Provision of an Emergency Bed Service

Medway Council invite proposals for the provision of an emergency foster bed service. The bed service will be for children/young people between the ages of 10 and 17 who need immediate and short term (one week) access to a foster placement where direct placement into an appropriate long term placement cannot be made. This situation would include: • emergency respite where substantive placements need a period of respite • emergency respite where regular respite arrangements have fallen through unexpectedly • where a child is new into care, to enable additional time to source the right placement for them when they come into care as an emergency. The service should be available for six months from the date of award of contract. The rationale for the duration of the contract is to establish the need for the service to inform future commissioning intentions. It is also intended to serve as a mitigation in relation to any potential unforeseen negative impact of the COVID19 pandemic as the lockdown measures are eased up. To apply for this opportunity please visit the Kent Business Portal https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/ and under Current Opportunities use the drop down menu under Organisations to find Medway Council, then click on the relevant opportunity to express an interest and download the necessary documentation.