Guidelines on the Role of Social Workers for Children Placed in Children s Residential Centres

Transcription

1 Guidelies o the Role of Social Workers for Childre Placed i Childre s Residetial Cetres December 2009

2 Phoeix House, Block 2, 28 Coygham Road, Dubli 8, Irelad. Tel Fax Web

3 Itroductio These guidelies set out the role of social workers assiged to childre ad youg people placed i childre s residetial cetres. These guidelies were developed by the Health Iformatio ad Quality Authority Social Services Ispectorate i cosultatio with the Health Service Executive (HSE), i respose to requests from HSE social workers ad residetial cetre maagers for practical guidace i relatio to the role of social workers i residetial care. The Childre Acts Advisory Board, uder its fuctioal remit, was requested by the Social Services Ispectorate to publish these guidelies. The guidelies are ot iteded to be exhaustive, but are issued to assist social workers, residetial cetre care staff ad other relevat parties i clarifyig the role of social workers. Most importatly it is desiged to assist social workers i their work with childre i care, whether uder a care order, a special care order or a volutary arragemet. Aida Browe Chief Executive Childre Acts Advisory Board December

4 Backgroud The Health Iformatio ad Quality Authority (HIQA), Social Services Ispectorate (SSI), i the course of carryig out ispectios of childre s residetial cetres, received umerous requests from social workers ad cetre maagers to provide a practical set of guidelies i relatio to the role of social workers i residetial care. This documet has bee prepared i respose to that request ad while ot iteded to be defiitive, is issued to assist social workers, residetial staff ad other relevat parties i clarifyig the role of social workers. The Child Care Act, 1991 ad the Childre Act, 2001 set out the resposibilities of the HSE to childre i eed of care ad protectio. This guidace ote is to assist social workers i their work with childre i care, whether uder a care order, a special care order or a volutary arragemet ad applies to childre placed i residetial care. Social workers have the same resposibilities to childre whether the child is placed i residetial care provided by the HSE, a volutary orgaisatio or private compay. Equally, childre i care who are remaded to a assessmet or remad cetre, or are seteced to a detetio cetre also cotiue to eed the care ad protectio provided by their HSE social worker. All youg people i care are legally required to have a assiged social worker. 2

5 Workig i partership This guidace ote outlies the resposibilities of social workers for childre i residetial cetres, however cetre staff ad maagemet also have a key fuctio to assist social workers i dischargig their resposibilities. Residetial cetre staff members ad social workers should work closely together i carig for a child. This partership approach is essetial i esurig the child receives the best possible stadard of care. The followig practice guidelies should uderpi the work of the residetial cetre staff ad maagemet i supportig the social worker i dischargig their resposibilities: The social worker is made feel welcome by the staff team whe visitig ad has o difficulty i arragig visits. The social worker is facilitated i visitig the child i private. The social worker is give full access to review case files ad daily logs cocerig the child. The social worker is promptly iformed of all sigificat evets ivolvig the child. The social worker is iformed of ay complaits made by the child. The social worker is ivited to atted placemets reviews. The social worker is cosulted i advace i relatio to ay proposed periods of time to be spet by the child away from the cetre overight. The social worker is iformed of ay risks to the child arisig from the behaviour of aother child. The social worker is provided with a procedure for raisig cocers ad makig complaits. A mai staff member/keyworker is assiged to liaise with the social worker to facilitate effective commuicatio. The cetre should implemet ay itervetios i relatio to the child that have bee agreed o a iter-discipliary basis. The cetre should implemet the relevat actios of the care pla through the placemet pla. The cetre should uderstad the role of the social worker as a advocate ad protector ad respect their right to raise questios i relatio to practice. The residetial cetre s policies should iclude a policy, to be developed i cosultatio with the local social work departmet, which outlies the role of the supervisig social worker ad required stadards. The social worker should be iformed of ay ew policies or of ay chages to curret policy i a cetre. 3

