Contents
- Introduction
- Aims
- Partner Agencies
- Panel Membership
- Issues to be considered by Panel
- Relevant Budgets on which decisions may be given
- Referral
- Process
- Authority
1. Introduction
| 1.1 |
A fundamental objective in the establishment of a combined Children's Directorate is the improvement of services available to children and families in the community through better joint work. |
| 1.2 |
The Intensive Case Support Panel has been established to develop and coordinate the provision of multi-agency support services in the community. The purpose of the Panel will be to appropriately retain children in their home communities through the provision of coordinated assessment and support services. |
| 1.3 |
Packages of support will always be multi-agency in nature. |
2. Aims
| 2.1 |
The overall aim is to improve services to Children in Need and their families and promote social inclusion through effective joint working between Social Care, Education and Health. In particular: |
| |
2.1.1 |
to reduce the likelihood of children needing to be Accommodated (Looked After); to support rehabilitation back home. |
| 2.2 |
To ensure that provision for children is informed by a holistic assessment of their needs. |
| 2.3 |
To ensure that the full range of services available to children are used most effectively for those most in need. |
| 2.4 |
To identify service gaps, options to address those gaps where possible, and to develop proposals to address the unmet needs. |
3. Partner Agencies
| 3.1 |
Children's Specialist Services |
| 3.2 |
Children's Neighbourhood Services including the Youth Service and Children's Centres |
| 3.3 |
SEN service |
| 3.4 |
Services for schools |
| 3.5 |
CAMHS |
| 3.6 |
Adult Services |
| 3.7 |
Family Support Services including Community Based Assessment Service (CBAS), Family Action Building Bridges (FABB)
|
| 3.8 |
Parenting Headquarters |
4. Panel Membership
| 4.1 |
The Panel consists of senior managers from these agencies and is chaired by Social Care (Neighbourhood Manager Social Care). |
| 4.2 |
The guiding principle informing membership is that agency representatives have key operational responsibility within their agency, and have sufficient status to ensure that agreed actions are translated into practice, including access to local budgets. |
| 4.3 |
A small subset of the agreed full Panel, the Executive Group, have the authority to act outside of the Panel and report back with outcomes in emergencies. |
5. Issues to be considered by Panel
| 5.1 |
All planned admissions to care where assessment/family support is required. |
| 5.2 |
All requests for parenting and family assessments. Case managers should wherever possible anticipate court initiated requests and present to Panel before raised in court. |
| 5.3 |
Requests for independent assessments or specialist interventions with children or families. This includes psychologist assessments, requests for therapy, attachment assessments etc |
| 5.4 |
Additionally ones may be referred to Panel where Managers or Practitioners feel they are "stuck" or drifting and require discussion and multi agency input. |
6. Relevant Budgets on which decisions may be given
Legal Costs Budget (HoCSS)
Family Assessment Budget (SM LAC)
CAMHS Therapy Budget (SM LAC)
7. Referral
| 7.1 |
A referral form must be completed and the Core Assessment attached. |
8. Process
| 8.1 |
Panel meeting will be held every two weeks. Papers will be needed by an agreed date so that documentation can be duplicated and circulated to Panel members. This gives them sufficient time to collect together information from their agency prior to Panel. |
| 8.2 |
Decision-making involves agreeing the overall needs of the child and a package of services to meet the identified needs, consistent with the aims of the Panel. The agreed plan is contained in the Record of Panel Decisions form and identifies: |
| |
8.2.1 |
objectives, roles and responsibilities, reviewing and monitoring arrangements. and |
| |
8.2.2 |
the mechanism for sharing Panel decisions with the child or young person and their parent(s)/carer. |
9. Authority
If a case is deemed too complex for resolution at this level or if there are major multi agency budgetary and case planning implications, the case can be referred on to the Children's Complex Cases Panel.
End
