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Contents

1. What is an Independent Visitor
2. The Statutory Basis of the Role
3. The Purpose of the Independent Visitor

1. What is an Independent Visitor

IV's are volunteers who are matched with children and young people in care who would benefit from having an independent adult befriender to visit and advise them. It is a confidential relationship and IV's are often able to provide a sense of normal family life to a young person living in a residential children’s home or who has moved among a number of different foster placements. 

Before they are matched with a child, IV's undergo 2 days training, extensive reference checks, e.g. medical, employment, personal, Enhanced CRB, and a 1:1 Assessment interview. Applications are then submitted to a panel of senior Children’s Services managers for final approval. Once they have been approved they are then matched with a child or young person. The matches are monitored regularly and IV's are required to attend regular training and support groups.

The children themselves have a say in the appointment of an IV and children can be matched between the ages of around 6-18. Matches cease to be monitored when the child reaches 21.

2. The Statutory Basis of the Role

The scope of the IV role is defined in the Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Vol 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review which was published in March 2010. Having repeated the statutory basis for IV's, para 3.187 gives specific examples of the circumstances in which it may be in the best interests for an IV to be appointed. 

These include situations where a child is placed at a distance from home, and especially where the placement is out-of-authority, making it difficult for the child to maintain contact with friends; where the child has difficulties with communication/building positive relationships; where the child is in a residential setting and would benefit from an individualised 1:1; and where it is felt that an IV would make a positive contribution to a child’s education and health.

The most significant reforms to the law about looked after children since the Children Act 1989 was first enacted, and other major leaving care reforms, were implemented on 1 April 2011. Section 23ZB of the Children Act, inserted by s 16 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008, imposed extensive new obligations on councils to appoint independent visitors for looked after children:

1. A Local Authority looking after a child must appoint an independent person to be the child’s visitor if:
   1. The child falls within a description prescribed in regulations made by the appropriate national authority;
      
      or
   2. In any other case it appears to them that it would be in the child’s bests interests to do so.
2. A person appointed under this section must visit, befriend and advise the child.

It is made clear that local authorities should look at widening the duty to recruit IV's so that the appointment of an IV can be considered for a wider group of looked after children. The decision whether to appoint an IV should be raised at the child’s LAC Reviews and should only be made with the agreement of the child.

3. Purpose of the IV Role

The IV’s overall purpose is to ‘contribute to the welfare of the child’ by promoting his developmental, social, emotional, educational, religious and cultural needs; encouraging him/her to exercise his/her rights and participate in decisions affecting him/her; supporting the care plan; and aiming, as far as is possible, to complement the activities of the carers. 

IV's are required to commit to a minimum 2 year period to provide consistency and continuity for the child and the hope is that the relationship will continue into adulthood and become a life-long friendship. However, the guidance does not preclude the appointment of an IV for a short term if they have a valuable role to play.

The Guidance and Regulations also outline what the IV must not do. IV's are not to be anything other than child-focused; not to be a substitute parent or carer; not to accept without question what those responsible for the child say, but to remain open minded and even skeptical; and not to engage the child in intensive counselling or take on the role of a skilled advocate, e.g. where the child is dissatisfied with current arrangements for his care. IV's must not be an officer of the local authority social services (within the meaning of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 (c. 42), so far as those functions relate to children), a council member or the spouse of any of these.

In practical terms, IV's are lay people from different walks of life who have time to offer a child or young person in care. They meet up with their child on average twice a month for a few hours at a time to go for a walk, to the cinema, to help the child stay in touch with his religion or culture, help with his homework, participate in or watch sport, etc. IV's are entitled to recover from the Local Authority any reasonable travelling costs and expenses incurred while performing this role, IV's may attend LAC Reviews or other meetings if the child wishes them to.

End