Disabled Children’s Service - Thresholds and Procedure

The definition of disabled children being used by the East Riding Disabled Children Service is adapted from NSF Standard 8:

Disabled children and young people and those with complex health needs including those with:

• Multiple disabilities;
• Physical impairments;
• Learning disabilities;
• Sensory impairments;
• Emotional / challenging behavioural needs relating to their disability and includes autism and other communication needs.

Early Support in the East Riding coordinates a multi agency approach for children under the age of 5 years who are with the definition of "disabled" as set out above and who require the support of two or more specialist agencies.

Where a child appears to meet the above criteria, the worker will establish whether an Early Help Assessment has already been completed. If so, the worker will contact the person who completed the Early Help Assessment to discuss progress and ensure that any additional needs are being met.

If an Early Help Assessment has not already been undertaken in relation to the child, the worker will discuss this with the family and if the family agrees, one should be completed.

On completion of the Early Help Assessment, if the child meets the threshold for early Support, s/he should be referred to the Early Support Panel.

If the Panel recommends a multi agency family meeting, this will be referred to Early Support Services who will coordinate the setting up of the meeting with the person who completed the Early Help Assessment and the family, and send out invitations. For the first family meeting a chair will be identified from a pool of workers and will be independent of the case.

At the multi agency family meeting, the chair will complete a Family Meeting and Record Plan, agree the lead professional and identify a date for review (usually within 6 months). Support Services will type and circulate the plan to all invitees.

After the first family meeting, the Lead Professional will take over the role of chair of the meeting.

After two meetings, the lead professional will take over the coordinating role.

Early Support is not for:

• Children over 5 years of age;
• Diagnosing children suspected of having an autistic spectrum disorder;
• Children with emotional /behavioural disorders unless associated with disability;
• Children who can access support from mainstream and universal services and do not require specialist support.

The Children's Disability Team is part of the Disabled Children Service of East Riding. The team comprises of social workers, family support practitioners and health professionals.

The specialist service provided by the Children's Disability Team is ultimately for those children with the most severe and complex needs.

The following children will meet the threshold for services from the Children's Disability Team:

• Disabled children with complex needs requiring integrated support from statutory or specialist services to prevent immediate risk of significant impairment which might directly affect a child's growth, development, physical or mental wellbeing or to prevent the need for long term accommodation and allow the child to remain with the family.

The following children may meet the threshold for services from the Children's Disability Team:

• Disabled children with additional needs requiring targeted involvement from more than one agency/service to prevent impairment of health or development and/or alleviate stress on the family.

Referrals to the Children's Disability Team may come from a customer services centre, golden number, via an Early Help Assessment or other assessment.

In addition, a request may be received from another team requesting the discussion of a child at the weekly team meeting in order to establish whether it would be appropriate to refer a child for a service. In these circumstances the worker would be asked to complete an Early Help Assessment or another recognised assessment if this has not already occurred.

Where a referral to the Children's Disability Team is accepted, the child will be allocated to a worker and a Single Assessment will be undertaken. A carer's assessment will always be carried out as part of the Single Assessment of a child.

A Children and Young Persons Plan will then be drawn up on the basis of the assessment, and a Lead Professional identified. The plan will set out the support services to be provided, which may include community support services, support for siblings, young carers, specialist school holiday support, short breaks or direct payments.

See Child in Need Plans and Reviews Procedure (also known as Children and Young Person's Plan).

Where services are identified these will be referred to the Children's Specialist Services Resource Panel for approval.

Any child with a Children and Young Person’s Plan will have six monthly reviews. These will always be a face to face meeting, chaired by the lead professional or manager/senior practitioner if appropriate. The venue will be agreed with the family. The child's views must be presented to the review and the child must be given the opportunity to attend the review meeting if they wish.

The review of the Children and Young Person’s Plan can be combined with the annual review of the child's Education, Health and Care Plan.

All reviews of Children and Young Person’s Plans must include a review of the carer's needs.

Where a safeguarding/child protection issue arises in relation to a child who has an allocated worker within the Children's Disability Team, this will be referred immediately to the Children's Disability Teams decision maker who will have responsibility for taking the lead role in the East Riding Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures and Guidance. Liaison with the Safeguarding Team may be appropriate if this progresses to a Section 47 Enquiry.

The allocated worker from the Disabled Children will work alongside the social worker undertaking the Section 47 Enquiry. If the child is made the subject of a Child Protection Plan, the allocated worker will work alongside the child's keyworker and be a member of the Core Group.

The Look Ahead database is for families with a child aged 0 to 18 who has additional needs. Families who agree to be included on the database receive a newsletter four times a year and are regularly asked for their views. Parents/carers are also invited to attend ad hoc workshops and are eligible for a Shop and Save Card, Leisure Card and Parents and Carer's Emergency Response Card.

If a need for equipment is identified as part of an assessment, a referral will be made to the Occupational Therapy Service.

At the first review within the education service after a child reaches the age of 14, the transition process starts and a representative of futures+ should be invited to the review. See Transition Planning to Adulthood Procedure - to follow.

A carer's assessment will always be carried out as part of the Single Assessment of a child.

If a carer requests an assessment, it should be explained that this will take place as part of a Single Assessment of a child referred to the Children's Disability team, i.e. a child who meets the threshold for a service from the team. If the carer requires an assessment in his or her own right, then this should be referred to Adult Social Care Services.

All reviews of child in need plans must include a review of the carer's assessment.

See also Children and Young People Aged 0-25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Procedure, Young Carers and Parental Carer’s of Disabled Children.

Where a young carer is identified as part of a family, then a referral will be made for this child to assessed as a Child in Need and a child in need plan should be drawn up as required to meet the child's needs.

Young carers should not be expected to carry out inappropriate levels of care and should be enabled to take full advantage of educational and leisure pursuits.