How is family contact arranged during emergency foster care?

Family contact in an emergency placement is organised as part of the child’s wider care and safeguarding plan. The child’s social worker, usually in consultation with the child, birth parents, foster carers and other professionals, decides what contact is appropriate and records the arrangements clearly.

The starting point is the child’s welfare. The social worker considers the child’s age, understanding, wishes and feelings, relationships with family members, reasons for the placement, known risks and any information available about previous contact. A child may need contact with parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents or another significant person, but each relationship is considered separately rather than assuming the same arrangement will suit everyone.

Emergency decisions may initially be based on limited information. The first plan can therefore be cautious and practical while professionals establish the circumstances. It should be revisited when further details are known, when the child’s behaviour or emotional response becomes clearer, or when a court or local authority makes a formal decision. Changes should be explained to the child in language they can understand.

Contact arrangements can include different levels of supervision. For example, a family meeting may take place with a social worker or another approved adult present where there are safeguarding concerns, uncertainty about the circumstances, or a need to help the child feel secure. In other situations, contact may take place without direct supervision, subject to the agreed plan and any restrictions. The supervising adult’s role is to observe, support and report relevant concerns; it is not to take sides or make informal changes to the plan.

The plan should set out practical details, including:

• who the child is expected to see and who may attend;
• where contact will take place and whether transport is arranged;
• how long the session is expected to last and how often it should occur;
• whether contact is face to face, by telephone, video or another agreed method;
• who supervises or supports the contact;
• what information can be shared about the child; and
• what to do if someone is late, does not attend, becomes distressed or raises a safeguarding concern.

Foster carers are responsible for helping the child follow the agreed arrangements, preparing them beforehand and offering reassurance afterwards. They may need to help the child gather belongings, remember agreed information or manage feelings following a visit. They should not promise a particular outcome, question the child in a way that could influence what they say, or arrange additional meetings privately with family members.

Birth family members should use the social worker or the nominated contact professional if they need to ask for a change. Foster carers should also pass on observations, such as a child becoming unusually anxious before contact, having difficulty settling afterwards, or sharing information that suggests a risk. These observations are important, but decisions about changing contact remain with the responsible professionals unless an immediate safeguarding issue requires urgent action.

Contact may sometimes need to be postponed, shortened or changed. A child’s illness, significant distress, new safeguarding information, a family member’s conduct or a legal direction may affect the plan. A missed session should not automatically be treated as the child’s fault or as a reason to end family relationships. Professionals should consider how to explain the change and whether another safe form of contact is suitable.

Foster carers should keep information about the child and their family confidential. Details such as the foster home address, school arrangements, telephone numbers and private family circumstances should not be shared unless the social worker has confirmed that this is appropriate. Any photographs, messages or online contact should be managed in line with the child’s plan and safeguarding guidance.

Where a child is old enough to express a view, their wishes and feelings should be taken seriously, even though they may not be the only factor in the decision. Some children want frequent contact, while others may feel worried, conflicted or not ready. The purpose is to maintain safe and meaningful relationships without placing responsibility for adult decisions on the child.

Before accepting an emergency placement, a prospective foster carer can ask who will coordinate contact, what is currently known about the arrangements, whether transport or supervision is expected from the carer, and how concerns should be reported. The available information may be incomplete at first, but the agreed plan and any subsequent changes should be communicated to everyone who needs to follow it.