6.2 Children with Disabilities |
FORMS
You can find relevant forms for this procedure in the Forms Library - available from the left hand side of the screen.
Contents
- Introduction
- Standards
- Attribution of Team Responsibility
- Availability and Staffing of the Duty Staff
- Referrals
- Surgeries and Drop-In Centres
- Support for Carers
- Carer Assessment Protocols
- Hospital Discharge Procedures
- Carers Co-ordinator Role
- Direct Payments
- Complaints
- Care Planning: Family Support
- Day Care
- Care Planning: Looked After Children
- Temporary Service and Waiting List
- Matching
- Haslemere Road
- Policy on Transition Procedures for Disabled Students
Appendix 1: Disabled Children's Team Eligibility Criteria
Appendix 2: Forms to be Completed by DST
1. Introduction
This module is informed by the SSI Standard for work with children with disabilities and the procedures developed by Haringey to ensure that children receive a quality service commensurate with those standards.
An explanation is provided about which social work team is responsible for the service provided to the child with disabilities and the procedures specific to the Disabled Children's Team, regarding:
- Referral and assessment process, including the duty system
- Community surgeries
- Care planning process for both family support and looked after children; and
- Transitional planning procedure.
Where the procedures used are common to all Children's Services Teams, e.g. use of the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (DOH 1999) and the Looked After Children system, they are not replicated in this chapter and can be referred to in modules 5 and 7 respectively.
Haringey's Child Protection Procedures apply to all Children's Services and all Social Workers are expected to be familiar with them.
Haringey's Disabled Children's Team have their own Manual, which provides additional guidance, specifies key documents, legislation, government guidance and information leaflets relevant to this area of work.
Copies may be obtained from the
Disabled Children's Team Administrator based in
Room G18,
40 Cumberland Road,
Wood Green,
London N22 7SG
T: 020 8489 3671.
An exhaustive list of information documents is provided in the Haringey Children's Guide, which is an A5 sized hardback publication produced by Haringey Council and regularly updated by the Team's Information Officer.
The Guide is available to all families with disabled children.
The above Guide provided detailed information on resources from both Local and Health Authorities and those available within the voluntary sector. Several copies are in circulation within the Disabled Children's Team and may be obtained from the Administrator.
2. Standards
All staff working with disabled children should be aware of the following SSI Standards relevant to individual service delivery, which underpin these procedures:
- In all work with disabled children the agency and its staff must promote the welfare of the child.
- The agency's staff work in partnership with parents or other carers, recognising their unique and special knowledge of their children when providing services for disabled children.
- The child's wishes and feelings have been sought in considering decisions that are likely to affect their daily life or their future.
- All services for disabled children demonstrate that issues of race, culture, religion and language are fully taken into account.
- Services for disabled children and their families are planned and provided on the basis of multi-agency collaboration.
- Every Local Authority shall provide services designed to minimise the effect on disabled children of their disabilities, and give such children the opportunity to lead lives which are as normal as possible.
3. Attribution of Team Responsibility
Services to disabled children are provided under s.17 Children Act 1989. By virtue of the definition in this section, disabled children are automatically defined as "children in need."
A child who is disabled under this definition is automatically entitled to an assessment of their need from the Disabled Children's Team (see Section 3.3, Referral and Assessment Procedures).
This includes referrals for family support, short breaks and the following carers' assessments:
- Adults as carers of children with disabilities
- Children caring for a child sibling with disabilities.
All referrals and allocated cases of disabled children are the responsibility of the Disabled Children's Team with the exception of those circumstances explained in 1.3.6 and 1.3.11.
3.1 Child Protection Referral
Where there are concerns around child protection on cases already allocated within the Disabled Children's Team, they retain responsibility for undertaking the s.47 enquiry.
If there are concerns around child protection on new or closed cases, the s.47 enquiry should start with the appropriate District Referral & Assessment Team, who must consult the Disabled Children's Team.
The point of referral to the District Teams is to avoid any dispute at the outset about whether a child is disabled, and whether any siblings need to be considered as well.
Unless immediately protective action is indicated, the s.47 enquiry of a disabled child should involve a strategy meeting to which the Disabled Children's Team are invited.
The most appropriate personnel to conduct the enquiry are then identified.
3.2 Referrals on Siblings
All siblings of disabled children are defined as children in need by the Children Act, and the Disabled Children's Team takes the whole family's needs into account when providing services.
Where a sibling of a child with disabilities is considered to be in need, in their own right, as defined by the Children Act, they should be referred to the Children & Families Team.
3.3 Referral and Assessment Procedures
The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (DOH 1999) provides a common system for Social Services and partner agencies to respond to referrals, assess which services a child and their family may require and helps determine which children have priority when allocating services.
The detailed procedures for referral and assessment are to be found in Module 5: Referral & Assessment. These procedures apply to all referrals to Children's Social Services, including the Disabled Children's Team.
The assessment of the child's needs must be used to determine which children have a priority when allocating resources.
The timescales for responding to referrals and undertaking the initial assessment are set out by the Assessment Framework as follows:
- "Working day" 1 referral, decision whether initial assessment is required.
- "Working days" 1-7 initial assessment
At the end of the initial referral, a decision must be made regarding whether the situation is complex and requires a core assessment. This should be undertaken within a maximum of 35 working days.
