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It’s really important that you don’t have lots of placement moves while you’re in care. The best thing for you is to have a really strong, loving, relationship with a carer you trust – someone who will be there for you whatever happens, like a good parent should. |
The people involved in putting your care plan together will be thinking about how best they can make this happen for you, and they might call this ‘permanence’. This means somewhere for you to stay for the rest of your childhood.
Whatever is right for you, the adults involved in your care will be trying to work out a way to get you settled so you can concentrate on things like making friends, having fun, doing well in school and generally growing up – without having to worry about the possibility of going to live in a new place with new people.
By the time of your second review – which will be about four months after you first became looked after - you should have a plan for permanence. This means the plan to find somewhere good for you to settle and grow up in.
Being able to stay in one place gives you more stability, which means staying put and being able to get used to somewhere so that it feels safe and reliable, like a proper home should.
Your permanence plan will say whether the idea is to get you more stability by returning you home, or by you going to live with another member of your family or a family friend, or it might say the best thing for you is a long-term foster home, a children’s home or maybe even adoption.
You, your parents and usually your carer will all be asked your views on this.
