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Backdated fostering money refused
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 5:10 pm
by Lilbill11
Good evening,
Long story cut short but here goes -
I will call my brother A to protect his identity.
Back in June my mum passed away suddenly leaving behind a 15 year old son, at the hospital i took my brother back to my house as he had no where else to go (dad never met him)
a week after my mum passed i phoned social services to let them know that A was at my house and i was unsure what to do. i explained the situation and they bluntly told me this was a private arrangement and they was unable to help me.
I was taken back by the response and asked for someone to visit us as it didn't sit right with me that no support was been offered to us. A has additional needs and a life limiting illness so needs a lot of care. I have two children myself and work full time, I phoned social services various times over the next month because i just needed some support i was in a bad place mentally and another mouth to feed/care for was getting me into debt.
I came across the family rights group and swatted up on my rights and used the template to write an official complaint, the complaint was upheld and myself and my partner are now working our way through the fostering assessment. The fostering team are really happy with us and things are running smoothly, they have agreed on paying us £385 a week and have now payed us two payments. this is great and i really appreciate this, A has also signed himself over as a looked after child to enable him to be entitled to more things such as bursaries. what i don't get is why wasn't this agreed to begin with? why do we have to fight for everything to be heard? so frustrating.
Anyways part of my complaint letter stated that i want to be backdated from the day A came to stay with us as now the local authority have agreed it was not a private arrangement it was in fact a emergency arrangement. I have resent my complaint letter and highlighted this bit of the letter. i have had a response saying they will not backdate payments under no circumstances because they have agreed to my other points in the letter. it seems crazy they agree to everything else but the main factor of my complaint?
the IRO was horrified at how hard i was having to fight for everything and actually said sorry in A first CLAR review.
i have escalated the complaint the stage 2 but will that be enough? i honestly are so cross at the system.
Has anyone else been through this and could anyone help me out?
Regards a very stressed sister.
Re: Backdated fostering money refused
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 6:53 pm
by Robin D
I need to be brief as going out. Short and long of it is that I doubt you will get anywhere until stage 3 so yes you need to go to stage 2. I also suggest you contact your local councillor, you will find details on the LA website. Ask them to intervene. I would also contact your MP. Google find my MP.
If you get rejected at Stage 2, then go straight to Stage 3. Only after that can you contact the local government ombudsman.
I know it's stressful.
Best wishes to you, your husband and all the children.
Re: Backdated fostering money refused
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2024 5:23 pm
by Lilbill11
Thanks for this, i have just had a email confirming a level two escalation and i will have to meet a independent officer to discuss my concerns. The thought of that makes me feel sick but i think it is a good thing to meet me and hear my concerns in person as they can get a feel for me and maybe feel the stress of fighting everything, the system is so blooming annoying.
Thanks,
LB
Re: Backdated fostering money refused
Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2024 9:58 am
by Suzie, FRG Adviser
Lilbill11 wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2024 5:10 pm
Good evening,
Long story cut short but here goes -
I will call my brother A to protect his identity.
Back in June my mum passed away suddenly leaving behind a 15 year old son, at the hospital i took my brother back to my house as he had no where else to go (dad never met him)
a week after my mum passed i phoned social services to let them know that A was at my house and i was unsure what to do. i explained the situation and they bluntly told me this was a private arrangement and they was unable to help me.
I was taken back by the response and asked for someone to visit us as it didn't sit right with me that no support was been offered to us. A has additional needs and a life limiting illness so needs a lot of care. I have two children myself and work full time, I phoned social services various times over the next month because i just needed some support i was in a bad place mentally and another mouth to feed/care for was getting me into debt.
I came across the family rights group and swatted up on my rights and used the template to write an official complaint, the complaint was upheld and myself and my partner are now working our way through the fostering assessment. The fostering team are really happy with us and things are running smoothly, they have agreed on paying us £385 a week and have now payed us two payments. this is great and i really appreciate this, A has also signed himself over as a looked after child to enable him to be entitled to more things such as bursaries. what i don't get is why wasn't this agreed to begin with? why do we have to fight for everything to be heard? so frustrating.
Anyways part of my complaint letter stated that i want to be backdated from the day A came to stay with us as now the local authority have agreed it was not a private arrangement it was in fact a emergency arrangement. I have resent my complaint letter and highlighted this bit of the letter. i have had a response saying they will not backdate payments under no circumstances because they have agreed to my other points in the letter. it seems crazy they agree to everything else but the main factor of my complaint?
the IRO was horrified at how hard i was having to fight for everything and actually said sorry in A first CLAR review.
i have escalated the complaint the stage 2 but will that be enough? i honestly are so cross at the system.
Has anyone else been through this and could anyone help me out?
Regards a very stressed sister.