Should there be concern at any point regarding risk to a child's health, well being and/or safety, this must immediately be brought to the attention of the Duty/Team Manager and consideration be given to the instigation of s.47 enquiry (see Haringey Child Protection Procedures and 7.5 below)
Referrals and most initial assessments are undertaken on the duty system (see 7.6). Core assessments will be allocated to Social Workers in the Disabled Children's Teams.
Any significant new information on an open case should trigger further use of the Assessment Framework procedures.
3.4 Child Protection Referrals
All Social Workers and Managers should be familiar with Haringey's Child Protection Procedures, including the thresholds of what constitutes a child protection concern and when s.47 enquiries must be instigated.
Where referrals or information on an open case indicate a risk to a child's health, development, well being and/or safety, Social Workers must ensure the concerns are immediately brought to the attention of a Team/Practice Manager, in accordance with Haringey Child Protection Procedures.
The Manager/Supervisor must decide whether or not the concerns should be considered under the Child Protection Procedures or be treated as a referral for an assessment of a child in need.
"Child Protection Advisors" should be consulted in cases of uncertainty.
The Team/Practice Manager must record their decision on the file.
If the s.47 enquiry is being undertaken by the District Referral & Assessment Team, the Disabled Children's Team must provide support to the s.47 enquiry through, for example, attendance (preferably by the Team Manager) at any strategy meetings called to plan and co-ordinate enquiries.
The Disabled Children's Team Social Worker should be consulted and involved in any s.47 enquiry regarding the child's needs, their communication methods and the person best able to communicate with the child.
For example a teacher, nursery worker or named worker in respect of children with disabilities may be able to help the child feel at ease and give them the confidence to communicate information about their experiences, their wishes and feelings.
Should it be decided that the referral does not constitute the threshold for a child protection enquiry, for example, with low level concerns about emotional abuse or neglect, it is to be treated as any other referral and be subject to an Initial Assessment.
Where appropriate, this may lead to a child in need planning meeting being called, involving parents/carers along with other agencies, and where a co-ordinated plan for family support should be devised (see Module 4: Family Support).
If at any stage the information gained indicates a higher level of risk, then the Child Protection Procedures should be used.
It may be that for some cases subject to the Child Protection Procedures, it is quickly established that the concerns do not warrant that threshold of intervention and consideration must then be given to the need for a child in need assessment and service provision.
3.5 Emergency/Immediate Protection
Where there is a risk to the life of a child or a likelihood of serious immediate harm, Social Services and the Police must act quickly to secure the immediate safety of the child.
Emergency action might be necessary as soon as a referral is received or at any point in the work. Neglect, as well as abuse, can pose such a risk of significant harm to a child that urgent protective action is needed.
Social Workers must always consult with a Manager where such action is required (see Haringey Child Protection Procedures).
3.6 Duty System
Referrals are managed through the provision of a Duty Social Work Service Desk. This operates as a point of contact for the general public who require access to Social Services or wish to speak directly to a Social Worker, by telephone or by visiting the office.
It is also the point of contact for professionals wishing to make referrals to the Disabled Children's Team, including other agencies and Social Services Teams.
4. Availability and Staffing of the Duty System
The Duty Service for the Disabled Children's Team operates on:
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm.
- Wednesday afternoons from 1.30 pm to 5.00 pm.
Outside the duty period, a duty answering service operates and provides callers with information about services provided by the Team, periods of operation and contact telephone numbers.
As a result of service requirements, the answer system may be operated during the Duty Desk's advertised opening times.
Emergency telephone numbers are provided should callers need to speak with a Social Worker urgently, both during and outside office hours.
At the beginning and end of each duty period, the Duty Officer must follow the operating procedure to activate and deactivate the telephone answer system:
- At the beginning of duty with the received in place, dial # 2 # to deactivate.
- At the end of duty with the received in place, dial *2*1111# to activate the system. The received will emit an alternating tone if correctly activated.
Social Workers participate as Duty Officers on a rota, which provides for both a lead and a back up officer, with a record made of any duty swaps arranged.
Both members of staff on the rota must be available for the periods stated in 7.6.3 and must ensure they arrive promptly.
4.1 Main Duties of Duty Officer
The Duty Officer undertakes the following duties:
- Processes all new referrals received whilst on duty.
- Completes Initial Assessments received whilst on duty.
- Provides a point of contact for requests and queries for families who have been assessed and may be receiving services, but are not allocated to any one Social Worker.
- Provides advice and referral on services to families that are not eligible for a Core Assessment.
- Provides emergency cover for absent colleagues.
5. Referrals
A referral is the process by which the Duty Officer records and is able to respond to information about requests for services operated by Social Services, from the public and other organisations.
5.1Receiving a Referral
The Duty Officer must first screen all telephone and written referrals they receive to ascertain whether the client is:
- Known to Haringey
- Already receiving services
- Allocated to a Social Worker
A detailed record of the information provided by the referrer must be made and recorded on the following 4 forms (see Appendix 2: Forms to be Completed by DST):
| Form | Colour |
| Children and Families Assessment Action Form | (White) |
| Ethnicity, Language & Religion Record Sheet | (White) |
| Department of Health Need Codes | (White) |
| Action Plan | (Purple) |
If the telephone call, letter or visit is a standard request for information and the client is known, then this should not be classed as a referral but must be followed up with a standard letter of response.
