3.2.3 Placements and Admissions in Residential Care

Contents

1.	Protocol of Assessment and Decision Making about Referrals to Blackpool Children's Home
2.	Consultation
3.	Health Care
4.	Communication
5.	Support, Monitoring and Ending of Placements
	5.1	Support and Monitoring of Placements
	5.2	Ending of Placements

1.  Protocol of Assessment and Decision Making about Referrals to

1.	Purpose
	1.1	The purpose of this protocol is to manage the intake of young people into placements in Blackpool Children's Homes.  Blackpool Children's Homes accommodate young people who have diverse needs and presenting issues.  It is important to manage admissions to the homes in such a way that the safety and security of existing residents at the home is maintained as well as meeting the needs of any young person referred to the home for placement.  The protocol sets out to establish a practice framework to ensure that each referral is properly assessed and any identified risks are subjected to a process of risk management planning.  This process is intended to assess the capacity of the home to meet the presenting and placement needs of the young person being referred, and to ensure that the young person being referred does not create any significant negative impact on the continuing well being of other young people already in placement.
2.	Referral
	2.1	Referrals should be made to the Group Manager, Children's Homes, or when the Group Manager is not available to the Service Manager, Provider Services, and contain the following information: Name, including any names also known as D.O.B Home address Current placement address How long known to the department Current Social Worker Brief synopsis of presenting issues Purpose of proposed placement Time constraints relevant to the referral Date of referral
	2.2	On receipt of the referral a referral assessment will be initiated by the Group Manager, Children's Homes.
3.	Assessment
	3.1	The referral assessment will be undertaken by the Manager of the home that has a suitable vacancy for the referred young person.
	3.2	The Manager of the home will contact the Social Worker to discuss the young person referred in more detail and to access information from the file.  The Manager will decide upon the need to contact other professionals, family members and the young person to aid the assessment and will follow this up.
	3.3	The Manager of the home will prepare a Risk Management Plan (RMP), Appendix 1, for the young person referred to the home.  In preparing the plan the Manager will address sections 1 and 3 of the RMP using her or his detailed knowledge of the other young people in placement.
	3.4	This dynamic risk assessment can only be effectively undertaken by someone who has detailed knowledge of other young people in the resident group and is crucial to maintaining the stability of the home.
4.	Decision
	4.1	On completion of the RMP the Manager of the home will discuss the RMP, the purpose of the placement, and the capacity of the home to meet the presenting needs of the young person, with the Group Manager, Children's Homes.
	4.2	In most cases a decision about proceeding with the placement will then be made.
5.	Timescales
	5.1	It is not appropriate to prescribe rigid timescales to the above process as it is often the case that people essential to the process are not immediately available.  The Manager of the home will however give this work the highest priority and aim to undertake a 'good enough' assessment in the shortest possible timescale.
6.	Complex Referrals
	6.1	There will be some referrals that are complicated due to specific previous behaviours, events or vulnerabilities that will need to be considered more carefully.
	6.2	For example where young people referred: have previously committed arson have a history of sexually abusive behaviour have a history of significant levels of self-harming behaviour or other vulnerability have a history of being a significant threat to the safety of others
	6.3	In these circumstances the assessment will be referred back to the Group Manager, Children's Homes, who will clarify any additional information needing to be gathered to inform the assessment and the decision.
	6.4	Once the additional information has been gathered to inform the assessment the decision about placement will be taken in consultation with the Service Manager, Provider Services.
	6.5	The additional information required will be requested in writing from the social worker and Team Manager and or other professionals as appropriate.
	6.6	The intention is not to block the placement of young people with complex needs or those requiring a high level of supervision.  It is to ensure that the decision to proceed with a placement has considered all the relevant information, is based on a realistic RMP and any additional resources needs or specialist service provisions have been put in place prior to the placement being made.

