!

Metropolitan

Borough of Wirral

Social Services Department

DRAFT POLICY.

< LEAVING CARE >

VERSION < 1 >.

All comments in relation to this document should be made to:

< TONY BURSCOUGH >

< SERVICE MANAGER >

< Conway Building >

Telephone : < 666 4648 >

By no later than :

< October 2001 >

INTRODUCTION.

The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 is implemented from 1st October 2001. This legislation affects the Local Authorities duties and responsibilities to young people who have been looked after by the authority for 13 weeks and on or subsequent to their 16th birthday. The legislation introduces 4 categories of young people with differing entitlements to support: Eligible Young People; Relevant Young People; formerly Relevant Young People and those eligible for support under section 24 of the Children Act.

The main purpose of the legislation is to improve the life chances of young people living in and leaving local authority care; to delay discharge from care until young people are prepared and ready to leave; to provide better personal support for young people after leaving care; and to improve the financial arrangements for care leavers. The legislation follows the consultation document Me Survive, Out There? published in July 1999 and the Governments Response to the Children’s Safeguards Review and is informed by research findings and consultation with young people.

The legislation consolidates the increased support for care leavers as a funding priority under the Quality Protects Programme and the National Priorities targets for care leavers. Both of these are aimed at improving the preparation of care leavers for their adulthood through clear assessment of their needs and plans to meet those needs. To achieve these objectives there is a clear commitment to ensure that care leavers are encouraged/supported to take part in education, training and/or employment, have appropriate and consistent support, live in suitable accommodation, and have sufficient financial resources.

The responsibilities for the legislation are laid on Local Authorities as corporate bodies with the Social Services Department playing a lead role in discharging them. In discharging the responsibilities within the Act the Social Services Department will need to develop effective interagency liaison particularly with Housing & Education Departments, Health Authorities, Connexions, Benefits Agency, Employment Service. Section 27 of the Children Act gives the Local Authority & Social Services Department the power to request help in the discharge of its functions and the request has to be complied with unless it is incompatible with the other agencies duties or obligations.

CONTENTS.

THE POLICY.	4

1.	POLICY STATEMENT.	4

2.	POLICY OBJECTIVES.	4

3.	EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IMPLICATIONS.	5

4.	DEFINITION(S).	5

5.	LEAD SENIOR OFFICER.	5

IMPLEMENTATION.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.	ONGOING ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.1.	DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT TEAM.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.2.	MANAGERS	Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3	ALL EMPLOYEES	Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.	ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.	PRIORITIES.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

RELEVANT DOCUMENTS AND REFERENCES.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.	LEGISLATION.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.	CENTRAL GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.	CORPORATE.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.	DEPARTMENTAL.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

5.	INFORMATION FOR USERS AND/OR STAFF.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

5.1.	Users.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

5.2.	Staff.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

6.	OTHER AGENCY INFORMATION.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

ACTION PLAN.	Error! Bookmark not defined.

THE POLICY.

1.	POLICY STATEMENT.

The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is committed to ensuring that young people leaving its care and meeting the eligibility criteria set out in the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 are provided with the necessary help, support, preparation and financial assistance to ensure a successful transition to independence. The Local Authority is committed to acting as a “good parent” for those young people for whom it has a corporate parenting responsibility and will ensure that all departments of the Local Authority work together to achieve this aim.

2.	POLICY OBJECTIVES.

To ensure that the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 and its associated regulations are complied with.

To ensure that young people age 16+ are not discharged from Local authority care without adequate preparation, needs assessment and an agreed plan (Pathway Plan) for their future up to the age of 21yrs, 24yrs if in further education.

To ensure young people leaving care have access to consistent contact and support from the Social Services Department, or its agents, and clarity about the support and financial assistance they can expect from the Local Authority and other Agencies.

To ensure the needs of care leavers are identified and local authority departments and other agencies recognise their responsibilities to this group of young people who are vulnerable to social exclusion.

To provide clear and transparent financial guidelines for the support of care leavers.

To ensure that effective partnerships are developed to meet the needs of care leavers in the most efficient and effective way possible whilst recognising the gender, race, religious, and cultural diversity of this group of young people.

To ensure that young people who are looked after, or who have been looked after, are fully involved in assessments of their individual needs and the development of their Pathway Plans.

To ensure that young people who are looked after, or have been looked after, are fully involved in the planning and development of services for care leavers.

To improve the life chances of young people looked after, or previously looked after, and ensure their full and active participation as citizens.

3.	EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IMPLICATIONS.

Leaving care services will be available to all young people who meet the eligibility criteria as defined in the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000.

4.	DEFINITION(S).

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5.	LEAD SENIOR OFFICER.

Tony Burscough, Service Manager, Permanency Planning

5

Draft Policy

Director of Social Services

2002-03-07

The Directror of Social Services

MBW