For new referrals the key duty task is to complete an Initial Assessment to establish if the child with disability is eligible for services.
5.2 Acknowledging Referrals
The Duty Officer must ensure that referring agencies and the clients themselves are informed of the referral process.
The person making the referral is to be informed by one of the following methods.
- At the time of the initial call for telephone referrals
- By sending a written response when referrals are made in writing using standard letters 2 or 3 (see Forms Library).
The client will have been informed that staff will be in touch in due course and that it is therefore important to check that they are aware of the referral process and eligibility criteria prior to undertaking the Initial Assessment.
5.3 Prioritisation of Referrals
After taking a referral, the Duty Officer will need to decide upon the next step; this will include prioritising the information according to its priority level.
Referrals classed as high priority are:
- Those that require immediate action.
- All child protection referrals.
Where immediate action is required and/or the referral involves any child protection concerns, the Duty Officer must immediately inform the Duty Team Manager for decision on action, which must be recorded on the referral.
The Child Protection Procedures must be followed for all child protection referrals.
All child protection referrals (on new or closed cases) indicating an immediate risk to a child's health, well being and/or safety must also be immediately referred to the District Referral & Assessment Team (Disabled Children's Team retain responsibility for allocated cases).
Referrals classed as medium priority are:
- Urgent within 5 days.
- Those requiring a Core Assessment.
The Duty Officer should:
- Inform the Duty Team Manager
- Continue with work
- Place unfinished work in the "Work to Action" basket.
- Note details in Duty Diary
The Duty Officer should book initial assessments into the Duty Diary for Tuesdays and Thursdays, in one of the 4 indicated home visit slots.
Where there is no available date for an Initial Assessment within 7 working days from the receipt of the referral, the Duty Manager must be informed.
The Duty Team Manager decides whether the work should continue on duty or be allocated at the Team Allocation Meeting. Medium and high priority cases should be allocated within 5 days.
Cases to be treated as low priority are those:
- Where eligibility is uncertain.
- With insufficient information.
Where cases are deemed low priority, they should be placed in the "Action Basket" or, if the decisions required are time limited, the details should be placed in the Duty Diary.
If there is insufficient information to act upon a referral, standard letter 3 (see Forms Library) must be sent immediately. This is recorded as a completed Initial Assessment, but the referral should not be closed for 10 days. Upon receipt of the information a new Initial Assessment should be created.
Where referrals are deemed ineligible, they should be listed as "NFA" (No Further Action" necessary), and filed in the appropriate located for closed files.
If there is uncertainty regarding eligibility, the Duty Officer should:
- Ask the referrer to suggest how the referral meets the eligibility criteria.
- Discuss the referral with the Duty Team Manager.
- If in doubt, arrange an assessment visit.
5.4 Duty System Processes
The Duty Officer's key tasks are to take detailed information on referrals and investigate the referrals.
Duty Officers should look at the Duty Diary at the start of each duty period to establish the priorities to be undertaken that day.
All referrals found within the "New" basket or from callers on the day, are next in the list actions to be performed by the Duty Officer. New referrals, letters and self assessment forms are to be placed in this basket.
The next priority is the clarification of tasks in the "Action" basket with priority given to:
- Firstly those where eligibility was unclear and requiring further information to complete an Initial Assessment;
- Then all tasks regarding matters already referred that need following up as part of an Initial Assessment; and
- Small tasks on cases that require completion but do not need a Core Assessment.
The Duty Team Manager must endorse all decisions made by Duty Officers. They must enter key tasks for completion within the Duty Diary to be carried forward on a daily basis.
Any information obtained must be recorded, showing the date of receipt and providing sufficient detail to enable the following Duty Officer to successfully address the task.
Appointments made for a designated home visit day are to be noted in the Duty Diary.
6. Surgeries and Drop-In Centres
6.1St Ann's Surgery
A surgery is provided each Thursday at St Ann's Hospital, St Ann's Road, Tottenham, in the Child Development Centre (CDC) from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm.
A Social Worker from the Disabled Children's Team is available to provide information and advice about Haringey's Social Services to families with disabled and special needs children.
CDC staff may arrange appointments for patients and visitors to see the Social Worker over various issues. Referrals may be taken and help can be given to those needing assistance to complete forms.
6.2 Kurdish and Turkish Surgery
The Kurdish & Turkish Surgery is based at 40 Cumberland Road, Wood Green, London N22 and operates as a drop in service on Tuesdays from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm.
A Kurdish & Turkish speaking Social Services Officer (SSO) and Social Worker (SW), affiliated to the Disabled Children's Team provide face to face support by way of advice and information about Council services.
Appointments to see a SSO or SW may be arranged at the Surgery and referrals can be accepted.
The Surgery maintains a mailing list of the families using the service and sends information letters at the beginning of every month.
6.3 Community Development Surgery
This Surgery, based at 40 Cumberland Road, Wood Green, London N22, is operated by a group of community development workers who are members of the Disabled Children's Team.
A drop-in service is available on the first Tuesday of each month from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm. This facility provides information about services, such as housing, benefits, schools, day care and respite in the community.
6.4 Polish Surgery
The Polish Surgery is run by a community development worker and is based at 40 Cumberland Road, Wood Green, London N22, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9.30 am to 3.00 pm.
