Social Work Children & Families And Criminal Justice Service Service Plan 2014/15 1
INTRODUCTION Fife Council Children & Families and Criminal Justice Services Lead Officer: Dougie Dunlop Head of Service, Children & Families and Criminal Justice In 2014 the Education Service, Children & Families Service and Criminal Justice Service were realigned together under the Education and Children s Services (E&CS) Directorate. In setting Children and Families priorities for 2014/15 we have focused on the areas in which we believe we can make the strongest contribution to the Directorate vision of Improving life chances for all our children and young people in Fife. We have defined this contribution in the following Service Plan which directly supports the vision, values and the priorities set out in the Education and Children s Services (E&CS) Directorate Plan 2014-2017. Children & Families The Children and Families Service offers two types of help to children and their families in Fife: Assessment of need and risk: time with a social worker who may provide information, advice and a planned, assessed analysis of difficult situations in order to improve a child s and/or family s difficulties. Direct service provision: care, protection, support and accommodation (including residential houses and family placements with foster carers). Criminal Justice Social Work The Criminal Justice Service contributes to maintaining public and community safety. The provision of criminal justice social work services is based on a framework of national standards that ensure consistency across Scotland. Priority Outcomes from the Council Plan The current Council Plan defines four key aims for the Council through to 2017 and 20 priority outcomes. Of these the Children and Families Service has a contribution to make towards the aims of: Increasing Opportunity and Reducing Poverty & Inequality Through the outcome: Giving children the best start in life Within the Council Plan performance against this priority will be monitored in relation to: Percentage of children who have been looked after for 12 months and who have a plan for permanency. Percentage of looked after children in community placements. 2
DELIVERING THE PRIORITIES OF THE E&CS DIRECTORATE PLAN The E&CS Directorate Plan establishes a common purpose for the Services within the Directorate laying out a vision of Improving life chances for all. This vision is supported by a clear set of values and priorities identified through consultation with staff and customer groups. These four priorities are Educational Outcomes, Employability skills, Equity and Equality and Enhancing Opportunities for vulnerable groups and individuals. The Directorate Plan itself reflects the priorities of Fife Council and is influenced by a wide range of local and national initiatives, policies and legislation. The E&CS Directorate Plan can be found on Fife direct and FISH. The Children and Families and Criminal Justice Service Plan This document is a key element in delivering the E&CS Directorate Plan. The strategic priorities have been cascaded from the Council Plan/Directorate Plan into this Service Plan under the following themes on the Strategy Map: Giving children the best start in life Improving outcomes for children, families and young people who are vulnerable, at risk or in trouble to help them develop their full potential and do this in the most efficient and effective way possible. The Criminal Justice Service has a contribution to make towards the aims of: Improving Quality of Life in Local Communities Through the outcome: Reducing antisocial behaviour These strategic priorities have been cascaded from the Council Plan into this Service Plan under the following themes on the Strategy Map: Reducing antisocial behaviour Providing Criminal Justice Social Work Services to help reduce re-offending and contribute to public safety and to do this in the most efficient and effective way possible. 3
Service Plan for Children & Families This plan sets out: the challenges ahead in relation to what the service needs to deliver; The actions that will be taken to address the challenges, manage performance and deliver our outcomes; and The performance indicators we will monitor to assess our progress. Strategy Map Giving children the best start in life CF Improve outcomes for children, families and young people who are vulnerable, at risk or in trouble to help them develop their full potential and do this in the most efficient and effective way possible. CF1 We will work in effective partnership with other children s services to support and improve outcomes for children, families and young people who are vulnerable, at risk or in trouble to help them to develop to their full potential. We will do this based on a shared understanding of wellbeing and by providing appropriate, timely and effective services. CF2 We will protect children at risk from abuse or harm, quickly and effectively. This includes children experiencing domestic abuse and children affected by substance misuse. CF3 We will provide and improve services to address specific needs of young people who may have a disability or learning need, be caring for a relative, may be misusing drugs or offending including effective management of children who present a risk to others. Reducing antisocial behaviour CJS - Provide Crimiinal Justice Social Work Services to help reduce re-offending and contribute to public safety and to do this in the most efficient and