Children’s Social Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Guidance

The Welsh Government has published guidance on
how children’s social care providers can change their services to support young
people during COVID-19. It is aimed at local authorities, adoption services,
fostering services and providers of care homes for children. It covers issues
including:

  • Social care workforce – social worker registration, PPE, testing for COVID-19
  • Maintaining contact – with vulnerable families and with children, Initial child protection conferences, initial/subsequent core group meetings and care, support and protection plans, contact with foster carers, court ordered contact and ongoing proceedings, contact with babies/ birth mothers
  • Care and support plans, pathway plans and reviews
  • Fostering – what happens to foster children if foster carers are self-isolating or become ill, changes to regulations related to fostering panels, foster care approval terms, additional payments to foster carers.
  • Children’s residential homes – use of unregistered provision
  • Adoption – introductory meetings for children with new adopted parents, compliance with regulations, adoption panels, visits to children and families, preparation and training for adopters, support for adoptive families
  • Care leavers – how local authorities can meet their responsibilities, personal advisors, transition to independent living
  • Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) – increasing capacity for UASC self-isolation, legal responsibility for UASC
  • Care Inspectorate Wales
  • Support for vulnerable children in education settings
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