This Surgery is designed to identify and meet the needs of the Polish speaking families in Haringey. Callers can obtain information and advice about the various Social Services available by telephone or by visiting the surgery if a face to face consultation is desired.
6.5 Playmates
The Disabled Children's Team operate a toy library and drop-in centre, held in the Exhibition Hall at Hornsey Library, London N8, on the second Thursday of each month.
Operated by a HINTS Visitor, it is designed as a toy lending service and meeting centre for carers and families, where children can play with toys supplied by the service and with other children.
Parents have an opportunity to speak with the HINTS Visitor and socialise with other parents. Microwave facilities are available for food preparation.
7. Support for Carers
Haringey Council recognise carers as partners in the process of supporting people in need and is committed to addressing the needs of all carers in Haringey (children, adults, male or female, the elderly, minority ethnic groups, lesbians or gay men, with or without a disability of their own).
7.1 Assessment
The assessment of the needs of carers is undertaken through the use of the Assessment Framework (see Module 3: Referral & Assessment).
This applies to both adult carers of disabled children and young carers of parents and/or siblings.
By assessing a carer's needs, as well as the service user's needs, the aim is to support them in their work by ensuring provision of the right care packages.
The purpose of the assessment is to support the carer in their current or proposed caring role, by taking their needs into account when assessing the needs of the person requiring care.
Any services arranged for the person requiring care will take the needs and circumstances of their carer into account.
7.2 Young Carer's Assessments
A "young carer" is a carer under the age of 18.
It is important to remember that before assessing a young carer, a check should be made to establish if the child is already known to Social Services.
When conducting an assessment for a young carer, Social Workers must remain aware of the additional strain that may be placed upon the carer due to inexperience, and take the necessary steps to ensure that adequate support is made available.
8. Carer Assessment Protocols
8.1Carer or Service Users?
Carers may sometimes qualify for services in their own right.
Where the carer is an adult, the Social Worker of the child will assist the carer to make a referral to the relevant Adults Team.
Where the carer is a child, the Social Worker will make a referral to the appropriate Children & Families Team.
The carer will then have a Carer's Assessment on the file of the person for whom they provide care, and a Core Assessment on their own file.
8.2 Services Directly for Carers
Social Workers should recommend support groups to carers where the assessment indicates that these would be helpful, e.g. young carers.
Where a Children & Families Team undertakes a Carer Assessment concerning a young carer of an adult, a referral should be passed to the Adult Team so that they can do an assessment on the adult service user.
If the services arranged for the adult alleviates the caring role of the child, then no referral to the Children & Families Team is necessary.
If a child continues in the role of carer after the Carer's Assessment and his/her development or age appropriate lifestyle is affected, then that child is considered to be a child in need and a referral is made to the relevant Children & Families Team.
If the child carer referred is providing care for an adult who does not meet the adult eligibility criteria for services, then the Children & Families Team will assess the needs of the child.
If there are any concerns that a child is in need or may be at risk, it is the responsibility of the Adults Team Care Manager to decide whether a referral to the Children & Families Team is indicated and to make the referral.
9. Hospital Discharge Procedures
A Carer's Assessment should be considered as part of the process of formulating a "hospital discharge plan."
Carers should be invited to discharge meetings unless the service user objects. The Social Worker should be aware of any conflict of interests between the service user and carer.
10. Carers Co-ordinator Role
Procedures to follow
11. Direct Payments
Procedures to follow
12. Complaints
Users and carers should be informed about the Council's Complaints Procedure and given a copy of the Council's Guidelines on using the Complaints Procedure. Social Workers should give information on the sources of independent support available to people who want to make a complaint.
These include:
- Mental Health Carers Support Association
- Care Attendants Scheme Haringey Council - 020 8801 3640
- The Markfield Project - 020 8800 4131/020 8802 8111
- MENCAP - 020 8275 4843
13. Care Planning: Family Support
Procedures for the provision of family support to children in need and their families are detailed in Module 4: Family Support.
These procedures are designed to ensure that family support provision is provided through a system of planning services, monitoring their delivery and reviewing whether or not they still meet needs.
This is managed through a system of multi-agency child in need planning meetings.
7.9.4 Module 4 provides information on the family support services available in Haringey, e.g. family group conferences. This module focuses on resources specifically available for the disabled child and their family.
14. Day Care
The general day care resources, i.e. the Under 5's Centre/Nursery Centres and the Day Care budget are available for disabled children (see Module 4: Family Support: Day Care Provision, section 4.6).
It is likely that the Disabled Children's Team would be involved with a child who, on account of disability, may be eligible for these services.
Where eligibility is on the grounds of disability, the resources are accessed differently. This is in recognition of the fact that children with developmental delays, due to disability, can benefit from early educational provision, to enable fuller assessments of their likely special educational needs.
For this reason the 26 places available to children with developmental difficulties will be allocated primarily on educational need. A child who would possibly benefit from this provision would be referred to the "Early Intervention Panel."
The Early Intervention Panel consists of representatives of Social Services, Health and Education and determines the eligibility for a service and identifies the appropriate placement.
The Panel meets monthly and considers applications made on the Early Intervention Panel referral form. Reports from those working with the child will generally be required to accompany the referral.
Referrals are sent to the "Head of Early Years" (currently Bev Johnson at 48 Station Road).
Due to the number of children annually who are likely to have early educational needs, the standard allocation will be for a part time place.
