P2- OUTLINE THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR PROVIDING QUALITY CARE FOR LOOKED AFTER CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Type of Care/Provision	Characteristics
Temporary care	Temporary care can be arranged for a child if the goal is to get them settled back in at home after a short stay away from the home environment.  A number of assessments and procedures have to be completed before the care of a child or young person becomes temporary as there can be a number of options available. These can include staying with other immediate family, temporary foster parents or being placed in a residential care home/school, who have to have regular contact with Social Services and comply by a number of rules and regulations that keeps the child best interests and safety at bay.
Permanent care	Permanent care can be arranged for a child or young person if they are exposed to a significant risk of harm or their parents are no longer deemed fit to care for and support the child. Again, a lot of assessments and procedures have to be completed before the care of a child or young person is to become permanent. An example would be a child who has been in foster care for a considerable amount of time and whose natural parents are deemed to be incapable of caring for a minor.
Foster care	Foster care is often a short term solution, but can become more long term as circumstances change. Foster carers are checked by the Local Authority to ensure they are suitable and competent to provide care in their own homes. They need to be adaptable, as they may be caring for a baby one day and an eight year old a week later. Children and young people in foster care can sometimes present very complex problems as they can be moved around a lot.
Respite care	Respite care is usually decided in Advance and is a short term arrangement. Often the child or young person has learning difficulties or a disability and the family need a break. Respite care consists of a child spending some time in a residential establishment that caters for their specific needs.
Residential care	Children and young people may be taken into residential care for a number of reasons. Perhaps as respite for a family unit or as a temporary emergency situation in an abusive family situation. Residential childcare may be arranged for children and young people with behavioural difficulties so that specialised staff are available to interact with them. Residential care is also taken into account when a child or young person has come into conflict with the law, and is either remanded or detained in a young offender’s institutional unit.
Adoption	Adoption is a formal, legal process in which the child or young person becomes a permanent member of a family other than their natural birth family. Sometimes, parent’s give up all responsibility for a child and offer that child or young person for adoption. Adoption can also follow the death of the child’s natural birth parents.

Planning for care in Partnership with the child/ young person, parents and other agencies.

It is in the child’s best interests that any care provisions are established and organised, whenever possible in a mutually accepted way. In some cases, the family and parents have requested support and help, perhaps on a short term basis. The chance of a successful outcome is greatly increased in all parties (including other agencies involved) can agree on the partnership arrangements for the mutual care and support for the child.

Organisation of Care provision

Care for children and young people is provided by multiple agencies including The central government, Local Authortities and Third sector which consists of:
- The voluntary sector
- Independant providers
- Charitable organisations
All of these organisations cover the four countries of the united kingdom.

 

The Central Government

Departments and Services within Central Government

Government Department	Services
Department of Health	·         Responsible for public health issues and monitoring/regulating the NHS ·         Aims to provide for public health and well-being with easily accessible services and highly qualified and dedicated staff
NHS (National Health Service)	·         Involved in all types of health care, including for children and young people with learning difficulties/disabilities ·         Has a duty of care to provide the appropriate resources and assistance for the family ·         Staff will work very closely with other agencies and multi- disciplinary teams may be involved in the overall care plan for an individual
National Service framework for Children, Young people and Maternity Services	·         Established in 2004 and set the standards for the children’s health, social services and other related services ·         Promotes and integrated approach to multi agency working when supporting children, young people and their families ·         Death of eight year old Victoria Climbie in 2000 was one of the reasons why the National Framework came into being. ·         These guidelines offer a more cohesive approach, especially when dealing with children and young people.

  Local authority Services

Each local authority has a duty of care for children and young people and may become involved in all cases where they are at risk of not being cared for appropriately. They will provide help and assistance for families and in many cases will work in partnership, providing resources to keep the family together. However, there are other times when the authority must intervene for the good of the child. This might mean providing temporary care until a parent recovers from an accident or illness or it may involve removing the child to a place of safety until a danger is removed.

Local Authority Services	Features of Services
Integrated Services	Integrated Children’s services plan to provide the best start in life for children. They draw together all the service, especially for those with special or specific needs. They will include Education, Health and Social services and youth justice and will produce objectives for a more integrated approach
Children’s Services (LACS- Local Authority Children’s services in England) Local councils in Scotland Health and Social service Care trust in Northern Ireland	The Children’s act 2004 introduced legislation to protect children and young people to a greater degree. Children’s services throughout the UK deal with Education, health and social care issues related to children, young people and their families. They aim to provide and integrated approach and all the services provided are subject to inspection under the Children act 2004.
Children’s Trust- England	Children’s trusts bring together all the local children’s and young people’s services and assist with the improvement of these services to meet the outcomes of “Every Child Matters”

The Voluntary Sector- Pre-school provision

Pre- School provision covers a range of services including care provided by Volunteers (E.g. Carer, toddler group/play provision) The leaders of these groups will have had some training and as long as the parents/carer does not leave their child then there is no legal requirement that they should.

