Agenda item

(1)       Ms Marriott introduced the item and, with Mrs Weiss, answered questions from Members.  The following points were highlighted:-

(a)       The difficult economic climate had not caused any appreciable difference in the number of domestic violence cases, as Children’s Social Services’ threshold for intervention looked at parenting skills and not family income level.  A high number of referrals from the Police were related to domestic violence, so some joint work will be done to help CSS and the Police understand each other’s processes.  There were two keys issues when looking at domestic violence – prevention and how to manage a case once arisen;

(b)       Kent had a higher level of child protection referrals than many other local authorities, although the way in which they are processed in each authority made the outcomes different. Other local authorities might show fewer child protection referrals but they take more of them to Section 47 Conference. Kent takes a lower proportion of its referrals to conference but a higher percentage of those end up having a Child Protection Plan. Comparing figs from authority to authority was difficult as the picture was very complex, with many variables;

(c)        Many initial referrals do not meet the threshold for CSS services but are redirected to other organisations and schemes that can help.  CSS always look at available services as flexibly as possible to best meet the needs of each family. However, a family may not want the alternative service offered, or the other service may not be able to respond fast enough if the family had come seeking help at a time of crisis;

(d)       Referrals which do not proceed to service delivery are always recorded on a database, so any future referral for the same family or child can be cross-referenced to previous records;

(e)       What is most important is to choose the most suitable route for each child.  A decision to take a case to conference would only be made if it was considered absolutely necessary.  Conferences were avoided if possible as the process is stressful for the family.  Some other local authorities have more conferences as their processes are not so geared to avoiding them;

(f)         A small number of young people aged 17 shows up in the figures reported, and these are likely to be high-risk adolescents who have not been able to settle in the accommodation offered to them, and perhaps have mental health and/or substance misuse problems.  When they reach 18 they are no longer subject to a Child Protection Plan, but those with mental health and/or substance misuse problems can be offered a good transition process into Adult Social Services;

(g)       45% of referrals are recoded as being due to ‘family dysfunction’ – an ISC category which includes a range of groups such as Children In Need.  It is likely that this category includes many Police referrals;

(h)        What would be useful for Members to see in the future is not only a breakdown of the initial referral figures but a similar breakdown of those cases which arrive at the initial assessment stage, to allow comparison and a chance to identify patterns; and

(i)         Although the information gathered is believed to be accurate, the ICS system is still not working properly.  Its documentation had to be re-designed and will need to be piloted by being tested in one district before going live.  It is expected that ICS will be fully operational once again in April 2010.  Members were reassured that electronic systems were always backed up by good paper records.

(2)       RESOLVED that the information given in the report and in response to Members’ questions be noted, with thanks.