If the primary need is for respite for the carer of a disabled child, an assessment of need should be made and the matter discussed with the budget holder and the Team Manager of the Disabled Children's Team.
Funding can occasionally be made available for attendance at private nurseries where this both meets the child's needs and fits in with the parents/carers' routines.
The only specialist resource available to disabled children for early years day care is the provision for autistic children at a Unit attached to White Hart Lane Under-5's Centre. This is accessed through a referral to the Early Intervention Panel in the normal way.
This service can provide short breaks during the day or more usually involving overnight stays.
Where the child stays overnight for more than 7 nights in the year, they should be recorded as a looked after child and therefore the relevant procedures are in Care Planning: Looked After Children.
14.1 Haslemere Road Family Support Centre
Haslemere Road Family Support Centre is a Haringey Council run service designed to provide respite care for families with children aged between 10 and 18 years of age, with learning and physical disabilities or a sensory impairment.
The Centre is open 7 days a week and holds a specialised programme of events for each day, including:
- Tea visits for young people new to the service.
- Pre-arranged appointments for groups and confidential individual counselling on a range of problems experienced by parents, carers and young people attending the Centre.
- A mid-week overnight stay during term times for 5 young people.
- Weekly dynamic workshops run jointly with the Markfield Project, providing 12 young people aged between 13 and 18 years with the opportunity to practice independent skills, e.g. use the telephone, bus, book a taxi, do laundry, open a bank account and learn to cook etc. (special trips are also arranged and children have the opportunity to surf the Internet at the Lea Valley Telematics Suite).
- Weekend short break stays are arranged for up to 5 young people throughout the year, excepting school summer holidays and Christmas week.
- Social activities are provided for up to 5 young people during the day on Sundays. Transport is provided to the Centre or into the community, where a number of social activities are held.
The services of an interpreter will be provided if required.
14.2 Referrals
All referrals are through the Disabled Children's Team following an assessment.
14.3 General Home Support Packages
There are currently two budgets available to provide support in the home to carers to enable them to continue looking after children, the budget for the disabled child and the budget for the non-disabled child. These are designed to meet the challenges of caring where the child or the carer has a disability or chronic ill health.
14.4 HINTS - Early Educational Intervention
Haringey Home Intervention Service (HINTS) is part of Haringey's Housing & Social Services Disabled Children's Team.
HINTS is a home visiting scheme, which at present offers support and guidance to parents of children under 5 who have a learning/physical disability or special needs, causing a significant delay in the child's development.
Children are referred by the Disabled Children's Team either by their parents or with parental consent by anyone already working with a child, who feels that the child might benefit from the scheme.
HINTS has a team of trained staff called "visitors," who are experienced in working with children with special needs and their families in their own homes, to offer family support and to help with their child's development.
All visitors receive training in the "Portage" scheme, an early education programme, as well as other methods.
The main aim is to work in partnership with parents, building on their knowledge of their children in order to help them decide what kind of help they want for their children.
HINTS uses play activities to encourage new skills, building on what the child can already do, and encourages use of the HINTS toy library where toys, books and games may be borrowed by parents.
In addition to the above services, HINTS visitors are trained to help with any questions or problems as well as to listen to what parents may have to say.
Visitors will also help to arrange links into other appropriate services and conduct assessments for any further services that may be needed.
The service will be offered for an agreed number of months to begin with, following which a decision will be reached with the parent/s over whether to continue with the service. Visits usually last for about an hour and are held at regular intervals either weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
During the service, the visitor will inform any other people working with the child/ren of the HINTS involvement, and will always consult the parents about any discussions.
15. Care Planning: Looked After Children
The procedures relating to looked after children, such as the Placement Panel, the Review system and any Financial Assessment of parents, are detailed in Module 5: Looked After Children.
The Family Link Service provide respite care- should be Short Breaks for children from birth to 18, who live in Haringey and have a permanent and substantial physical, learning or sensory disability or a terminal illness, which prevents them from accessing ordinary mainstream activities.
The disability will usually have resulted from birth injury or congenital conditions, or from medical causes, such as illness or accident.
Children who are affected by chronic medical conditions only, will not meet the criteria. The service provides regular periods of respite care on a planned basis with a known "Family Link" foster carer.
15.1 Referrals
The referral for short breaks should be assessed by a Social Worker from the Disabled Children's.
The Social Worker from the Disabled Children's Team refers to Family Link -should be Family Support Panel sending a copy of the Initial Assessment (or other assessment if relevant).
Prioritisation for Service - this now happens at the Family Support Panel - the whole issue of prioritisation is in doubt following a legal challenge - you need to talk to Phil Dileo.
Children who meet the criteria for service provision will be prioritised following referral to add by the Family Support Panel.
The child and family will be visited by a Family Link Social worker who will compile, with the parent/s, a "child portrait" (a detailed profile of the child's needs).
The child's portrait will be considered by the team and Team Manager, and a decision will be made about the child's priority for service based on scores given in the following three areas:
- Severity of disability.
- Factors in the caring network.
- Existing forms of support.
The severity of disability will be decided based upon information given by parents, together with any available medical opinion or diagnosis.
Highest scores will be given for children who are totally physically dependent; those who require daily medical care, e.g. feeding via tubes; those who are terminally ill, and some children with autism who have exceptionally high supervision needs.
