Agenda item

Councillor David Mellen, Portfolio Holder for Early Intervention and Early Years introduced a report on the Edge of Care Services. Helen Blackman, Director of Children’s Integrated Services and Tracey Nurse, Head of Children’s Social Work provided additional narrative and information. They highlighted the following information:

(a)  there has been a national rise in the number of children and young people who need to be accommodated and those involved in Care Proceedings. In response to this increase the Council has developed a range of services, known as Edge of Care Services, which work with children and families to ensure that, where it is safe to do so, children remain with their families and avoid the trauma of family breakdown;

(b)  The reasons that children and young people come into care are numerous and complex. As such a multi discipline approach centred around the child is necessary along with sustained work, continued support and a gradual withdrawal to offer effective edge of care services;

(c)  Abuse and neglect are the top reason for younger children coming into care, however as the child gets older, generally, the main reasons change, and family breakdown, offending behaviour and mental health become the main driving factors to young people being accommodated;

(d)   The Edge of Care Panel was established in 2011 to respond to the increased demand for care alongside challenging budget restrictions. It aims to identify families in crisis and in need of urgent intervention and families that are at risk of breakdown in the foreseeable future where intervention will build resilience and prevent the breakdown;

(e)  The edge of care hub was then developed and MST (Multisystemic Therapy) introduced. The hub works with children and young people and their families between the ages of 0-18 and focus is on families in crisis and Priority Families;

(f)  Additional services such as MST standard are involved with children aged 11-18 and focuses on families where the young person is either offending or at risk of offending, risk of exclusion, has mental health issues or substance misuse issues. It also targets parent who have unresolved trauma and aims to tackle the underlying causes of family breakdown. This can involved mental health support and substance misuse support for the parents as well as the young people within the family;

(g)  Safe Families is a faith based group that targets families with children 0-12 years old. They use trained volunteers to befriend troubled families offering flexible mentoring, respite, support within the home etc;

(h)  There has been a significant increase in interventions targeting children and young people most at risk of coming into care. These range from robust packages of support and intervention to accommodation. There are many services available to offer the tailor support that each family, and family members requires to improve their outcome;

(i)  The Edge of Care Panel is a weekly, multi-agency meeting chaired by the Head of Children’s Social Work. There is representation from across Council Services, the Police, NSPCC and CAMHS and works closely with those children and young people who are on the brink of being accommodated due to family break down;

(j)  Edge of Care Services allow multiple teams to approach a whole family collectively which enables the right services combination  to be matched to families. In 2012 57% of children and young people presented to the panel were accommodated. In January 2017 just 11% presented to the panel were accommodated;

Following discussion and questions the following points were highlighted:

(k)  The Edge of Care services date back to around 2010. The services were originally commissioned out but it quickly became apparent that the Edge of Care Hub would be a better model.  MST is a programme that was started in Chicago in America and was reported to be hugely successful, it came over to England, initially in the North East where results were very encouraging and has spread from there. In Nottingham it has reduced short term care by about 10%;

(l)  The cost of care is very expensive. The Council cannot afford for the care costs to increase, the Edge of Care services save on care costs despite their own costs;

(m) The faith based groups do not only support families of the same faith, they support all families who are in need. Recruitment is being pursed through Mosques and temples throughout Nottingham, and people of all faiths, and ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to volunteer. When a child or young person is taken into care, where possible the cultural needs of the child are taken into account on placement, and social workers are generally reflective of the community;

(n)  Safer Families training is rigorous. The training is a programme similar to foster care training and can take up to 17 weeks to be complete, checks are made with the local authority to ensure that volunteers are not in contact with Care services themselves and other safeguarding checks are made. There is a lot of support and supervision for these  volunteers;

(o)  Families can be referred to services through Children and Families Direct:

·  The number to call is: 0115 8764800

·  You can also email: candfdirect@nottinghamcity.gcsx.gov.uk  

(p)  When the child or young person remains with the family careful work is done to ensure that the family remains stable and functional. Withdrawal of services is gradual and fully assessed and monitored by the whole network of agencies involved, social care, school, CAMHS, community protections etc. There are no “check-ups” performed by social care following the end of contact as the situation is monitored by other agencies who will re-engage edge of care services if the family situation deteriorates;  

(q)  Adult mental health workers are in place within the hub to address mental health needs of parents and extended family members. They are able to fast track referrals to specialist support services where appropriate and link to community groups for lower level need;

(r)  The Edge of Care Panel meets on a Tuesday and has 5 slots each week and is always full. There is the facility that if urgent intervention is needed for a family then this can be put in place prior to the next panel;

RESOLVED to thank Councillor David Mellen, Helen Blackman and Tracey Nurse for their attendance and to note the content of their report.