LAC Placement Patterns Managing the Process

Abstract

Following her article on LAC placement patterns (Adoption & Fostering 22:3, 1998), Sue Richards reviews the literature on purchaser/provider splits in childrens's services, and discusses whether there have been quantifiable effects in Social Services Departments which have chosen this management structure. While the previous article sought to identify some very practical measures that might explain possible causes of high looked after numbers or low fostering percentages, this paper takes a more discursive approach to the possible consequences on placement patterns of high-level purchaser/provider management arrangements. The author draws on personal experience, interviews with senior and middle managers in a number of authorities and seminars involving other professions.