The factors in "caring network" include:
- Number of adults in household
- Number of children in household
- Number of children with a disability within the family
- Physical health of parent/s
- Mental health of parent/s
- Family support network (e.g. extended family members/local community etc)
- Emotional needs of the child with disability
- Emotional needs of other children in the family
- Relationship difficulties
- Other socio-economic factors if relevant to the respite needs of the child
The priority arising from "existing forms of support" will be determined by a score given according to whether the child attends part time or full time school, nursery, play group or a child minder; whether they attend after school activities, holiday play schemes or spend time at Haslemere Road; whether they attend residential school but need respite during holidays etc.
16. Temporary Service and Waiting List
Following prioritisation, children who meet the criteria for service will be added - change to referred to Family Link and added to the waiting list for a suitable match with a carer. Parents will be informed of this process and given information on the possible timescale.
Those children in immediately need will be offered a temporary service from a peripatetic link worker, while awaiting a permanent link. This service will be home based with the child being taken out for activities, as appropriate, in consultation with parents.
The aim is to offer a service to all children on the waiting list as soon as a suitable carer is available. Information about a possible carer will be given to the child's family by a Social Worker from the Family Link Team.
17. Matching
A carer is carefully matched to the child and if the parent wishes to proceed, an introduction will be arranged. The process of settling a child with new carers will be taken slowly, at the child's pace and in full consultation with the parents and carers.
17.1 Reviews
If overnight stays are planned, a review must be set up within 3 months of the first overnight stay by the Disabled Children's Team (see Module 5: Looked After Children).
Following the first actual stay, the child must be recorded as a Looked After Child, provided it is anticipated there will be 7 nights or more in the year. ( this is about to change and it is probable that these children will no longer come under LAC regs.)
A Care Plan must be drawn together as part of the consultation process for the first Review by the Disabled Children's Team Social Worker, using the standard LAC Care Plan format.
18. Haslemere Road
18.1Referrals
The Social Worker refers directly to the Centre, and the child's name is placed on the waiting list. If the needs of the child cannot be met by the Centre, the Disabled Children's Team is informed.
When a vacancy is available, the child is visited for completion of a child portrait, a detailed profile of the child's needs.
The family is then invited to visit, followed by an introductory visit for the child, usually for tea and a contract should be agreed with the family.
The contract and child portrait are sent to the Disabled Children's Team.
Following the first stay overnight, the child must be recorded as a looked after child, provided it is anticipated there will be 7 overnight stays or more planned for the year. (As Haslemere Road is not on the Client Index, this action must be inputted by the Disabled Children's Team clerk).
The Care Plan must be drawn together as part of the consultation process for the first Review by the Disabled Children's Team Social Worker, using standard LAC Care Plan format.
18.2 Reviews
The current policy is "for new cases, a child will be reviewed where s/he has received 7 overnight stays or after 3 months (if they are planned to receive 7 or more overnights in a year), whichever is the sooner."
There will be a paper Review 3 months after this initial one, unless the circumstances indicate the need for a full Review. Further Reviews will then be 6 monthly.
There are amended consultation forms for the Respite Reviews to take account of the nature of the service and the fact that children and young people may have greater difficulties in expressing their views.
Reviews are organised in the same manner as reviews for children who are looked after on a full time basis.
19. Policy on Transition Procedures for Disabled Students
The Policy covers the practice of Haringey's Education and Social Services Departments, Connexions and the Health Service, who all provide services to children and young adults who are disabled.
To meet the changing needs of people as they mature, and also due to differing legislative frameworks covering different age groups, services are often organised and delivered in different ways for children and adults.
The term "transition" here is used to refer to the process whereby predominantly adult-orientated services take over the delivery of services to an individual young person from their Children's Service colleagues.
The Policy is founded on the belief that wherever possible, the needs of disabled people are best met within local resources within local communities.
Where significant changes in the nature of the needs of Haringey's disabled children are identified, this information needs to be used for the planning of local provision.
Where the specific needs of a child or adult mean that their needs (whether medical, educational or for social care) cannot be met locally, and it is not possible to commission new services locally, agencies will keep the progress of that person under review with the aim of re-establishing them in local provision as soon as is possible, commensurate with their needs being met.
This accords with good practice and specific guidance as outlined in:
- SEN Code of Practice 2001
- Learning Disabilities White Paper, "Valuing People"
- Quality Protects objectives for Children's Social Services (in objective 6: to ensure children with specific needs arising out of disability or health condition are living in families or other appropriate settings in the community where their assessed needs are adequately met and reviewed.
The SEN Code of Practice 2001 requires all children with a statement of special educational needs to have a transition plan established at the annual review of the statement, which takes place in year 9.
This plan should be reviewed at each subsequent review until the statement is no longer in place.
Section 5 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation & Representation) Act 1986 obliges the LEA to seek information from Social Services about whether a statemented child is disabled and this may require support from Social Services when leaving school, prior to the Year 9 Review.
The LEA must inform Social Services 8 months before the person's presumed date of leaving full time education. Social Services must undertake an assessment within 5 months of the notification.
However, the process of assessment and planning will be far more effective if it is conducted as a process over time, rather than at a fixed point immediately prior to a child leaving education.
It will also be more effective and considerate to the needs of the family if the planning can be accomplished on a co-ordinated inter-agency basis.