Dear Lilbill11,
Welcome to the Kinship carers’ forum and thank you for your post. I hope that the following advice and information is helpful to you.
I am sorry to hear that you have had to fight so hard to for a fostering assessment and for your brother to be recognised as a looked after child. It is really positive to hear that you have started receiving a fostering allowance but I appreciate how frustrating it now is for you to have to fight further for the payments to be backdated. As Robin D has advised, I would suggest that you escalate your complaint as far as is needed. You say that you have escalated up to stage 2 – if this is not successful then I would advise you to escalate up to stage 3 and on to the
local government ombudsman if necessary. You are more likely to be successful if you escalate your complaint. It might be helpful for you to read our information
HERE about the formal complaint stages.
It is also possible to take your complaint outside of children’s services. Again, as Robin D has suggested you could contact your local councillor or MP. You can find further information
HERE about complaining beyond children’s services.
Please let us know if you have any further questions or need advice as you go through this process. I hope that this is resolved quickly for you.
Best wishes,
Suzie
Re: Backdated fostering money refused
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2024 8:53 am
by Lilbill11
Thanks, I am in contact with the local mp and have a meeting in regards to the complaint in a weeks time.
Have you any advice with what I should say in this meeting regards the money?
Re: Backdated fostering money refused
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2024 1:23 pm
by Robin D
If you are asked, (you may not be, they may just run through a few points with you) just briefly outline how you have got to this point ending with the statement that their decision is both irrational and fundamentally unfair.
I've had to go to at least two stage 3 complaints over the years with two authorities. I have always found the lead independent person on the panel really understanding, non-judgemental and helpful during their fact finding session and never actually met the rest of the panel but all parts of my complaints were upheld. To be fair, one was very complex and went back a long way, so it took 18 months for the independent investigator to complete his investigation, write a report and then put it to rest of the panel.
Hopefully your situation is a little simpler, but I really hope you get the same sort of response.
Meantime, you still have all the children to concentrate on. It's worth explaining to the investigator/panel the impact this is having on the whole family. I wish you well.
Re: Backdated fostering money refused
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2024 12:16 pm
by Suzie, FRG Adviser
Lilbill11 wrote: Sun Nov 10, 2024 8:53 am
Thanks, I am in contact with the local mp and have a meeting in regards to the complaint in a weeks time.
Have you any advice with what I should say in this meeting regards the money?
Dear Lilbill11
Thank you for your further post to provide an update in respect of your complaint.
It is great that you are now due to have a meeting having escalated your complaint to stage 2. Robin has shared with you his experience regarding complaints and given you useful pointers regarding your forthcoming meeting.
I would simply add that in the meeting you express your dissatisfaction with the process and the initial failure to ensure your brother received the support needed as required by statutory guidance. You may find it helpful to look at
template letter 5 on our website in Top Tips and templates which I think will help you in putting your case for backdated payment. The letter relates to a challenge where children’s services is treating a situation as a private arrangement although they are now treating your brother as a looked after child. Since it was an emergency and there was no agreement with a parent or other person with parental responsibility it could not be a private arrangement at the outset.
I suggest, as previously advised, that you pursue your complaint if it is not resolved at stage 2.
Hope this is helpful.
Best wishes
Suzie
Re: Backdated fostering money refused
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2025 9:32 am
by Lilbill11
Thanks guys, so my complaint at level 2 was refused. I have asked to escalate the complaint to level 3, this is totally draining me.
Re: Backdated fostering money refused
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2025 12:35 pm
by Robin D
Hi again Lilbill11.
I will wish you a happy new year and hope that it is not inappropriate at this difficult time.
Sadly, if you had asked me to put a fiver on the stage 2 rejection, I would have done so. It's a sad reflection of local authorities and the statutory complaints mechanism that it seems they never take the situation seriously until stage 3. It always seems as though they want to wear people down so they drop the complaint especially when money is involved on their part. I am therefore glad to hear that you have asked for it to be escalated to stage 3 even though the whole thing is draining you. If you haven't done so, please ensure your request to go to stage 3 is in writing. It's not unheard of for verbal requests to go missing and later be denied. If you have an email address then send it that way, else take it in or send 'signed for' a short letter.
I would address it to the head of Children's Services unless they have given you a name to return to. ou do not need to go into chapter and verse, all it needs is something like:
Further to your rejection of my Stage 2 complaint of date and reference (if you have one), I am formally notifying you that I wish the complaint to be escalated to Stage 3. Please confirm that this will now take place. Make sure you keep a copy and the date received. If you hand it in, ask the person on the desk for a written receipt (they might mutter, but will not refuse) and keep it safe.
This may be one that ends up going all the way to the Ombudsman. Based on what you have said you have a strong case.
Good luck ... Robin