11. Mobile Children and Families |
Contents
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| 11.1.1 | Local authorities, the police, Youth Offending Teams and the health service have a specific 'duty to co-operate' to ensure better outcomes and to improve the well-being of all children, including children who move frequently. | |
| 11.1.2 | In order to provide mobile families with responsive, consistent, high quality services, London local authorities and agencies must develop and support a culture of joint-responsibility and provision for all London children (rather than a culture of 'borough services for borough children'). | |
| 11.1.3 | Children and families who move most frequently between boroughs are homeless families, asylum seekers and refugees, gypsy and traveller families, looked after children, and families experiencing domestic violence. In London, 9,000 homeless families were placed in temporary accommodation outside their home borough in early 2006 (GLA, March 2006). | |
| 11.1.4 | Sixty percent of London boroughs are identified as having high numbers of children and families who move; and of those London families who move, over one fifth were not registered with a GP (ODPM, 2005). | |
| 11.1.5 | Frequent movers can find it difficult to access the services they need. For those already socially excluded, moving frequently can worsen the effects of their exclusion. | |
| 11.1.6 | This section:
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| 11.1.7 | In exceptional cases, in response to the circumstances of an individual child, a LA children's social care first line manager or above may negotiate different arrangements to those set out here, with their equivalent in another borough. | |
| 11.1.8 | Such negotiated departure from this procedure should be confirmed in writing by both the originating and receiving boroughs within 48 hours of the agreement being made. | |
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| 11.2.1 | When families move frequently, it is more difficult for agencies to identify risks and monitor a child's welfare. See also Section 5.1.1 to 5.1.6 Socially excluded / isolated children and families. | |
| 11.2.2 | Professionals in all agencies should be alert to the possibility that a child or family who has moved may not be in receipt of universal services. Professionals should be competent in proactively engaging with the family in order to link them into local universal services, e.g.:
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| 11.2.3 | Along with the indicators of risk of harm in section 4. Recognition and response, the following circumstances associated with children and families moving across borough boundaries are a cause for concern:
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| 11.3.1 | For agencies to maintain contact with children and families who move frequently, information needs to be accurate. Professionals should:
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| 11.3.2 | Professionals in originating authorities must ensure that their counterparts in the receiving authority have been sent a copy of all relevant records within five days of being notified of the move. | |
| 11.3.3 | Professional staff in receiving authorities must ensure that they request relevant records from their counterparts in originating authorities immediately when notified of the move. | |
| 11.3.4 | All attendances of children at accident and emergency departments should be communicated to the child's GP by the hospital's paediatric discharge system or paediatric liaison arrangements. | |
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| 11.3.5 | NOTIFY is a web-based database developed to provide information to relevant services about homeless households placed by LA housing services, who are moved into, between or out of temporary accommodation in London. | |
| 11.3.6 | The weekly data that housing departments provide to NOTIFY includes relevant details of families who move into, between, and out of temporary accommodation across local authority boundaries. | |
| 11.3.7 | All London boroughs need authorised users to access NOTIFY in a timely manner and contribute / receive the necessary information about children moving into, between, and out of units of temporary accommodation so that no borough misses out on the information that NOTIFY can provide. | |
| 11.3.8 | Professionals in originating authorities who are authorised to access the NOTIFY website should provide relevant information relating to homeless households, including children who have recently moved out of their borough. | |
| 11.3.9 | Professionals in receiving authorities who are authorised to access the NOTIFY website should receive notifications of homeless children and families who have moved into the borough. | |
| 11.3.10 | NOTIFY alerts:
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| 11.3.11 | LA children's social care professionals receiving notifications via NOTIFY are responsible for making the above checks and, if the child and family are not receiving additional services, deciding whether to initiate an assessment. | |
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| 11.4.1 | The borough in which a child is living or found is responsible for providing the child with LA children's social care services, for exceptions to this see 11.4.2 below, regardless of whether the residence is viewed as temporary or permanent by either professionals or the family. | |
| 11.4.2 | The circumstances when responsibility is retained by the originating authority are when the child is:
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| 11.4.3 | Where housing and any subsistence costs are being provided by the originating authority as part of a child in need plan, these costs should continue to be borne by the originating authority until the child and family's housing needs are resolved. Other LA children's social care or other services should be provided by the receiving authority in accordance with this procedure. | |
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| 11.4.4 | Children subject to a care order, an interim care order, any form of supervision or family assistance order, an emergency protection order, a child assessment order or subject to current use of police protection powers remain the responsibility of the originating authority. | |
| 11.4.5 | Where a care, supervision or family assistance order is in force, the receiving authority may (and this must be confirmed in writing by a LA children's social care first line manager or above) agree to provide required services on behalf of the originating authority. However, the legal responsibility remains with the originating authority. | |