The existing legal definition of disability under which Children's Social Services operates is contained in the Children Act 1989. This states that:
".......a child is disabled if he is blind, deaf or dumb or suffers from mental disorder of any kind or is substantially and permanently handicapped by illness, injury or congenital deformity or other such disability as may be prescribed."
This means a child with a physical disability, learning disability, sensory impairment or chronic physical or mental illness, which is substantial and permanent.
Whereas all children in the above groupings will have (except in unusual circumstances) statements of special educational need, not all children with such statements are disabled.
Although much of the transition planning process as defined by the SEN Code of Practice will be the same, the current policy and procedures recognises the unique needs of disabled children for clear inter-agency planning, and concentrates on this group.
19.1 Review of Statement of Special Educational Needs in Year 9
Under the Education Act 1996 and the subsequent SEN Code of Practice (as referred to in the Special Educational Needs & Disability Act 2001), a transition plan has to be drawn up following the review of the Statement of Special Educational Needs, which takes place in Year 9 (14+).
This Review will be co-ordinated by the school the child attends. Social Services must be invited to this Review, along with other relevant agencies, such as Health and Connexions.
Although other agencies are invited to the Review in Year 9, effective use of scarce resources mean that in Haringey, attendance of other agencies will not be automatic.
There must be sharing of as much relevant information as possible prior to the Review so that agencies are able to prioritise attendance. This will be with a view to concentrating efforts in situations where:
- Needs are complex;
or - The needs of the child are likely to be extremely specialist as a young adult;
or - Where their social circumstances make them particularly vulnerable.
It must be remembered that few non-disabled children will at 14 have well formed views of their future ambitions and aspirations, hence for the disabled child and their family, a balance needs to be struck between co-ordinated and pro-active planning and allowing children and their families time to weigh up options, to test possibilities and to change their minds.
In parallel to this, there must be a clear structure to the process, to the contents required of an inter-agency plan and the availability of information about potential options, both generally and specifically to Haringey.
The dissemination of information about the process and information about options will be provided through information leaflets, which should be sent to all potentially qualifying families.
The information contained therein should be updated regularly by the agencies involved, although responsibility for its production will lie with Social Services Transition Team/Project Manager.
The transition plan will be the plan common to Haringey agencies. It is unlikely that this will be completed in its entirety at the first transition meeting. However, it should provide a structure for all agencies when working with individual families.
Part of the transition planning process should consider how gaps in the plan are likely to be filled. Consideration of the plans and their implication for future work should be conducted by the Transition Panel.
19.2 Procedures
Every July, the Head of SEN (Education) will identify all Year 9 children with statements and forward this information to the Social Services Head of Service, Disabilities & Family Support and to Health.
The information will include name and address, date of birth, school and category of SEN.
An information leaflet must be sent to all identified parents, outlining the transition process, the requirements and the definitions of disability which Social Services need to establish.
The information will also contain the eligibility criteria under which the Adult Services are operating at that time.
The Team Manager, Disabled Children, must identify which children are likely to meet Adult Services eligibility criteria (based on available knowledge from the Social Services file, school attended and information from Education).
These children must be added to the Transitions database.
The list of children identified must be send to the Heads of the schools they attend. If schools want additional children on the list, who are likely to meet the criteria, they must let the Team Manager know.
An invitation to the Year 9 Review should be sent to the Disabled Children's Team in Social Services for children on the distributed list.
Invitations to Reviews of other statemented children should be sent to the Social Services co-ordinator. Schools will have been asked to identify any children and families with issues which would make attendance at Year 9 Review important.
The 14+ Transition Review will commence the process of compiling the inter-agency transition plan. Agencies who know the child should contribute information relevant to any sections of the plan in advance of the meeting.
In many cases, only the bare outlines of a plan will be completed at this stage. However, it is important that the gaps in information are identified.
The first draft of the transition plan should be distributed to the Education Department, Social Services (Children), Health, the child's parents and Connexions.
Each of these services should use the draft plan and the standard format for providing any input to the subsequent annual reviews of the transition plan.
Updating of the transition plan at annual reviews will be co-ordinated by the head teacher of the school the child is attending. It is the responsibility of all services to contribute appropriate information in an appropriate format to assist in this process.
Individual plans will be considered by the Transition Planning Panel meeting. Part of the remit of this group will be to identify children for whom there are gaps in their transition plan and to agree on strategies for completing the assessments to fill these gaps.
The Panel will also ensure that relevant requests for funding are being made (e.g. to Learning & Skills Council), within appropriate timescales for considered decision making.
For planning purposes within Social Services, the 16+ (Year 11) will be an important trigger. The Disabled Children's Team will attend this review meeting for all children who are receiving a service from Social Services, or for all those who are likely to be eligible for services as young adults.
For children who are subject to formal reviews covered by legislative requirements under the Children Act, good practice will be to co-ordinate these Reviews with the transition Reviews of the same children.
For children in receipt of services from Social Services, a joint assessment for Adult Services is started at 17 years of age or earlier if likely to be particularly complex.
The Transition Planning Panel should identify young people who are not receiving a service from Social Services as children, but who may require a service as young adults.
The timing of assessments for their services will be planned to co-ordinate with changes in the other services they are receiving, but should be undertaken no later than their 19th birthday, by the transition Social Worker.
