Community Support Overview Group

Borough of Poole

COMMUNITY SUPPORT OVERVIEW GROUP

11th May 2004

CORPORATE PARENTING

Part of Published Forward Plan - NO

Status - SERVICE ISSUE

1.PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to inform Members of their responsibilities as Corporate Parents and the information they need to enable them to fulfil this role.

2.RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that a Member group (suggest no more than 5 Members) is set up to develop the Corporate Parenting role representing for example, education, housing and leisure services.
The remit of the group would be to further develop the proposal regarding extended membership, for example involvement of foster carers, young people, practitioners, managers and the advocacy service and activities, for example, visits to children in foster care settings, meetings with young people, carers and practitioners.

3.BACKGROUND INFORMATION
What is Corporate Parenting?

3.1 / Corporate Parenting is the term given to local authority duties and responsibilities towards children (0-18 years) who are Looked After away from their homes. A child is “Looked After” by local authority either if there is a Section 31 Care Order in place, under the Children Act 1989, or accommodation is provided on a voluntary basis under Section 20.
3.2 / Corporate Parenting covers all aspects of a child’s care and councils must ensure that children are well looked after, protected from harm, educated, helped to recover from events leading up to being placed in Care and are prepared for successful adulthood.
3.3 / Whilst the Children & Families Service Unit takes the lead role in looking after children, the duty to provide services for young people in Care lies with the whole Council. Children & Families Service Unit works with some of the most disadvantaged families and vulnerable young people. The Council therefore needs to provide effective and targeted help, across all its services, to ensure disadvantaged young people take maximum advantage of services. The Children Act gives powers to local authorities to request help in exercising any of its Care functions from :

• Any other Local Authority
• Local Education Authority
• Local Housing Authority
• Health Authority

There is an expectation of cooperation and partnership.
4. /

ROLE OF ELECTED MEMBERS

4.1 / Elected Members are responsible for ensuring that the Council acts as the Corporate Parent for all the children in its care. The role of Corporate Parent is to seek for the children in public care, the outcomes that every good parent would want for their own children.
4.2 / It is essential that elected Members receive the right information so that :

• Members can ask demanding questions about the services and resources for children in the community.
• They are informed about the numbers and needs of children and young people Looked After.
• They agree, monitor and scrutinise policies and services which provide for the needs of young people and children Looked After.
• Have direct contact with young people and children, their carers and social workers so that Members understand the issues for and experiences of young people.
• Ensure that all areas of the Council and partners play a full part in achieving good outcomes for young people.

• They have means of judging the quality and effectiveness of services and whether they achieve those outcomes for children. This is essential if Members are to discharge their responsibilities to scrutinise and oversee the performance of local services.

5. /

KEY INFORMATION FOR COUNCILLORS

Please see appendix 1

Background papers – “If this were my child ……. A councillor’s guide to being a good corporate parent” (DfES Publication)
Contact Officer:- Neelam Bhardwaja, Head of Children & Families Services
Tel no:- 01202 714756
Date:- 26th April 2004

APPENDIX 1

5.1 / Children in Need at 22nd April 2004, by Age and Sex
Age
Male
Female
Unborn
Total
Unborn
9
9
0
8
11
19
1
17
11
28
2
12
9
21
3
13
10
23
4
17
15
32
5
17
14
31
6
16
14
30
7
20
22
42
8
19
20
39
9
29
14
43
10
27
13
40
11
26
15
41
12
30
25
55
13
40
22
62
14
30
29
59
15
33
29
62
16
28
27
55
17
21
20
41
18
15
8
23
19
10
8
18
20
7
4
11
21
3
1
4
Total
438
341
9
788
There are 779 children in need.
Of these 137 were looked after and 110 on the child protection register at 31st March 2004.
23 were both looked after and on the CPR.
5.2 / Children in Need at 22nd April 2004, by Ethnicity
White British
669
White
684
91.4%
White Irish
6
White Any Other
9
Asian/British Bangladeshi
1
Asian
2
0.3%
Asian/British Indian
1
Black/British Caribbean
3
Black
4
0.5%
Black/British Other
1
Mixed-White/Asian
2
Mixed
40
5.3%
Mixed-White/Black African
14
Mixed-White/Black Caribbean
4
Other Mixed Background
20
Other Ethnic Group
18
Other
18
2.4%
5.3 / Disability
In the 2003 Children in Need Census 25% of Poole children in need were identified as disabled.
In April 2004 there are 150 children allocated to the Child Health and Disability team and some
children with lower levels of disability allocated to other teams.

