Family Time (Contact) and Working with Birth Families

Learning Outcomes

• To give carers a clear understanding of the reasons for and the importance of contact, whether or not a child is planning to return home to his/her birth family.
• To consider the legal framework and evidence from research relating to contact.
• To consider the relationship issues for foster carers in contact with birth family members and some of the emotions and behaviours involved and the reasons.
• To consider the principles of partnership with birth families.
• To consider the role of the contact supervisor and the professional standards and expectations of effective monitoring, observation, recording and documentation of supervised contact.
• To enable carers to consider their own feelings and perceptions of maintaining contact with a child’s birth family.
• To consider managing and facilitating contact and how to support a child’s behaviour and feelings following contact.
• To consider issues relating to managing and facilitating sibling contact.