Support care national network FAQs
Will providing a Support Care service reduce the numbers of children in the Looked After system?
Will children and young people need be accommodated under section 20?
Where should the service be positioned? As part of fostering services or within family support services?
In practice, most Support Care schemes have been, or are being, developed within fostering services. Quite a few however have been based within family support sectors. Questions useful to consider before deciding where to locate the service (which really does have a foot in both camps) might be: Where is senior management commitment strongest? Which individual, team or department has the greatest energy and enthusiasm for an innovation of this kind?
Many Support Care schemes/services have experienced moves between both sectors. Whatever is decided, it is important that robust links are maintained between sectors, so that fostering expertise and response to family needs combine to achieve successful service delivery.