2. Consultation

Once a decision is made to place a child, the Registered Manager or someone delegated to act on his/her behalf, will undertake the following as soon as practicable after the decision is reach to place the child:

1. Liaise with the Social Worker to clarify or confirm any information that may be required (e.g. which was not provided at point of referral) to assist in the drawing up of the child's Placement Plan and behaviour/positive handling plans:-
2. If possible, arrange for the child and parents/carers to visit the home prior to placement, and arrange for a brochure or guide about the home to be forwarded to the child/parents;
3. Collate/receive relevant up to date information/records relating to the child - if any of the following are not available, arrangements should be made to acquire them as soon as possible after the child is place (for more detailed guidance on the following plans see Placement Disruption and Disruption Meetings Procedure) e.g.
   • Care Plan
   • Placement Information Record
   • Chronology
   • Personal Education Plan and/or Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN)
   • Pathway Plan (if relevant)
   • Health Care Plan (See Section 3, Healthcare)
   • Any specialist reports that may be relevant to the child's placement
   • Referral Form
4. Establish if the child is subject to a Child Protection Plan, Contact Order, Supervision Order or other Court Order that may have implications for the child's placement or who the child may have contact with (NB: No contact may be permitted between the child and parents, relatives or friends without the approval of the Social Worker)
5. Ensure that staff and other children in the placement/home are briefed and arrange for the child's bedroom to be prepared.
6. Allocate a Keyworker/Linkworker for the child
7. The child should be given a copy of the homes Welcome Booklet outlining the purpose of the home and house rules/routines
8. The Social Worker must provide the child with a copy of Blackpool'sComments, Compliments and Complaints Procedure ; if the child does not appear to have a copy, the Keyworker/Manager should arrange for a copy to be forwarded.

3. Health Care

It will necessary for the manager of the home to ensure the following:

• That the child is allocated a Keyworker who will be responsible for promoting the child's healthcare needs and liaising with health care professionals (See Keyworker Responsibilities Procedure).
• For the child to be registered with a GP (within 10 working days of the placement) and have access to a Dentist in the home's locality (within 20 working days of the placement).

For a Health Care Assessment to be conducted in relation to the child, within 14 working days of the child's placement; see Health Care Assessments and Health Care Plans Procedures.

4. Communication

The Manager of the home will, when starting an assessment on a referral, circulate to the Social Workers and Team Managers of those young people already in placement there:

• Name of the young person referred
• D.O.B of the young person referred
• Name of the young person's Social Worker

This is to ensure that all interested parties are aware of the proposed placement and to allow Social Workers to contribute any relevant information/concerns about the young person proposed to be placed to the Manager of the home.

Such relevant information will be presented as part of the assessment and taken into consideration in decision making.

This communication and information sharing does not confer a power of veto over placements by the Social Workers of young people in placement.  It will, however, ensure that any concerns about the proposed placement are considered and addressed in the RMP.

The child's social worker will update the child's electronic record with the details of the placement.

Where the placement is within an external provider, the Placements Officer will notify the finance section so as to trigger payments as appropriate.

Notification of the placement will also be sent by the child's social worker to the Designated Nurse for LAC (details to follow), the relevant person in the education service, the local Targeted Services (if the placement is in the area of a different local authority) and the child's GP.

The child's social worker will notify all family members consulted and involved in the decision-making process of the placement.

The child's social worker must also notify the allocated Independent Reviewing Officer or, if it is the first placement, the Quality Assurance Unit of the placement. This notification will trigger the appointment of a Independent Reviewing Officer if it is the first placement, and the setting up of arrangements for a Looked After Review.

These notifications must be made in writing, advising of the placement decision and the name and address of the children's home where the child is to be placed.

The child's social worker should also notify - preferably in writing but it may be verbally - all those involved in the day to day arrangements for the child, including school and any health professional or YOT worker actively involved with the child.

It will be necessary for the home or the child's social worker to ensure the child is registered with a GP, Dentist and Optician, either retaining practices known to him or her (which is preferable) or in the area where they are placed.

In relation to a first Looked After placement it will also be necessary for the social worker to liaise with the Designated Nurse for LAC (details to follow)to arrange a Health Care Assessment. The social worker must arrange for the completion of a Personal Education Plan.

For any new placement, every effort should be made to enable the child to remain at the same school unless there are reasons which would be detrimental to his or her well being.

5. Support, Monitoring and Ending of Placements

5.1 Support and Monitoring of Placements

The child's social worker must visit the child in the placement within one week of the placement and then at specified intervals; see procedures in Social Worker Visits.

Where there are concerns in relation to the progress of the placement, consideration should be given to seeking additional resources to assist the placement.

Where there are any changes to the child's placement and/or legal status during the placement, the child's social worker must update the child's electronic records.

5.2 Ending of Placements

The child's social worker must notify the Placement Service when a placement ends and arrange to inform the relevant finance officer so that any payments to the provider will cease.  The social worker will also inform those notified when the placement was made of the ending of the placement.

Where the placement ends in an unplanned way, consideration should be given to holding a Disruption Meeting - see Placement Disruption and Disruption Meetings Procedure

End