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| 11.4.6 | An accommodated child remains the responsibility of the originating authority until:
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| 11.4.7 | Where a child is a mother / expectant mother and is accommodated or subject to leaving care arrangements (potentially up to 25 years), and is placed by the originating authority in another borough, the authority in which the mother is living is responsible for the baby (the subject is the new baby). | |
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| 11.4.8 | All reasonable efforts should be made to house children who are subject of a child protection plan or to a child protection enquiry within the borough, unless a move is part of the child protection plan. This applies to both temporary and permanent housing provision. | |
| 11.4.9 | The responsibility for a child subject of a protection plan remains with the originating authority until the receiving authority's transfer child protection conference. See section 11.6. Transfer child protection conference. | |
| 11.4.10 | The receiving authority may be some distance away, to the extent that home visits and other tasks cannot be effectively accomplished by a social worker within an originating authority. In such cases, the receiving authority must agree to implement the child protection plan on behalf of the originating borough from the date of the move. The agreement must be confirmed in writing at LA children's social care first line manager level or above. The receiving authority is responsible in law for making enquiries and taking action to safeguard and promote the child's welfare. | |
| 11.4.11 | The originating authority's responsibility for a child subject of a Child Protection Plan ceases when, following from a transfer child protection conference:
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| 11.4.12 | The LA child protection adviser in the originating authority must be informed in writing of the result of the conference and is responsible for notification of other agencies where case responsibility has transferred to a new area. | |
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| 11.6.1 | The receiving authority must convene a transfer child protection conference within 15 working days from the date that a child subject of a protection plan moves into its area or discovering that a child subject of a protection plan has moved into its area. | |
| 11.6.2 | The transfer child protection conference should be convened, in line with section 8. Child protection conferences. | |
| 11.6.3 | The transfer child protection conference may recommend that although case responsibility is transferred to the receiving authority, joint work with professionals from agencies in the originating authority continues for a time limited period. Where this occurs, the originating authority must comply with the terms of the revised child protection plan. | |
| 11.6.4 | Families should be made aware that information will be shared with services in the receiving authority. | |
| 11.6.5 | When a planned transfer of responsibility for a case is being arranged, a LA children's social care professional from the originating authority, who has knowledge of the case, must be invited to attend the transfer conference, along with any other significant contributors to the child protection plan. | |
| 11.6.6 | Each of the receiving local agencies must ensure that they have obtained the relevant information from their originating authority counterparts, so that the transfer child protection conference has all the information required to make fully informed decisions and develop a proper protection plan. The agencies should also provide any new information to the conference. | |
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| 11.7.1 | The originating borough should retain child protection responsibilities where the child protection plan specifies a move out of an authority for a time-limited period. The originating authority may require assistance from the receiving authority to carry out the protection plan. | |
| 11.7.2 | These may be circumstances where:
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| 11.7.3 | The originating borough should also retain child protection responsibilities when a family moves so frequently that the child's welfare cannot be adequately monitored because of the continuing disruption to service provision and information transfer. | |
| 11.7.4 | In this situation, the originating authority should retain child protection responsibility but should share information with the successive receiving authorities and receive new information and assistance from the receiving authorities to carry out the protection plan. | |
| 11.7.5 | Whenever one of the above circumstances applies, the key worker must:
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| 11.7.6 | Both LA children's social care first line managers must:
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| 11.7.7 | The LA child protection adviser of the receiving authority must ensure that a proper record is made of the existence of a child subject of another authority's protection plan living in the area of the receiving authority. | |
| 11.7.8 | If first line managers are unable to immediately agree case responsibility, they must refer to their respective child protection managers, who should determine case responsibility. If agreement is still not achieved, the conflict resolution process in section 18. LSCBs, quality assurance and conflict resolution, should be followed. | |
| 11.7.9 | The originating authority must ensure effective completion of an assessment or s.47 enquiry before seeking to discharge a child from care or accommodation or to transfer case responsibility. | |
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| 11.8.1 | There will also be cases in which a family moves its address whilst undergoing child protection enquires. In these cases, it is normally advisable that assessments or particular pieces of work or treatment are concluded before transfer of case responsibility takes place. This ensures that services are working together to limit the extent to which children and families are exposed to having to repeat their stories and repeat work to overcome child protection concerns. | |
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| 11.8.2 | Where a child and / or family in receipt of services from one LA children's social care moves to another borough, the originating authority is responsible for notifying the receiving authority in writing of the child and family's circumstances and any ongoing need for services. | |
