Who is accountable for the advice given to foster carers?

Accountability depends on the type of advice being given and the decision it supports. In practice, the fostering agency is responsible for the quality and governance of the guidance it provides to foster carers, while individual professionals remain accountable for advice within their professional role. The local authority responsible for the child remains accountable for statutory decisions about the child’s care, placement and legal arrangements.

These responsibilities should be clear rather than left for a foster carer to work out. Advice should identify whether it is:

• general guidance about fostering practice, agency procedures or safer caring;
• a recommendation based on the child’s assessed needs and care plan;
• a decision made under the local authority’s legal or statutory responsibilities; or
• professional advice from a social worker, health professional, education professional, therapist or safeguarding specialist.

The fostering agency is accountable for the advice it gives as part of its fostering service. This includes ensuring that foster carers receive appropriate information, training, supervision and access to people with the right expertise. The agency should have clear procedures for safer caring, safeguarding, recording, delegated authority, allegations, complaints and escalation. Managers are responsible for checking that these procedures are applied consistently and that advice is reviewed when the circumstances of a child or placement change.

A supervising social worker will often be the main person helping a foster carer understand how agency expectations apply in day-to-day practice. However, the supervising social worker does not personally carry responsibility for every decision connected with a child. Their role may include explaining policy, helping the carer assess a situation, communicating with other professionals and taking concerns to a manager. Where an issue is complex, disputed or outside their authority, it should be referred to the appropriate manager or specialist rather than treated as an informal personal opinion.

The child’s social worker and local authority retain responsibility for decisions made under the child’s care plan. This can include decisions about contact, education, health arrangements, family time, placement planning and other matters for which the local authority has authority. A fostering agency can help interpret how those decisions affect the foster home, but it cannot replace the local authority’s decision-making role. The child’s care plan, placement plan and any agreed delegated authority should therefore be checked when advice appears to conflict.

Other professionals are accountable for advice within their own area of expertise. For example, a health professional is responsible for clinical guidance, while an education professional is responsible for advice connected with education provision. Their advice may inform the placement plan, but it does not automatically change the legal status of a decision or give a foster carer authority that has not been delegated.

Foster carers are responsible for following reasonable instructions, recording what happens and raising concerns when guidance is unclear. This does not mean that a foster carer becomes responsible for a decision they were not authorised to make. Carers should ask who has made a decision, what information it is based on, whether it is recorded in the child’s plan and what action is expected of them. They should avoid relying on an informal conversation where the issue could affect safeguarding, contact, medication, restrictions, missing episodes or the child’s welfare.

When advice is unclear or appears inconsistent, a foster carer can use a structured process:

• Write down the advice, including who gave it, when it was given and what action was requested.
• Check the relevant placement plan, care plan, safer-caring agreement, agency policy or delegated-authority arrangement.
• Ask the person giving the advice to explain its purpose, limits and the decision-maker responsible for it.
• Raise the matter with the supervising social worker or their manager if clarification is needed.
• Ask for the agreed position to be confirmed in writing and recorded in the appropriate record.
• Use the agency’s complaints or escalation procedure if the issue remains unresolved.

Safeguarding concerns require a different approach. A foster carer should follow the relevant safeguarding procedure and report the concern to the designated professional or safeguarding lead identified by the agency and local authority. If the concern involves a member of the fostering service, the child’s social worker or another professional, the carer should ask for an alternative route for reporting it. Advice should never instruct a carer to conceal a concern, alter a record or delay a necessary safeguarding referral.

Accountability also includes explaining the basis for advice and correcting errors. A responsible service should be able to distinguish between established policy, professional judgement, information still being checked and a decision that must be made by another organisation. If guidance changes, the agency and relevant professionals should communicate the updated position, explain how it affects the placement and ensure that records and plans reflect the change.

Where a foster carer disagrees with advice, disagreement does not by itself mean that the advice is unsafe or unlawful. The important issue is whether the carer can identify the decision-maker, understand the reasoning, and use an appropriate review or complaints route. Concerns should be raised promptly and factually, with attention to the child’s welfare rather than personal disagreement. Independent support, an advocate or legal advice may also be appropriate where the issue involves a formal dispute, an allegation, a safeguarding investigation or a significant impact on the child or foster carer.

At Become a Foster Family, questions about responsibility should be directed to the relevant supervising social worker or manager, who can clarify which organisation or professional owns the decision and how it should be recorded. The key principle is that foster carers should not have to accept unexplained instructions: advice should be identifiable, proportionate, within the adviser’s authority and open to appropriate review.