Agenda item

Attending for this item were:

Andy Roberts, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Children and Families

Jill Hughes, Team Manager, Transitions, Young Adults Team and PLOT

Richard Keble, Assistant Director Adult Services

Tina Russell, Assistant Director Social Work Safeguarding Services

Stuart Watkins, Group Manager

Sarah Wilkins, Group Manager for Children with Disabilities Services

Safeguarding Services (Children's Social Care)

The discussion was held jointly with the Adult Care and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Panel, as the support services provided children with disabilities during their transition to adulthood were relevant to both adults and children.

Members received a Presentation (copies circulated at the Meeting) which covered an overview of the Service and following the subsequent discussion were asked to:

·         Consider the information provided

·         Determine whether any further scrutiny or information was required at this time

·         Agree any comments to be highlighted to the Cabinet Members with Responsibility for Children, Families and Communities, and for Adult Social Care

During the Presentation, the following areas were highlighted:

·       Transition to adulthood was a very complex area in terms of legislation, providing support and families accessing that support

·       It was a very significant time for young people and their families, involving change, choices and decisions about staying healthy, getting a job, having a place to live, living well, staying safe, preparing for adulthood and providing the right support for carers

·       The Learning Disability Partnership Board had sub-groups for each of these important areas and expert members advising them.  Families were also represented on the Board by the Worcestershire Association of Carers

·       Formal planning generally started in year 9 (aged 14 years) with a ‘transition review’ held by the school

·       Transition required co-ordination across a range of agencies with clear pathways through health, social care, housing and education

·       The Young Adults Team (YAT) was launched on 11 June 2012 to support 16 – 25 year old young people with additional needs with transition planning and the move into adulthood. It was an integrated team bringing together social workers from Children Families and Communities and Adult Services.  The roles unique to the Team included a Housing Project Officer and Carers Support Officer

·       The YAT continued the work of Children With Disabilities Team by working through the Children’s Pathways 16-18, including Child in Need/Looked After Children/Safeguarding and at approximately 17 years and 6 months the Care Act Assessment would begin

·       Adulthood outcomes (slide 8) were confirmed as national outcomes and did not including education as this wasn’t appropriate for everyone

·       In terms of the impact of the YAT achieving independence, Members were advised that:

Ø  90% of young people were in settled accommodation (target  77%)  10% therefore were in temporary accommodation, which would not include bed and breakfast as an option

Ø  20 young people were in Supported Living

Ø  Improved NEET figures (reduced by 1/3rd)

Ø  58% of young people were in receipt of a Direct Payment (target of 35%)

Ø  97.5% of reviews up to date (target of 95%)

Ø  Increased numbers were in paid employment, and in voluntary work/work experience

During the discussion, the following main points were made:

·       There was a responsibility for young people up to age 25, but the support provided would end when an individual was in a settled and sustainable placement.  This meant that the hand off point of a case was flexible

·       It was important for young people to have a single Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan and for discussions and plans for the adulthood to take place much earlier, when children were quite young

·       When a young person's care transferred from the YAT, it would move to the Review Team or the Vulnerable Adults Team

·       If Members wished to raise a casework query they should approach the Assistant Director Adult Services who would co-ordinate a response

·       Social Workers were handling up to 33 cases each, dependent on experience and complexity of the case and would each receive an Annual Health Check of caseloads; feedback from Social Workers to date was positive and caseloads were manageable

·       In response to a concern about the Winterbourne View situation and avoiding the situation where people with learning disabilities were put in such placements.  Reassurance was given that there was a National Programme for Transforming Care for People with Learning Disabilities and that Worcestershire had the best performance in the Country.

The following Information was also requested:

·       Details of the membership of the Connecting Families Strategic Group

·       An overview of new supported living developments

·       A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) Analysis of each of the partners that the Service worked with

·       A redacted case study so that the journey of a young person could be followed.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member and Officers for attending the Meeting.

It was agreed that this was an area requiring further Scrutiny, the scope of which should be discussed by the Chairmen of both Panels to develop a proposal for consideration by OSPB in due course. Members interested in joining a Scrutiny Task Group should advise the Scrutiny Officer.