Contacts and Referrals

1. Initial Contacts

An Initial Contact is made where Children's Social Care is contacted about a child, who may be a child in need, or where there are immediate safeguarding concerns and where there is a request for general advice, information or a service.

All contacts need to be considered alongside effective support guidance for children and families in Somerset and a decision made within 24 hours regarding the level of response required based on the needs of the child.

At any time, an Initial Contact (request for involvement) may become a Referral if it appears that services may be required for a Child in Need or child protection.

Any significant information received about a child who is an open case should be regarded as an Initial Contact, passed to the child's allocated social worker and recorded on the electronic data-base.

An Early Help Assessment (EHA) is not a referral form. It is a tool to enable all services to gather information and form a holistic overview of needs and supports professional judgement to provide the right support, in the right place, at the right time. A professional is asked to submit an EHA when requesting involvement from Children's Services.

At the point when an Initial Contact (request for involvement) is made, a social worker from the family front door will establish whether the enquiry can be dealt with by the provision of information and advice or re-direction to other agencies or services.

The social worker should also check the electronic data-base records to see if the child or family is known and, if so, retrieve information on them (see Section 4, Screening Process).

2. Referrals

An Initial Contact (request for involvement) will be progressed to a Referral where the social worker or manager considers an assessment and/or services may be required for a Child in Need or where a child may be at risk of or likely risk of significant harm.

The person making the request for involvement should have the opportunity to discuss their concerns with a qualified social worker. They should be asked specifically if they hold any information about difficulties being experienced by the family/household due to domestic abuse, mental illness, substance misuse and/or learning difficulties.

Once the Request for involvement has been accepted by the local authority children's social care the lead professional role falls to a social worker.

The social worker should clarify with the person making a request for involvement, when known, the nature of the concerns and how and why they have arisen.

The social worker will obtain as much of the following information as possible:

• Full names, dates of birth and gender of children;
• Family address and, where relevant, school/nursery attended;
• Identity of those with parental responsibility;
• Names and dates of birth of all members of the household;
• Ethnicity, first language and religion of children and parents;
• Nationality and immigration status;
• Any additional needs of the children including the means in which they communicate;
• Any significant recent or past events;
• Cause for concern including details of allegations, their sources, timing and location;
• The child's current location and emotional and physical condition;
• Whether the child needs immediate protection;
• Details of any alleged perpetrator;
• Referrer's relationship with and knowledge of the child and their family;
• Known involvement of other agencies;
• Information regarding parents' knowledge of the referral.

3. Timescales

Once received, all Referrals must be written up and a decision made about their disposal within 1 working day of the initial contact. (Note: This should be as soon as possible where it is evident the child is seen as requiring immediate protection/urgent action.) 

Within 1 working day, the social worker should make a decision about the type of response that is required. This will include determining whether:

• The child requires immediate protection and urgent action is required;
• There is reasonable cause to suspect that the child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm, and whether enquires must be made and the child assessed under section 47 of the Children Act 1989.
  
  (See Somerset Safeguarding Children Partnership Child Protection Enquiries - Section 47 Children Act 1989 Procedure, Timescales for Section 47 Enquiries);
  
  
• The child is in need, and should be assessed under section 17 of the Children Act 1989;
• Any services are required by the child and family and what type of services; and
• Further specialist assessments are required in order to help the local authority to decide what further action to take.

4. Screening Process

The following process applies both to children who are already known to the authority and those who were not previously known.

The social worker must screen using the effective support guidance for children and families in Somerset, review the internal electronic database and complete agency checks with consent (unless child deemed at risk of significant harm).

The screening process should establish:

• The nature of the concern;
• How and why it has arisen;
• What the child's needs appear to be;
• Whether the concern involves significant harm;
• Whether there is any need for urgent action to protect the child or any children in the household.

This process will involve:

• Discussion with the person requesting involvement from Children's Services;
• Consideration of any existing records;
• The parent or carer should normally be informed that a Referral is being made unless to do so would place a child or vulnerable adult at increased risk of harm;
• The Information shared should always be necessary, proportionate, relevant, accurate, timely and secure;
• Involving other agencies as appropriate and in accordance with Information Sharing: Advice for Safeguarding Practitioners (DfE) and Working Together to Safeguard Children (DfE).

If there are indications that a child may be at risk of Significant Harm, the manager may authorise whatever actions are necessary to protect the child or others in the household from Significant Harm, which may result in the immediate provision of services. There should be consideration of a Strategy Discussion and of a multi-agency response (see Somerset Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures, Child Protection Enquiries - Section 47 Children Act 1989 Procedure, Strategy Discussion / Meeting).

If there is suspicion that a crime may have been committed including sexual or physical assault or neglect of the child, the Police must be notified immediately.

Personal information about non-professional referrers should not be disclosed to the parents or other agencies without the referrer's consent.

Parents/carers should usually be informed before discussing a referral with other agencies unless this may place the child at risk of Significant Harm, in which case the manager should authorise the discussion of the referral with other agencies without parental knowledge. The authorisation should be recorded with reasons.

5. Initial Disposal of Referrals

The initial disposal of a Referral, which must be authorised by the manager, may be:

1. That the child does not appear to be a child in need, which will result in one of the following: the provision of information, advice, sign-posting to another agency and/or no further action;
2. That the child appears to be a Child in Need with a moderate level of need, in which case, the manager may authorise a Single assessment;
3. That the child appears to be a Child in Need with a high level of need, which must result in a Single Assessment;
4. That it is suspected that the child is suffering or is likely to suffer from significant harm, which will result in a Single Assessment, with a view to conducting a strategy discussion, prior to a section 47 enquiry commencing.

Professionals making a request for involvement to Children's Services referrers should be advised of the disposal of the Referral.

Feedback on the outcome of the Referral should also be provided to non-professional referrers in a manner consistent with respecting the confidentiality of the child. 

The child and family must be informed of the action to be taken.

The child should be seen as soon as possible if the decision is taken that the Referral requires further assessment.

6. Recording of Referrals

All Initial Contacts and Referrals should be recorded on the electronic database.