Children, Families & Learning Cabinet Member – Minutes – 30 October 2017

The corresponding report of the following item (Minute 54 refers) contains exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

54 (54) INTENSIVE FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICE PROPOSAL – The Director: Public Health submitted a report seeking approval to create an Intensive Family Support Service within the Families are Safe, Supported, Transformed service (FaSST).

The Crisis and Parenting Teams within FaSST had been in place since 2015. A review of the service identified the benefit to service users of transforming the current service through creating a single Intensive Family Support Team. This team would work with children who were at risk of entering care; or where they had entered care to support a return home to their family networks. This would operate 7 days a week providing a planned, structured and consistent service, whereas the current service operated on a 5 days a week service with limited ad hoc cover at the weekends.

Research identified that once a child entered care it was essential that they were supported to return home quickly, where it was safe to do so in order to ensure that children and young people were enabled to live within their family network.

The Intensive Family Support Service would support the council’s vision of enabling communities, by building resilience in families, supporting safe and effective care of vulnerable children and young people, through intensive home based interventions and change work.

Details of the proposals, including financial implications, were set out in the report and accompanying appendix.

Resolved – That the proposal to create an Intensive Family Support Service within the FaSST service, as set out in the report, be approved.

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Where there is no report this is because it is exempt, as it contains information which is considered to be of a confidential nature, as detailed in the Local Government (Access to Information) Act.