Agenda item

To receive a report from the Cabinet Member for Specialist Children’s Services and the Corporate Director of Social Care Health and Wellbeing, and to note the proposed structure of the 18plus Care Leaving Service to meet the increasing demand of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children transitioning into the Service.

(Naintara Khosla, Assistant Director, Corporate Parenting, was in attendance for this item).

1.    Mr Segurola introduced the report which reviewed the Care Leaving Service in light of the significant increase in Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) who began arriving in July 2015 and became looked after by the Council and are now reaching 18 years of age and transitioning into the 18 plus Care Leaving Service.  The review has been undertaken to ensure there are appropriate resources allocated to meet this increased need and manageable workloads for staff with sufficient management capacity to oversee the casework.

2.    Mr Segurola then responded to questions of the Committee Members and made points including the following:

·         A substantial amount of work had been put into analysis of numbers of UASC. Pressure of cases was variable, but due to the dispersal scheme, and the situation in France, the numbers arriving in Kent had reduced significantly since July 2016.

·         The pathway needed to be overseen by a qualified social worker. There were also a number of solicitors active in seeking cases against authorities around UASC, in terms of age assessment, support and education.

·         The figure of 61 missing UASC was solely for Kent. This was a substantial challenge, where arrivals would declare they were under 18, but would disappear before there was a chance for assessment.  KCC worked closely with Police to identify their whereabouts, but in many cases it was likely it was actually adults who disappeared, due to contacts in relation to work.  All cases were risk assessed and if there were concerns in relation to trafficking, the response was measured proportionately to ensure every step was taken to identify whereabouts and safeguard young people. 

3.    Mr Ireland then added the following points:

·         It was not possible to calculate numbers with regard to those who go on to higher education.  The numbers could be predictable, providing any new arrivals remained within the scope of the dispersal scheme.  The levels of UASC in 2015 were much higher, and it was unclear if the service could have coped with these numbers.

·         The build-up for care leavers turning 18 and immediately after was a challenging time, as the young people’s immigration status was not clear, and the service needed specialist immigration knowledge to deal with this. Personal advisors did not have this knowledge.

4.    Mrs Khosla also added the following points:

·         Recruitment had been challenging, and allocation was prioritised through risk assessments for the young people, but all cases were allocated. Planning for next tranche of service increase would be dealt with by transitioning some workers from children in care services, where the need for under 18’s had lessened.

·         The different geographical areas, North, West and South Kent, had met the requirements at the time of setting up.  There were four teams two of which were in Dover, and two were at Worrall House.

5.    RESOLVED that the proposed structure of the 18plus Care Leaving Service to meet the increasing demand of UASC transitioning into the Service be noted.