The transition Social Worker will be responsible for providing information about resources and arranging visits to these resources.
Appendix 1: Disabled Children's Team Eligibility Criteria
Services to disabled children are provided under s.17 of the Children Act 1989 which defines all disabled children as "children in need."
A child who is disabled under this definition is automatically entitled to an assessment of their need from the Disabled Children's Team.
An assessment is simply the gathering together of information to identify the needs a child and its family have at the time. Services should match the needs identified and not merely be those that are most easily available. It is also important that services support the many strengths that families already possess.
The eligibility criteria that follows is used to help Social Services staff decide:
- Whether they need to start an assessment
- How detailed an assessment they need to conduct
- The types of service they should be considering for different levels of need
To aid in identifying children whose disability is substantial the following grid, which outlines the degree of impairment in different areas of functioning, will be taken as indicative of a substantial disability.
Where a child has a medical condition, the Disabled Children's Team will assess if the condition is continuous and if their day to day functioning is affected in the areas described in the grid.
To be eligible for an assessment of need, the level of disability will need to be scored as described below:
| 1. | A score of 3 (severe) or 4 (profound) in one of the following categories:
OR |
| 2. | A score of 3 or 4 in one of the following categories:
These scores will need to be combined with a score of at least 2 (moderate) in at least one of the preceding categories (these children will be termed severely or profoundly disabled and will be high priority according to Haringey's overall eligibility criteria for children). OR |
| 3. | Children who have a score of 2 in at least two of the categories below will also be eligible for assessment. They will be termed "multiple disabled children" and will be given a medium priority in the overall children's eligibility criteria:
|
Children with disabilities whose assessments should be undertaken by the Children & Families Teams.
Children with slight or moderate impairments may be children in need due to their social circumstances, as outlined in Haringey's general eligibility criteria for Children's Social Services.
Generally assessments of need for these families will not be conducted by the Disabled Children's Team but by the Children & Families Teams.
Children with degrees of impairment who are not eligible for an assessment of need from the Disabled Children's Team will be able to seek advice and information from the Team.
One way of ensuring they are kept up to date with relevant services and developments within Haringey is by registering their child with the Children with Disabilities Register. Registration is not a requirement for receiving services, nor does it guarantee an entitlement to service other than regular information.
It should be noted that the Disabled Children's Team do not offer a service to the following children unless they also qualify through scoring of their functional impairment as outlined in the following table:
- Children with emotional and behavioural difficulties
- Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Children with special educational needs
- Children with mental health difficulties
- Children with medical complaints
There is a specialist team within Haringey who deal with children and adults infected or affected by HIV and AIDS.
Services
Services will be determined on the basis of the assessment of need. The priority for services and the level at which they are provided will take into account the severity of disability (as identified by the scoring system shown here), the ability of the child's family to meet their special needs and the general social circumstances (such as housing and income) the family are living in.
The more complex the situation and the greater the likely service requirements, the more detailed the assessment will be. There are two different levels of assessment.
Assessment
An Initial Assessment follows a request for a service and should be completed within 7 working days of that request. All of the important factors listed above need to be included and the child and family must be seen.
The assessment will indicate whether there are services which would be helpful to the family or whether the situation is so complex that a more detailed investigation of needs is required.
If services are to be provided, Haringey will provide the service user with a plan outlining what those services are, who will provide them and when they will be provided.
A more detailed investigation of need is terms a Core Assessment. These follow on from an Initial Assessment and can take up to a further 35 working days to complete. The subjects covered are the same, but will focus on the particular difficulties a child is facing.
A Core Assessment will be completed by a Social Worker who will expect to gather a variety of information from the child (if old enough), their family and from other people working with the family.
The Social Worker will generally ask the parent for permission to approach these other sources of information.
On completion of a Core Assessment, unless a specialist assessment is required (from a child psychiatrist for example), an agreed Care Plan will be provided for the family.
Appendix 2: Forms to be completed by DST
Ethnicity, Language and Religion Record Sheet
Children & Families Assessment Action Form
- Client details
- Also known as
- Referral details
- Communication and language
- Type of assessment
- Assessment outcome
- Further assessments required/requested
- Register of Children Looked After
- Child Protection Register
- Services required/requested
- Placement details
- Financial details
- Care Plan details
- Unmet needs
- Reason resources not available
- Details of logging and signatures
Department of Health (DOH) Need Codes
This form should be completed in order to help identify the various need categories most appropriate to the client for use on the Council's computerised recording system (see section under Client Index). The 9 codes presently in use are:
| Category | Code |
| Abuse or Neglect | CAN |
| Disability | CDD |
| Parental Illness/Disability | CPI |
| Family in Acute Distress | CFS |
| Family Dysfunction | CFD |
| Socially Unacceptable Behaviour | CBB |
| Low Income | CLI |
| Absent Parenting | CAP |
| Cases Other than Children in Need | CNN |
Action Plan
Details of any further work that may be needed by the family, its urgency and the resources that may be required should be recorded on this form. It is also necessary to include whether these plans have been shared/agreed with the parent/carer and their response.
The form should then be signed and dated by the Social Worker, Team Manager and Administrator.
To view Standard Letters for DST/Standard Letter SL2:Acknowledgement of Referral and Standard Letter SL3:Request for Information as Eligibility Unclear use the 'forms library' button on the left of your screen.
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