My Placement may be Breaking Down

Disruption Meetings

Placements ending in an unplanned way nearly always leave all those concerned feeling bad. Your Supervising Social Worker will want to work with you to make sure that everything is done to support you with children and young people living with you and to manage difficulties.

When you are struggling, use your support mechanisms to help you to find a way forward.

However, not all foster care placements work out. Disruption is the word used to describe a placement, which ends before it was supposed to.

A disruption can also happen occur when Children’s Social Care feel the placement is no longer meeting the child’s needs or you decide that you are no longer able to care for a child or the child decides they do not want to stay in the placement.

It is vital that for whatever reason the placement ended, you make the move for the child as positive as possible.

A Disruption Meeting may be arranged by the child's social worker.

Who may attend:

• You.
• The child.
• Your Supervising Social Worker and their Manager.
• The child’s social worker and their Manager.
• The proposed carer.
• Independent Reviewing Officer.
•  Any other relevant people. 

The Chair of the meeting should ensure the circumstances that lead to the disruption are reviewed, and that everyone has the opportunity to express their views in order to find out:

• How and why the disruption happened.
• To learn from what happened and avoid the same thing happening again - for the child/others in your home.
• To contribute to the future planning for the child.
• To identify work to be done and who will do it.

The Chair will make sure minutes are sent to all those involved. The report of the Disruption Meeting may be presented to the fostering panel.

A Looked After Review should also be arranged.

A review may be held to look at your approval terms.