyone involved. So our thanks to Rhondda Cynon Taff Family Link Scheme, and to the Shared Care Network. And thanks to Tom of course and his Mum, Alison and Dad Chris and sisters Holly and Emily for letting us be part of their lives.
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The Assessment Process
1. The assessment is based upon a series of competencies i.e. areas where evidence can be gathered to show abilities to look after a disabled child. This, along with all that follows is guided by Foster Care regulations and standards.
2. Basic details are required regarding your current circumstances. This is part 1 of the assessment form.
3. Details significant events in you life will be asked for. This is something you could work on separately from my visits.
4. Checks have to be completed. Some checks are required for all applicants and some are applicable to individual circumstances. Examples of checks are: Criminal Records Bureau Checks, Medical Questionnaires, Local Authority Checks, NSPCC checks, Employment verification, etc.
5. To compliment these checks, it will be necessary to provide the assessor with sight of a number of documents; again this will depend upon individual circumstances. The type of documents to be shown include a passport, a birth certificate, driving licence, documents with proof of address, and so on.
6. The second part of the assessment is concerned with factual information about you and your family. It looks at your own upbringing, your approach to education and work. In addition to the factual information, the assessor will be interested in your approach to looking after children, to your feelings about race, gender and something about what you consider to be important in life (your value system.
7. It is likely that you will be asked to write something about yourself; about your upbringing, your approach and attitudes to various things. Guidance notes are available.
8. All prospective Family Link Carers are expected to take part in Preparation Training before being approved as carers. This can either take part in a group setting or individually, depending on the numbers of applicants being assessed at a given time.
9. When the process is completed, the assessment will be presented to a panel of people, with expertise in Fostering Health or Childcare. The person who has undertaken the assessment makes a recommendation to the panel.
10. Each assessment can be seen as a process between assessor and applicants. No two assessments proceed in exactly the same way. There will be ample opportunities to ask questions and explore ideas during the process. Applicants are not expected to have all the answers but do need to be able to demonstrate a willingness to learn and work with the Local Authority. Although this is a lengthy exercise, it is fundamentally important that, at the end of it, all concerned are confident that children receive a positive experience and are safe in their link placement.