Issue - meetings

This report sets out performance data and trends for an agreed set of measures relating to: Children and Families - Contacts, referrals and assessments and Child Protection.

The Committee considered the performance data and trends for measures relating to contacts, referrals and assessments and child protection. For the benefit of new Members there was added explanation of   performance statistics and associated numbers. An understanding was also given of the pathway through children’s social care by the ordering of the performance information which started from the initial point of contact with children’s social care services, through to the child protection plan.

OP504 (The number of child contacts received) The First Response team will receive the first indication of a concern about a child’s welfare via phone call, email, letter or contact form.   Around 55% of the contacts received, will have been put forward by Police and it was also clarified that some contacts received may not necessarily be the first time the service receive a concern about a child as they may already be in the social care process or have been in the past.  When looking at OP410, it was ascertained that of the 501 contacts received by First Response in March 2013, 164 became referrals to children’s social care. The Committee were informed that a majority of the remaining 337 contacts would have required no further action by the social work team but some may have needed additional information to   establish if the threshold for a social care referral had been met.

When looking at the 164 referrals in March, the Committee noted that 87 %( 143 cases) will go onto initial assessment which was commented to be a high number of cases to receive a statutory service.

The next performance rate considered was OP383 Re – referrals within 12 months of the previous referral) This was explained to be a critical indicator, required by the service to judge whether good practices are being followed. The low referral rate at the end of the last year of 12% indicated that First Response team were applying the thresholds for a social care referral correctly and that appropriate support was being provided.

HY59 (percentage of initial assessments for children’s social care carried out within 10 working days of referral. The Committee noted that 70% (100 cases out of 143) had received an initial assessment within 10 days of referral. New members were advised that the Committee had previously investigated the reasons behind this performance level and had been satisfied that children were being seen within 10 days. The new single assessment from would help social workers complete the assessments and write them also within this timescale.  The new target for single assessments would be 95% and would be a 10 days (single assessment) + 35 days for core assessment.

Op388 – Children subject to a child protection plan - In March 2013 there were 275 children subject to a child protection plan.  This indicator included children in need and subject to plan.  New members noted that these families required the significant support of a social worker. There was a steady decrease in number of children on plans, achieved  ...  view the full minutes text for item 152