6 Legislatio ad Regulatios goverig the role of social workers for youg people i residetial care This guidace is based o the Child Care Act, 1991, the Childre Act, 2001, regulatios (Child Care Regulatios 1995, 1996) ad atioal stadards (Natioal Stadards for Childre s Residetial Cetres 2001, ad Natioal Stadards for Special Care 2001). The legislatio allows the HSE to delegate its fuctio with regard to childre i care to a authorised perso. Social workers, as such authorised persos, are resposible for meetig the HSE s legal resposibilities to childre i care. The mai duties ad resposibilities of a social worker uder the Natioal Stadards for Childre s Residetial Cetres are defied uder Stadard : Supervisig social workers have clear professioal ad statutory obligatios ad resposibilities for youg people i residetial care. All youg people eed to kow that they have access o a regular basis to a advocate exteral to the cetre to whom they ca cofide ay difficulties or cocers they have i relatio to ay aspects of their care. Stadard 5 Plaig for Childre ad Youg People of the Natioal Stadards for Childre s Residetial Cetres also emphasises the requiremet for a detailed care pla for each child: There is a statutory writte care pla developed i cosultatio with parets ad youg people that is subject to regular review. This pla states the aims ad objectives of the placemets, promotes the welfare educatio, iterest ad health eeds of youg people ad addresses their emotioal ad psychological eeds. It stresses ad outlies practical cotact with families ad where appropriate, preparatio for leavig care. For further details o the resposibilities of social workers uder these stadards see Appedix A. 4

7 Key Resposibilities of Social Workers The key resposibilities of social workers are to esure that youg people are safe, their rights protected ad that their care plas are relevat ad regularly reviewed. These resposibilities are govered by the aforemetioed regulatios ad govermet policy ad represets a miimum requiremet. High quality supervisio of social workers by their lie maagers is a essetial part of social work practice which helps to esure that childre are cared for safely ad well while also supportig social workers i their role. The followig are practice guidelies desiged to assist social workers i dischargig these key resposibilities. Iform yourself about the cetre prior to placemet: Seek a copy of the last ispectio ad moitorig report where available. Speak with the local moitorig officer to get their view of the cetre. I o-statutory services establish the registratio status of the cetre ad the fuctio it is registered for, bearig i mid that sectio 60 of the Child Care Act, 1991 prohibits the operatio of a o-registered cetre. Review a copy of the cetre s policy documet ad its statemet of purpose ad fuctio. Visit the residetial cetre prior to placemet of the child ad equire about pocket moey, clothes, cotact with frieds ad family ad geeral rules. See the bedroom. Check that the cetre is suitable for the child i terms of the other youg people already there. Be clear about the rights of childre i residetial care, i particular their right to access their files, icludig documets provided by the social worker uless otherwise agreed o grouds of data protectio or potetial harm to the child. Seek relevat iformatio o the placemet process ad procedures for ay emergecy residetial services i your area i case you eed to arrage a emergecy placemet. Familiarise yourself with all statutory istrumets ad legislatio goverig the placemet of childre i residetial care, i particular the Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios 1995 ad 1996 ad the Child Care Act, Be clear about the Childre First reportig procedures for childre i care or other local procedures, icludig otificatio of high risk behaviour if appropriate uder this process e.g. bullyig. Kow what documets should be provided to the residetial cetre by the social worker i order to facilitate shared plaig, for example, the child s birth certificate, medical history, up to date care pla, copy of care order ad ay other pertiet iformatio. If ecessary, facilitate the hadover of the child s care betwee professioals, i particular betwee ay medical professioals ivolved with the child. Pla effectively for the care of the child: Esure the child has a up-to-date care pla prior to admissio. It is essetial that this is 5