5.4

Number of children and young people on the Child Protection Register at 31 March 2004
CATEGORY OF ABUSE as at 31 March 2004 / BOYS / GIRLS / Unborn children / TOTAL CHILDREN
AGE AT 31 MARCH 2001 / AGE AT 31 MARCH 2001
Under 1 / 1 - 4 / 5 - 9 / 10 - 15 / 16 and over / TOTAL BOYS / Under 1 / 1 - 4 / 5 - 9 / 10 - 15 / 16 and over / TOTAL GIRLS
Neglect / 1 / 7 / 11 / 4 / 23 / 2 / 5 / 13 / 6 / 1 / 27 / 50
Physical abuse / 2 / 2 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 2 / 7 / 11
Sexual abuse / 2 / 6 / 1 / 9 / 1 / 2 / 5 / 6 / 14 / 23
Emotional abuse / 1 / 5 / 3 / 1 / 10 / 1 / 1 / 7 / 4 / 13 / 23
Multiple/not recommended / 2 / 2 / 1 / 3
TOTAL CHILDREN / 2 / 16 / 16 / 13 / 1 / 48 / 7 / 10 / 25 / 18 / 1 / 61 / 1 / 110
5.5 / Number of children on the Child Protection Register at 31 March 2004, by ethnicity
White / White British / 102
White Irish
Any other white background / 1
Mixed / White and black Caribbean / 1
White and black African / 2
White and Asian
Any other mixed background / 2
Asian or Asian British / Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Any other Asian background
Black or Black British / Caribbean
African
Any other black background
Other ethnic groups / Chinese
Any other ethnic group / 1
Unborn children / 1
TOTAL CHILDREN / 110
5.6 / Children on the CPR who were also looked after at 31 March 2004, by legal status
Legal Status / Number
Full Care Order / 1
Interim Care Order / 12
Voluntary accommodation under Children Act Section 20 - agreed series of short breaks (respite)
Voluntary accommodation under Children Act Section 20 - single placement / 10
Freed for adoption
On remand, detained or under other compulsory order
Ward of High Court
Total number of looked-after children / 23
5.7 / Number of new registrations during the year ending 31 March 2004, by category
Category of abuse / Number of registrations
Neglect / 34
Physical abuse / 16
Sexual abuse / 16
Emotional abuse / 25
Multiple/not recommended / 2
TOTAL / 93
5.8 / Number of new registrations during the year ending 31 March 2004, by age group
Age at registration / Number of registrations
Boys / Girls / Unborn / TOTAL
Under 1 / 6 / 7 / 13
1 - 4 / 8 / 9 / 17
5 - 9 / 15 / 18 / 33
10 - 15 / 12 / 12 / 24
16 and over / 1 / 1
TOTAL / 41 / 47 / 5 / 93
5.9 /

Number of de-registrations during the year ending 31 March 2004, by length of time on the register

Length of time on the register / Number of de-registrations
Boys / Girls / Unborn / TOTAL
Under 3 months / 8 / 3 / 11
3 months but under 6 months / 5 / 3 / 8
6 months but under 1 year / 9 / 9 / 18
1 year but under 2 years / 8 / 7 / 15
2 years but under 3 years / 1 / 1 / 2
3 years and over
TOTAL / 31 / 23 / 0 / 54
5.10 / Number of Looked After Children, Admissions and Discharges

