Step Down/Step Up of Cases Between CDS Social Work Team and Short Break Assessment & Review Team

As of July 1st 2014, all cases with a legal status of Section 17 (6) which do not require social work intervention will step down to the Short Break Assessment and Review Team. The rationale for this is that all these cases are stable, families are able to monitor the placements themselves and they do not require social work intervention. These children will move from a CIN (Short Breaks Plan) to a Short Break Review Plan.

Similarly, all those cases currently held by social workers that have a legal status of Section 17 and who have support services in place (e.g. Direct Payments / Home Care / sitting and befriending services), are stable and which do not require social work intervention, will be stepped down to the Short Break Assessment and Review Team in line with the current ‘step down’ process.

Overnight short break provision can be offered in 2 specialist residential settings (The Big House and Caudwell House) or with short break foster carers. Direct payments may also be used for overnight short breaks within the child/young person’s own home.

In exceptional circumstances overnight short break may be commissioned with an external provision.

The route to accessing overnight short breaks is via a new or updated child and family assessment that identifies overnight short breaks as an assessed need. Once an assessment has been completed the assessment will need to be presented to the overnight short break panel (ONSB panel). It will be for the panel to determine whether overnight short breaks should be provided. This will take into account a graduated response. Overnight short breaks are only offered by the department once preventative steps have proved unsuccessful at improving family life. The graduated tier for support will include, but is not exclusively defined to early support intervention, family service support, short breaks support, personal care support, joint health care support, help from schools and access to play schemes / school holiday groups or activities.

There is no guarantee that overnight short breaks will be agreed. Children and young people will need to meet the criteria of the local authority’s internal specialist residential homes in any event.

The panel will be chaired by the Service Manager of the Children’s Disability Service with representatives from Specialist Support Service, Children’s commissioning, the Registered Managers of the residential settings, short breaks fostering Team Manager and the Team Manager from Short Breaks Assessment and Review Team (SBAR).

• Children with a legal status of Section 17 who have stepped down to the Short Break Assessment and Review Team will have their short break package reviewed a minimum of annually by a Reviewing Officer. This may be as part of an annual education or multi-agency review, or may be undertaken at a home visit or by phone. For Section 17(6) cases, a Reviewing Officer will review these cases on a 6 monthly basis.

For new cases where a Child and Family Assessment / updated Child and Family Assessment identifies that an overnight short break is an assessed need, these will be presented to the overnight short breaks panel for a decision. The legal status for the overnight short break (if agreed) will be determined by the panel. The following will then apply:

• In the case of an overnight short break being provided by a contract carer / residential unit under Section 17(6); the social worker will convene a child in need planning meeting within 7 working days of panel. This meeting will be chaired by the CDS Social Work Team Manager. The CIN (Short Breaks) Plan will be drawn up at this meeting and a CIN review date set for three months ahead;
• If it is felt that the case is stable a step down request will be made to the Manager of the Short Break Assessment and Review Team. If the placement is stable and working well, the Manager will accept the step down request and the case will be held by the Short Break Assessment and Review Team for review purposes.

Where it is clear that social work intervention is still required, then consideration must be given at this review to the case being stepped up to a legal status of Section 20 (reg 48) and an IRO allocated to the case.

Section 17 (6) child in need legal status for children and young people who have less than 75 overnights per year. This does not mean the child/young person becomes looked after. A Social Worker or Reviewing Officer will be allocated to the child/young person and a review will take place every 6 months.

For children deemed section 17 there is a process for step up and down between Children’s Social Care and Short Break Assessment and Review Team. Please refer to the step up/down policy for further details f this process.

Section 20.4 Looked after legal status for children/young people in receipt of more than 75 overnights per year or more than 17 overnights in a single period. A child/young person receiving less than 75 nights can be deemed s.20.4 if it is felt that there are other complexities which would benefit from the oversight of an Independent Reviewing Officer. As these children/young people are deemed “looked after” they will remain allocated to a Social Worker within the Children’s Disability Service.

In the case of an overnight short break being agreed by Panel and where it is clear that the case meets the threshold for tier 4 intervention, the legal status for this short break will be Section 20(48). A CIN planning meeting will be held within 7 working days of panel and the CIN (short breaks) Plan drawn up. Following this meeting, the social worker will alert IRO admin that an IRO led CIN review is required within three months of the first overnight stay.

• Where the Panel agrees an overnight short break can be provided by a direct payment, and it is clear that social work intervention is not required, the case can be stepped down to the Short Break Assessment and Review Team. This is either following either a CIN review, a multi-agency meeting or a joint home visit with the social worker & Short Break Reviewing Officer. If following discussions between the Short Break Assessment and Review Manager and the CDS fieldwork Manager it is identified that cases held by the Short Break Assessment and Review Team require a re-assessment of need or there are safeguarding concerns, a referral will be made via MASH.

If a case has already been stepped down from the Children’s Disability Team to the Short Breaks Assessment and Review Team, and a further review has identified an increase in overnight stays are required, the case would be presented to the overnight panel for consideration. If the Child or young person does not already have overnight stays allocated, a referral must be made to the MASH team for a Child and Family Assessment, for a Social Worker to assess for an overnight package.

Residential and Fostering providers will book the transport arrangements in term time and out of term time. Children’s Disability Service Business Support can offer support with transport arrangements. The current policy that families transport the children themselves during weekends and holiday periods where they have their own transport remains in situ.

Transport costs for an overnight short break funded by Direct Payments are not provided.

Click here to view Appendix 1: Overnight Short Breaks Panel for Disabled Children, Young People to Include: Residential Units, Contract Care, Direct Payments.