8 regularly reviewed ad updated accordig to Article 25 (1)-(7)of the Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios The first review should occur withi two moths of placemet i residetial cetre. The ext reviews should occur withi six moths itervals for the ext two years. The ext reviews should occur withi twelve moth itervals. Please ote these are miimum timescales i which reviews should occur. Article 25 (1) states that the care pla should be reviewed by a authorised perso as ofte as may be ecessary i the particular circumstaces of the case. Moitor practice i the cetre as it relates to your child: Check that the child is receivig good primary care with eough pocket moey, clothes, good meals, cotact with frieds ad a good stadard of accommodatio especially their bedroom. Review all otificatio of sigificat icidets ad respod as ecessary with the staff team but also with the child. Be aware of ay patters of behaviour i a idividual case or the cumulative impact of certai itervetios such as physical restraits or i the special care uits, sigle separatios. Clarify iformatio with the child. Esure that the overall aims of the care pla are reflected i the cetre s placemet pla ad carried through to the care provided to the child livig i the cetre. Review the child s case files ad daily logs whe visitig the cetre. Request regular updates regardig the child either verbally or i writig. Esure sigificat decisios which affect the child s placemet occur withi the care pla or special care pla review process. Esure the child, parets ad sigificat others are cosulted about the plas ad are facilitated to atted review meetigs ad receive copies of the pla. Esure multi-discipliary plaig meetigs are arraged where ecessary to support ad maitai youg people i their placemets ad to maage risks. Esure adequate leavig care plas are icorporated ito the care pla whe a child is sixtee years of age icludig cosideratio of the eed for support from social workers, aftercare workers ad others as required beyod their 18th birthday. Be iformed: Esure that ay therapy the child is egaged with is i keepig with the aims of the care pla. Be familiar with models of therapy beig used i the cetre icludig the arragemets for supervisio/moitorig of therapeutic itervetios. Be clear about the purpose of the therapy ad agree with the therapist the process for evaluatig its effectiveess with the child ad expected outcomes. Seek their views as to its usefuless as part of the evaluatio process. Esure the professioal credetials ad refereces for the therapist have bee validated prior to their ivolvemet with the child. 6

9 Esure the child has a good uderstadig of the therapy ad its purpose. Be familiar with ay model of physical restrait icludig the moitorig of the use of physical restrait. If ecessary, raise cocers about practice with the cetre maager ad if uresolved, address the issue with appropriate lie maagers util you are satisfied. Iform the local moitorig officer of ay cocers you may have i relatio to practice i a cetre. Liste to the views of the child: Keep i regular cotact with the child through phoe calls ad visits. Always meet the child or child whose placemet you supervise i private, eve briefly, to give them a opportuity to express ay cocers. Make arragemets to visit the child separate from access visits, meetigs ad reviews. Whe cotactig the cetre, make sure to speak with the child ad ot just with staff members aloe. Raise cocers or complai if you are uhappy about ay aspects of care: Discuss with your lie maagemet ay fears you may have of a child losig their placemet due to makig you makig a complait. Advocate for the child: Esure the child is prepared by yourself or by their keyworker for all meetigs, so that they kow what to expect. If a child does ot atted meetigs explore why ad seek to address their cocers. Let the child kow that you are their advocate outside of the cetre ad tell them you will help them to deal with ay cocers or complaits they may have. Esure that the child has all importat phoe umbers icludig your ow ad respod to messages as soo as possible. Keep ay promises you make ad tell the child if you thik you will be uable to keep them. Give the child a good uderstadig of beig i care ad the wider care system icludig your role as a social worker ad safeguardig resposibilities. Clarify the role of the keyworker i the cetre ad maitai good commuicatio with him/her. Kow the local process for makig a complait ad seek to resolve complaits i accordace with this process. If you have a serious breakdow i your professioal relatioship with a cetre, the lie maagemet from both social work ad residetial services should cosider the use of a idepedet perso to esure professioal objectivity is maitaied i resolvig complaits. Check that the relatioship betwee the child ad their family is maitaied/developed ad facilitated by the practice i the cetre. Address ay difficulties i this regard with the cetre maager ad family. I some circumstaces it may be appropriate to request that a child has a guardia ad litem appoited, i order to provide a advocate that is exteral to the HSE. 7

10 Feedback to child: Check that the child feels listeed to ad uderstads ay decisios or discussios at review meetigs. Advise the child if meetig times have chaged or meetigs are cacelled ad let them kow if you will be late or abset for a exteded period of time. Esure that the child is kept iformed as to the status of ay complaits they have made or assessmets of allegatios, always havig due regard to crimial or legal restrictios to this process. A child should be kept iformed ad supported throughout as the ivestigatio or assessmet of complaits progresses ad should be iformed i a timely maer of the outcome. Itroduce the child to their ew social worker if you are leavig or chagig posts. 8