| 11.8.3 | In response to notification by the originating authority of an ongoing need for services, the receiving LA children's social care must:
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| 11.8.4 | The receiving LA children's social care will be responsible for making a decision on the child / family's eligibility for service provision based on an assessment of need one calendar month after notification of the move (or later if agreed). | |
| 11.8.5 | The originating authority must retain case responsibility for the first calendar month unless a professional casework decision is taken to close the case or the receiving authority agree in writing to provide a service prior to this date. | |
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| 11.8.6 | The exceptions to the transfer of case responsibility in sections 11.8.1 to 11.8.5 A child (not looked after or subject of a child protection plan) in receipt of services from originating authority above, are where the originating authority is:
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| 11.8.7 | The originating authority must provide a child in need plan which sets out the authority's intention to continue to offer a service for a defined period in excess of one month (e.g. subsistence payments, housing costs, completion of a core assessment). | |
| 11.8.8 | If the need for a s47 enquiry arises in respect of the child during this extended time-limited period, the receiving authority is responsible for this, as outlined in section 11.9. Inter-borough arrangements for child protection enquiries. | |
| 11.8.9 | Once a s47 enquiry has commenced, the originating authority ceases to have responsibility for the child / family other than in respect of funding of the child in need plan originally formulated. | |
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| 11.8.10 | Where a child in need is receiving services, but is not looked after or subject of a protection plan, the originating authority must (in addition to informing relevant agencies in the originating borough) inform the receiving authority in writing of the plan, with intended date of move and details of the child's identified needs. | |
| 11.8.11 | If the originating authority was unaware of the move before it occurred, the notification must occur within one working day following its discovery. | |
| 11.8.12 | The receiving authority is responsible for seeking full information from the originating authority, including information from other agencies where appropriate. | |
| 11.8.13 | It is the responsibility of health and education authorities in the originating authority to provide information to their colleagues in the receiving authority. The receiving agencies are responsible for requesting the information in writing. | |
| 11.8.14 | Where a housing authority has been involved in the move of the child/ren and family, the originating housing authority must inform the originating and receiving LA children's social care services and Primary Care Trusts of the move (additionally, see sections 11.3.5 to 11.3.11. NOTIFY). | |
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| 11.9.1 | A local authority has a lawful responsibility to conduct a s47 enquiry regarding suspected or actual significant harm to a child who lives or is found in its area. | |
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| 11.9.2 | The term 'home authority' refers to the authority holding case responsibility or if the child is not on an active caseload in LA children's social care, the authority where the child is living (this could be either an originating or receiving authority). | |
| 11.9.3 | The term 'host authority' refers to the authority where a child may be found, is visiting for a short break or in receipt of specified services (e.g. education) - this could be either a receiving authority without case responsibility or an entirely different authority. | |
| 11.9.4 | In situations where the child is found, staying in or receiving a service from a host authority, it is not always clear which authority is responsible for protecting the child and conducting enquiries. | |
| 11.9.5 | The following are examples of these circumstances:
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| 11.9.6 | Where more than one authority is involved with a child, LA children's social care responsibility for child protection enquiries will depend on whether the allegations or concerns arise in relation to the child's circumstances within their home authority or within their host authority. | |
| 11.9.7 | The following should always be applied:
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| 11.9.8 | There must be immediate contact between home and host authorities, initiated by the authority which receives the referral. | |
| 11.9.9 | The home and host authority will agree initially:
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| 11.9.10 | The following people must be told, and sent written confirmation, of the referral in line with section 3. Sharing information:
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| 11.9.11 | If agreement cannot be reached within the working day, the LA children's social care covering the area where the child is found has the responsibility to undertake the enquiry and take any protective action necessary. | |
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| 11.9.12 | Strategy meetings / discussions must be held within the timescales set generally for strategy meetings / discussions and be convened, administered and chaired by the responsible LA children's social care as defined above. | |
| 11.9.13 | Attendance at the meeting / discussion must include:
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| 11.9.14 | Information provided to the Strategy Meeting / discussion will depend on the source of the concern, but must include basic details of the child/ren and family as well as relevant information about:
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| 11.9.15 | The responsible local authority should record the strategy meeting / discussion, including decisions, actions, responsibility for actions, timescales and process for review and closure, and distribute this to relevant parties. | |
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| 11.9.16 | The outcome must be conveyed in writing by the social worker in line with section 3. Sharing information, to:
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