Can teenagers in foster care stay in touch with their birth families?

Contact arrangements for a teenager in foster care can take several forms, including face-to-face visits, telephone calls, video calls, letters or contact through an agreed intermediary. The arrangement should reflect the young person’s relationships, wishes, care plan and safety needs rather than follow a standard pattern for every placement.

Birth family may include parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents or other relatives. Maintaining these relationships can help a teenager understand their identity and history, but contact also needs to be manageable and emotionally safe. Some young people may want frequent contact, while others may need time, distance or a more limited form of communication.

The social worker normally coordinates contact with the young person, their birth family and foster carer. The care plan should set out practical details such as:

• who the teenager will have contact with;
• how often contact will take place and for how long;
• whether it will be supervised, supported or unsupervised;
• where meetings will happen and who will arrange transport;
• whether telephone, online or written contact is permitted;
• what information can be shared between the teenager and their birth family; and
• what should happen if a visit is cancelled or becomes unsuitable.

In some cases, contact is subject to a court order. A court may set requirements about whether contact should take place, who can attend and what safeguards are needed. Where there is no court direction, the local authority still has to assess what arrangements best protect the teenager and promote their welfare. Foster carers should follow the agreed plan and ask the supervising social worker or the teenager’s social worker before making significant changes.

Supervision may be used where professionals need to observe contact, support communication or manage a particular risk. This does not necessarily mean that a relationship cannot develop, but it can provide structure while arrangements are being assessed. Contact may take place at a family centre, another agreed venue or in the community, depending on the care plan.

A teenager’s views are important. Their wishes should be listened to in an age-appropriate way, although they may not be the only factor in the decision. Professionals also consider the teenager’s emotional and physical safety, previous experiences, the behaviour of family members, the likelihood of pressure or distress, and whether contact supports the aims of the placement.

Contact can sometimes bring mixed emotions. A teenager may look forward to seeing their family but feel unsettled afterwards, or may change their mind about what they want. Foster carers can help by discussing arrangements without taking sides, preparing the teenager for visits, offering a calm opportunity to talk afterwards and recording any concerns factually. They should avoid criticising birth family members or promising that contact will happen in a particular way.

Online contact needs careful boundaries. Social media accounts, messaging apps, location sharing and photographs can create privacy and safeguarding issues. The care plan or supervising professionals may provide guidance about which platforms can be used, whether devices can be taken to visits and what information should remain private. Foster carers should not share the teenager’s images, address, school details or other personal information without the appropriate agreement.

Arrangements are reviewed when circumstances change. This might include a move to a different placement, a change in court direction, concerns about a family member’s behaviour, repeated missed visits, a change in the teenager’s wishes or evidence that contact is affecting their wellbeing. Contact can sometimes be increased, reduced, changed to indirect communication or paused while professionals reassess the situation. Any restriction should be explained to the teenager as clearly as possible.

Foster carers are expected to support safe, agreed contact, but they are not responsible for negotiating arrangements alone. Training and ongoing guidance can help carers understand their role, manage difficult feelings around visits and share concerns appropriately. If a teenager appears frightened, is being pressured to keep secrets, receives unsuitable messages or returns from contact distressed, the foster carer should report this promptly to the relevant social worker and follow the safeguarding advice provided.