Number of Looked After children – 137

Number of Looked After children from Ethnic minorities – 13

Number of Looked After children who are disabled – 15

5.11 / Looked after children, by age and placement type

31/03/2002 / 31/03/2003 / 31/03/2004
Local Authority Foster Care / 107 / 69.5% / 92 / 66.7% / 95 / 69.3%
Agency Fostering / 9 / 5.8% / 7 / 5.1% / 8 / 5.8%
Placed with own Parents / 11 / 7.1% / 6 / 4.3% / 2 / 1.5%
Fostered by Relative / 5 / 3.2% / 8 / 5.8% / 6 / 4.4%
Children's Homes / 10 / 6.5% / 8 / 5.8% / 7 / 5.1%
Residential Schools / 6 / 3.9% / 8 / 5.8% / 6 / 4.4%
Independent Living / 4 / 2.6% / 4 / 2.9% / 2 / 1.5%
Semi Independent Living / 0 / 0.0% / 1 / 0.7% / 2 / 1.5%
Absent from Placement / 0 / 0.0% / 0 / 0.0% / 0 / 0.0%
Placed for Adoption / 2 / 1.3% / 4 / 2.9% / 9 / 6.6%
TOTAL / 154 / 100.0% / 138 / 100.0% / 137 / 100.0%
Number of Care Leavers – 96 (ranging in age from 16-24 years)
Ethnic Minorities – 14
Number of disabled children – 9
5.12 / Are Looked After children safe from harm?
Every effort is made to ensure that Looked After children are safe from harm. The Borough’s Child Protection Policies and Procedures have been drawn up in compliance with government guidance issued in the form of Working Together to Safeguard Children and the DoH Framework for Assessment. All the actions that were identified in the Victoria Climbié enquiry audit have either been addressed or are in the process of being addressed.
Statutory visits to Looked After children are carried out within the timeframe. All Looked After children have information about the Complaints Procedure as well as the Advocacy Service. Depending on the age and understanding of the young person, they are invited to their statutory review that is held every 6 months. The young peoples’ views are specifically sought in relation to this meeting.
5.13 / How well does the Authority care for its Looked After youngsters?
The main focus is to support families in caring for their children. If, however, a young person has to be accommodated then every effort is made to involve the family in the care planning and, if at all possible, eventual return home. The majority of placements, whether in-house or with independent carers, provides a high level of care. Foster carers are supported financially and by means of other services, for example, respite care and psychology input etc. Every effort is made to provide stable placements and permanence if there is no chance of return home. Regular statutory reviews ensure that each Looked After young person has a care plan which is being followed and this helps to avoid drift in care.
5.14 / Are they all in school or is there alternative educational provision?
Every effort is made to ensure that Looked After children attend school regularly.
Multi-agency meetings are usually held concerning young people who may be facing exclusion from school. Currently there are 10 young people in the Looked After system who have missed over 25 days schooling due to authorised and unauthorised absences. Joint work is taking place with Education colleagues to ensure that these young people attend school regularly. Each Looked After young person has a personal education plan. Further work needs to be undertaken to ensure that Looked After children have the necessary resources to help them to achieve their potential in education system.
5.15 / How well are Looked After children’s health needs met?
94% of Looked After children have an annual health assessment. A dedicated nurse for Looked After children provides targeted assistance.
Discussions are underway to try to secure dedicated time from mental health services to meeting the needs of Looked After children and young people, particularly those who are aged 16 and over.
5.16 / How well are the housing needs for Looked After young people met?
Poole Borough Council usually sets 10% of its single stock aside for youngsters leaving Care. The Supporting People grant is also used to provide appropriate accommodation and care support in the community. There is regular liaison between staff from Children & Families and Housing Services to discuss cases of mutual interest. Recently there have been examples of two departments co-operating to provide suitable accommodation for extended family members to prevent the children having to be placed with foster carers.
It is anticipated that, with the inception of a corporate parenting group, some of these liaisons can be formalised and issues of concern that span across various departments can be examined and progressed in a strategic manner rather than on an ad hoc individual basis.
5.17 / What support is available when Looked After children leave Care?
Under the provision of the Leaving Care Act the Council has responsibility for supporting Care leavers to the age of 21 or to the age 24 or they are in full-time education. Depending on the needs of the young person concerned, they might be allocated a social worker or maybe in a review system whereby they can contact a duty person in the team whenever they need any assistance. Care leavers can also be helped to access services including accommodation and care support through the Supporting People initiative. Care leavers, through the Leaving Care team, are provided with personal, financial and whatever support they need, for example, to access leisure activities, further education or employment opportunities.
5.18 / What is happening to make sure that they do not get into trouble?
Most of the Looked After children are placed with foster carers, therefore the guidance on appropriate behaviour comes mainly from home and school. The leaving care group for older teenagers discusses issues of offending and its consequences.
The Youth Offending Team and Community Safety are co-operating to develop strategies for prevention and diversion from anti-social behaviour and offending.