Better Outcomes for Children in Need

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• Better Outcomes for Children in Need

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Children in Conwy

• 22,000 0-18, number decreasing
• Areas of deprivation not amongst the highest in
  Wales
• Pockets of high deprivation, particularly housing
  and income
• Proportion born outside Wales 2nd highest of all
  Welsh LAs

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Children in Need in Conwy

• 2,800 children referred, 1,600 opened to
  Childrens Services in a year
• On any one day
• 380 being assessed
• 300 long term team
• 170 Children with disability team
• 131 Children looked after away from home
• 70 on Child Protection Register
• Broad geographic spread not confined to most
  deprived areas
• Broad age spread highest in teenage years

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Children in Need of Protection

• 6000 referrals, 484 Child Protection concerns,
  400 formal investigations
• 120 children taken to initial conference
• 100 added to register during year (84 removed)
• 76 registered end of year
• 27 families

• Reasons for referral
• Domestic violence 135
• Physical abuse 109
• Sexual abuse 62
• General Safety/ Health 55
• High risk offender 41
• Drugs alcohol abuse 17
• Neglect 15
• Other categories (12) 50
• (total 484)

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Assessed Needs
Social workers Prioritised areasSWs were asked
to rate cases in terms of the top 3 areas
requiring intervention.
CHILDSafeguarding promoting welfare
Parenting Capacity
Childs Development Needs
Family Environmental
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Parents survey services accessed following
registration
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Children in Need of Protection Parental
engagement with Services

• Non engagement was identified as a significant
  factor in 9 out of 20 families
• The factor most strongly associated with failure
  to engage are mental health issues
• There was a very high satisfaction with the
  Parent Support Team and DARRT
• Negative comments about frequent changes in
  Social Workers

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Children who became looked after during 2006/7
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Children who became looked after age 3 and under

• Nearly all child protection usually prevention
  of neglect
• Parental factors
• Drug and alcohol problems combined with housing
  instability (12/16)
• Domestic violence
• Mental Health issues
• Service issues Non engagement 9/16

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Children who became looked after aged 11 and over

• Child factors
• 21/23 had been known for a long period
• 17/23 in special education of some sort
• Clear link with Health problems
• Clear link with Youth Justice Service
• Parental factors
• Drug and alcohol (8/14)
• Mental Health issues (8/14)
• Domestic abuse

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Children who became looked after (B) 11

• NEEDS
• a)Young persons behaviour/ emotions
• Special Education almost all associated with
  behaviour problems (12 of the 13 children)
• Anger and anger management issues are frequently
  quoted (6 of the 13)
• Depression and thoughts of self harm (2)
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Anti-social behaviour, theft, missing from home.
• ADHD (2)
• b)Parents/ Carers
• Drugs and alcohol (3)
• Past DV (3)
• Mental Health (3)
• No information (4)

• SERVICES
• Young person
• Community support team direct support to the
  young person.(4)
• Sessional support to young person (3)
• Youth Offending Team (5)
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (2)
• Young Carers (1)
• Support to Parents
• Parent support team (5 families)
• Therapeutic team group parenting support and
  individual parenting counselling (4)
• Drug and Alcohol services - DARRT (4)and CDAS(2)

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Service analysis - expenditure
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Adolescent Support Services

• Range of services are a reasonable fit with
  guidance
• Specialist Support Teams for Adolescents/ Crisis
  intervention
• Interventions to address Adolescent Emotional and
  Behavioural Problems
• Services to address Drug and Alcohol Misuse in
  Young People
• Out of School Activities
• Parenting Education
• Family Group Conferences
• Reconfigured as Changes project improved
  co-ordination of services
• YET
• Adolescent admissions into care, together with
  the length of time they are remaining in care,
  are creating an unsustainable demand on the care
  resources leading to a significant overspend of
  Childrens Services budget.

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Support Services for families with young children

• Service are a good fit with guidance
• Appreciated by those who engage
• Need clearer focus on outcomes at referral
• Needs co-ordination PST/NCH project
• Targeted home visiting PST
• Family Centres -NCH Family Project
• Targeted Parenting Education NCH
• Capacity issues