Foster Carers Standards of Care

​​​Request 858003778

Please provide the following recorded information held by Children, Young People, Education and Skills, including Children’s Social Care and the Government of Jersey Fostering Service: 

1. The current policy, procedure, protocol or guidance governing Standard of Care concerns, processes or investigations involving approved foster carers. 

2. Any previous versions of those documents that were in force between 1 January 2023 and the date of this request. 

3. Any related operational guidance, flowcharts, checklists, terms-of-reference templates, investigation-plan templates, report templates, decision-making frameworks or standard correspondence. 

4. Any recorded guidance concerning: 

* when a Standard of Care process should be commenced; 

* how and when foster carers must be notified; 

* what information must be provided to foster carers; 

* investigation timescales and permitted extensions; 

* the gathering and assessment of evidence; 

* opportunities for foster carers to respond; 

* representation or support available to foster carers; 

* the sharing of draft and final reports; 

* management oversight and approval; 

* possible findings or outcomes; 

* referrals to the Fostering Panel; 

* review, appeal and complaint routes; and 

* communication with social workers, independent reviewing officers and other professionals during the process. 

5. The records-retention schedules applying to: 

* foster-carer files and supervision records; 

* complaints, concerns and allegations involving foster carers; 

* Standard of Care investigation records; 

* draft reports, working papers and investigation notes; 

* emails and Microsoft Teams messages concerning foster carers; and 

* Fostering Panel records.

6. The job title of the person or body responsible for approving the current Standard of Care policy, together with the date it was approved. 

7. Any recorded service standards, target timescales or performance measures concerning the completion of Standard of Care investigations and the issuing of reports. 

Please provide the information electronically and in its original format where reasonably practicable. Where a document has been superseded, please identify the dates during which it was in force.

Response

1. Policy governing Standard of Care is in the process of being drafted therefore Article 35 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 is applied.

2. Please see response to question 1. There are no previous versions of this Policy. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 is applied.

3. Please find the Standards of Care Investigation template in Attachment 1.

FOI 858003778 Attachment 1.pdf​

There are currently no operational guidance, flowcharts, checklists, terms-of-reference templates, report templates, decision-making frameworks or standard correspondence documents. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 is applied.

4. Policy governing Standard of Care is in the process of being drafted therefore Article 35 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 is applied.

5. Information in relation to retention of records is published on the Government of Jersey website and is publicly available. Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 is applied. The link is as follows: https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Education/ID%20Children%27s%20Social%20Care%20Retention%20Schedule%20FINAL%2020220712AW.pdf​

6. All policies relating to Children’s Social Care are passed through the Senior Leadership Team and signed off by the policy panel chaired by the Head of Service for Standards and Quality Service.

7. Policy governing Standard of Care is in the process of being drafted therefore Article 35 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 is applied.

Articles Applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a) it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b) it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.

Article 35 - Formulation and development of policies

Information is qualified exempt information if it relates to the formulation or development of any proposed policy by a public authority.

Public Interest Test

Article 35 is a qualified exemption and, as such, CYPES has conducted a public interest test as required by law.

CYPES has assessed whether, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in supplying the information is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption.

Public interest considerations favouring disclosure:

• disclosure of information would support transparency and promote accountability to the general public.

• disclosure of information provides confirmation that appropriate consultation and necessary discussions have taken place

• disclosure to the public fulfils an educative role about the early stages in policy development and illustrates how Government departments engage with parties for this purpose

Public interest considerations favouring maintaining the exemption:

• Sharing views is important to ensure that all relevant considerations are taken into account in developing and implementing policy; in order to best develop policy, Officers and Ministers need a safe space within which free and frank discussion can take place, where officials and subject-matter experts may provide advice about the possible impact of proposed policy, and where Ministers and officials are able to test proposed policies in a comprehensive way.

• Without the above, the ability of officials to consider and develop policy away from external pressures, and to advise Ministers appropriately would likely be impacted.

• Whilst the need for this safe space is considered at its greatest during the live stages of a policy, the use of the exemption can be supported if it preserves sufficient freedom during the policy formulation phase to explore options without that process being hampered by some expectation of future publication.

• Disclosure of this information may limit the willingness of parties to provide their honest views and feedback in future. This would hamper and harm the policy-making process, not only in relation to this subject area, but in respect of future policy development across other areas of Department and Government business. • Other processes which will impact upon the final policy content are currently still in progress and must be concluded before the policy in development can be agreed.

It is recognised that there is a public interest in transparency. However, having considered the public interest, CYPES has concluded that the public interest in disclosing this information is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption.​