11 Appedix 1: Natioal Stadards for Childre s Residetial Cetres Stadard Supervisig social workers have clear professioal ad statutory obligatios ad resposibilities for youg people i residetial care. All youg people eed to kow that they have access o a regular basis to a advocate exteral to the cetre to whom they ca cofide ay difficulties or cocers they have i relatio to ay aspects of their care. Social work maagemet esures that supervisig social workers: provide sufficiet backgroud iformatio about the child to the cetre; prepare a care pla as required as the delegated authorised perso uder the Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios 1995 Article 23 (1); make arragemets to hold care pla reviews Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios 1995 Article 25 (1)-(7): First review should occur withi two moths of placemet i residetial cetre; The ext reviews should occur withi six moths itervals for the ext two years; The ext reviews should occur withi twelve moth itervals. Please ote these are miimum timescales i which reviews should occur. Article 25 (1) states that the care pla should be reviewed by a authorised perso as ofte as may be ecessary i the particular circumstaces of the case. esure that youg people ad parets are ivited ad their views are represeted durig the review ad are reflected i decisios Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios 1995 Article 25 (4) ad (5); visit the child i the cetre ad see the child privately Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios 1995 Article24 (1): First visit should occur withi oe moth of the placemet; The ext visit should occur withi three mothly itervals for the ext two years; Thereafter at itervals ot exceedig six moths. Please ote that these are miimum visitig requiremets are aware of all sigificat evets ivolvig the child ad take appropriate actio o receipt of writte otificatios. These would iclude self-harm attempts, medical assistace required, crimial activity ad others; 9

12 receive writte otificatio of all icidets of physical restrait or uauthorised absece of a child; are satisfied that the child is safe ad well cared for i the cetre; from time to time read the child s case file ad daily diary; keep a up to date case file icludig a record of every visit to the child, Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios 1995, Part IV, Article 22 ad 24. There are also additioal criteria uder the Natioal Stadards for Childre s Residetial Cetres which relate to the resposibilities of the social worker i partership with other professioals ivolved with the child ad these are as follows: Cosult with the youg people ad their families about decisios that affect their life ad future (Stadard 4.1. ad Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios 1995 Article 25 (4) ad (5). Social worker ad cetre maager are satisfied that the placemet is suitable ad will meet the eeds of the child ad takes accout of the eed to protect youg people of abuse by their peers (Stadard 5.1 ad 5.6 ad Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios 1995 Article 25 (5)(ii)). Where a child has lost cotact with a paret, family or sigificat others actively seek to re-establish cotact ad to idetify key people withi the exteded family to provide support (Stadard 5.19). Ecourage cotact with family members takig ito accout court stipulatios ad wishes of the childre ad esure youg people ad families are iformed of reasos for supervisio of visits (Stadard 5.20). Esure sibligs have a high level of cotact with each other whe they caot be placed together (Stadard 5.22). Iform the child of ay reaso for o cotact with family members (Stadard 5.23). Access ay specialist service required (Stadard 5.29). Co-ordiate work with other professioals ad esure ay iterdiscipliary issues are overcome i the best iterest of the child (Stadard 5.30). Ay fidigs ad recommedatios of specialist professioals are reflected i the care pla ad work of the cetre (Stadard 5.31 ad Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios 1995 Article 25 (5)). Esure the preparatio for leavig care is icludig i the care pla for child two years prior to reachig the legal age of leavig care (Stadard 5.35 ad Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios 1995 Article 25 (5) (v)). Edeavour to esure with cetre maagers that youg people do ot leave the cetre i a uplaed maer (Stadard 5.37). 10

13 Esure the child has a permaet, private ad secure record of his or her history ad progress that cotais all relevat documetatio ad is maitaied i a appropriate medium i perpetuity (Stadard 5.40 ad 5.44 ad Child Care (Placemet of Childre i Residetial Care) Regulatios 1995 Article 22). Records are maitaied i way to facilitate effective care plaig, respects cofidetiality ad shows child s views were sought (Stadard 5.41). See copies of physical restrait (Stadard 6.31). Agree arragemet for brigig allegatios of abuse to the attetio of parets or guardias (Stadard 7.9). Maitai the origial educatioal placemet for the child ad esure educatioal assessmet carried out if eeded (Stadard 8.2 ad 8.4). Obtai a medical assessmet if ecessary (Stadard 9.1). Share all relevat iformatio with the geeral practitioer to esure optimum care (Stadard 9.5). 11

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