Agenda item

Stuart Watkins was joined by Dan Sharp, Personal Advisor and Carole Stewart, Team Manager who brought along Aaron, Kane and Scott to talk about their experiences.

Some improvement had been made in the Care Leavers Service but it was recognised that there was a long way to go. 6.5 fte personal advisors had been recruited and they each had a case load of up to 24.

The number of up to date pathway plans were now at 79%

The number in education, employment or training was at 61%

The number of statutory visits completed was now at 50%

All an improvement from the end of August 2017.

2 Peer Mentor Trainees had been recruited. The positions were a stepping stone to permanent employment and also advised the service on what could be done to improve the service for care leavers. There was the potential to recruit up to 10 trainees.

The Family Firm media campaign was being launched during Care Leavers Week at the end of October and it would remind everyone what it meant to be a Corporate Parent.

Most Care leavers were in suitable accommodation. Since the inspection 2 individuals had been in bed and breakfasts, both moved there without the Council's knowledge.

The Draft joint Housing Protocol had been written and would be brought back to the CPB meeting in November for sign off.

A training flat had been set up to be used in Redditch. The intention was to set up similar flats in other areas.  A drop-in centre has started at Axis Youth Hub in Kidderminster and further drop-ins centres were planned for Redditch, Worcester and Evesham.

The Council now had responsibility for Care leavers up to the age of 25 so a further 249 young people could require a service. Care leavers who were no longer in touch had been written to and 61% of respondents wanted a service. Worcestershire had joined the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum to learn about best practice for 21-25 year olds.

Carol Stewart from the Care Leavers Team explained how things were improving:

·       the team now had stronger links with housing services,

·       Pathway plans were being  completed more quickly and were of a better quality; all personal advisorswere getting training,

·       Staff were being allocated to upcoming care leavers who were 17. Part of the preparation for transition to adult services was managing young people's expectations of what would be available,

·       Performance management data was available on a daily basis.

However they were still working on improving the service being provided, accessing support from health and mental health services and dealing with emergency homelessness.

Four young people spoke of their experiences and felt that they were experiencing positive changes in their lives through their contact with the care leavers' team. All the young people were very thankful and full of praise for the help and support they had received. The only criticisms raised were about the length of time it took waiting for a flat, and the difficulty of applying for Universal Credit.

Carole Stewart raised certain issues she wondered if the Board could help with:

·       Whether something could be done to help subsidise the care leavers bills, such as the waiving of Council Tax for Care Leavers and problems with the 6 week wait for Universal Credit. It was suggested that the DWP could help with this,

·       Whether there should be joint commissioning arrangements for those with more complex needs?

·       Could the pathway plan be the main plan for young people, with the IRO leading the process?

ACTIONS

1.     The Draft Joint Housing Protocol would be brought to the next meeting for sign off,

2.     A statement on health and well-being should be included in future reports,

3.     A response should be prepared regarding the issues raised by the Care Leavers Team Managers.