Independent providers and Organisations

Private nurseries usually cater for children from Birth up until the age of 4. Staff are trained in early years, and there may even be staff that are working towards a relevant qualification.
The arrangements for childcare are usually made on an individual basis between the nursery and the family, as the provision required may vary. The family will pay a fee based upon the number of hours or sessions the child attends.

Child minders are suitably qualified individuals who use their own home as the setting for looking after children and young people. The venue and personnel involved undergo rigorous inspections and they must be trained and registered as local authority child minder.
Organisations such as Barnado’s, the NSPCC and the British Association for Adoption and Fostering are nationally recognised for their work in caring for the needs of children and young people. They uphold the principle that the “welfare of the child” is paramount” and are actively involved in increasing positive support for children generally and particularly those who are being looked after.

Types of Services

There are 3 main types of Services when it comes to caring for the needs of children and young people.

·         Universal- These services are open to all children and young people and can be used by those people who need them

·         Specialist- These services are very specialised (for the partially sited or deaf people for example) and can be assessed by individuals who need the specific type of provision they offer

·         Targeted- These services are designed for specific groups of people. For example, youth work is targeted at a specific age group and provides specific types of activities for young people.

Staff Profiles of people working in the Services
Commissioning , directing and managing services
Director of children’s services

After the Children’s act 2004, the local authority had to appoint a director of children’s services. This person is responsible for deliverinf education to children and young people and other health and social care related services.

Directly working with Children and young people
Volunteers

Volunteers are people who commit to giving up their free time work with children and young people on a voluntary basis, without a salary. They are often highly trained to work within a number of settings and spend a great amount of time and energy to broaden their skills and knowledge so that they can provide the best care they can for children and young people in different situations.

Social workers
Social workers are trained and qualified members of staff who support families with children who present difficulties in a number of areas. They often work as part of a multi-disciplinary team ( A team of professionals (e.g mental health nurses, teachers etc) from a range of series all working together towards a common goal) to provide an appropriate support framework.
Senior social workers may be appointed as a guardian ad litem” by CAFCASS (Children and family court advisory and support services)
They represent the children and their interests in cases where their wishes may be different than their parent’s. CAFCASS Is a service that safeguards and promotes the interests of the children involved in non- criminal family court cases and seeks to ensure that the children are represented in cases such as adoption, separation/divorce or when children are being removed from their parent’s care because of safeguarding issues.

Health visitors
Health visitors visit every family when a baby is born once the midwife is no longer needed. A health visitor is a nurse with further qualifications in other aspects of childcare who visits the family to adivse and support new parents in a variety of situations. Many families only need the support of a health visitor for a short amount of time, however there are a large amount of families who require additional support and advice for a longer period of time.

Nurses/health and social care assistants
This group includes people working towards a specific qualification, who are working as an assistant in their specialised area. They will work closely with the nursing/health and social care staff to support children, young people and their families

Youth workers.
Youth workers work with children and young people between the ages of 13 and 19. Usually in youth centres or schools, Which may include members of a youth offending team. Some youth workers work in less traditional ways as detached youth workers, trying to engage with young people who might be at more risk in the community. They may deliver programmes, supporting young people, working with parents and the community groups and undertaking other activities.

Tutors
Using working in colleges and other educational establishments, tutors help providehelp and support both academically and pastorally. They often help young people develop their functional and personal skills.

Educational psychologists

A number of educational psychologists work with children, young people and their families in schools or higher education. They provide advice and support when the individual is facing difficulties. Educational psychologists also work within multi agency working.

Play workers
Play workers provide a range of play and leisure activities specifically designed for children and young people. The emphasis being on the play and exploration of the child.

Foster parents
Foster parents accept children and young people into their home and provide family like car for the individual. The care offered may be emergency care, where immediate help is required. They work closely with social services to provide secure, reliable care.

Regulation of care Provision

When a child or young person is cared for by another person(s) other than their birth family in capability (school, nursery, foster care) certain regulations must be followed. All individuals who have main contact with the child or young people will be screened by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) now formally known as a DBS (Disclosure and barring service); And the setting will be inspected by the local authority or OFSTED (Office for standards in Education)

Disclosure and Barring service
The Disclosure and Barring service acts on behalf of the registered bodies to check criminal records through a disclosure service. For people working with children and young people, an Enhanced disclosure is required. This is a more detailed level of check than the standard screening procedure and will include a check from the local police records. From November 2010, people who work with children and young people have to be registered with the independent safeguarding agency (ISA)

General teaching council for England
This is the professional regulatory body for teachers. (Although, there is a separate General teaching Council for Scotland and Northern Ireland. )They have a professional code of practise for registered teachers, which set standards by which all teaching staff should be measured.

General Social care Council (GSCC)
This is the professional regulatory body for social workers, which has codes of practise that set clear guidelines for all those who are qualified to work with children and young people in social care. There is a register for all those who are qualified to work in the sector. Just as doctors and nurses are on a register and can be struck off, if they contravene their professional code of practise, social workers who display serious misconduct can be removed from the GSCC register.

Office for standards in Education
OFSTED is a government department that inspects and regulates any setting provides care and education. Including child-minders, schools, nurseries, creches, day care and out of school care.

Funding & The needs of Children