effective way possible. CJS1 We will carry out effective risk assessments, and where appropriate implement robust risk management plans with structured interventions designed to reduce reoffending and improve community safety. CJS2 We will provide a range of credible community justice services as an alternative to custody. CJS3 We will promote reintegration and social inclusion of people who have committed offences. CJS4 We will help to sustain and improve service users physical and mental health and wellbeing. CJS5 We will develop the capacity and infrastructure of the service in order to secure financial and other resources from the Community Justice Authority to achieve our objectives. Effective Management of Service Assets & Resources People Mgmt. & workforce planning Mgmt. of Financial Resources Mgmt. of Assets and Sustainability Planning & Performance Management Support for Change Mgmt. of Risk Mgmt. of Partnerships 4
Children & Families Challenges The key challenges ahead in relation to the outcomes we need to deliver include: Implementing the third phase of the service modernisation strategy as part of the new Education and Children s Services Directorate with a particular focus on improving front line support to families and to provide assistance as early as possible to maximise preventative activity Maintaining the links to services for Adults and Older People following the Integration of Health and Social Care in order to effectively manage transitions for young people especially those with complex additional needs; Increasing the percentage of looked-after children cared for in community placements, in order to reduce the number of purchased placements; The recruitment and retention of foster carers to provide appropriate family-based placements to reduce the number of children who have to go into residential care; Development of kinship care and permanency planning through a new permanence and kinship care team who will provide more support to families; Progressing Early Intervention through the Family Nurture initiative to target those most vulnerable and in need of support; Evaluation of the services leaving care processes following implementation of the new Children and Young People Bill which provides young people in residential, foster or kinship care with the rights to remain looked-after up to the age of 21 and extend their entitlement to aftercare up to the age of 26; Further development of the Additional Support Panel for Children Affected By Disability in order to ensure effective engagement with parents and carers; Managing the implementation of Self-Directed Support and how this will impact on services; Undertake an evaluation of the multi-agency arrangements associated with the Young People s Serious Risk Advisory group in line with the Youth Offender Framework from the Scottish Government, Whole Systems and GIRFEC. Complete the Reviewing Service Evaluation by undertaking an exercise seeking the views of Children and their families regarding experiences of the processes and levels of participation Areas for Improvement Development of services to better support families at home through increased capacity of front line social work teams working along with early years, schools and third sector partners There has been a slight decrease in the percentage of looked after children cared for within the Fife geographic area. This is due to a significant rise in the number of looked after children who had to be accommodated between 2012-2014. As a consequence in-house placements were at capacity and there were not sufficient purchased placements within Fife to meet the demand. Kinship carers of looked after children will be supported by staff within Permanence Team. Development of wider kinship care agenda will occur following consultation with partner services and agencies. Development of permanency planning for children through the deployment of dedicated permanency staff 5
Our next steps / Key areas of work 2014/15 Further develop joint working with our colleagues in Education as part of the Education and Children s Services Directorate to improve outcomes for Fife s young people. Complete the third phase of investment in and modernisation of children s social work service with a particular focus on increasing provision within front line Children and Families Teams in conjunction with wider children s service developments such as the Family Nurture approach. Through these developments help to address continuing budget pressures in relation to the service. Increase the number of in-house foster care placements through current recruitment drive for foster carers Working with other services/agencies to develop more provision focused on prevention, especially through the early years initiative, and to increase the percentage of Looked After Children in community placements. Tendering activity in relation to Fife s local Foster Care Contract and Residential Care Contract. Criminal Justice Challenges The key challenges ahead in relation to the outcomes we need to deliver include: Integrating within the new Education and Children s Services Directorate; Managing the impact of the reduction in S27 grant allocation as a consequence of the closure of the Drug Court and Cupar Sheriff Court. Managing the transition from the Drug Court to Drug Treatment and Testing Order scheme. Working with partners to manage the impact of the closure of Cupar Sheriff Court. Contributing to the consultation on the redesign of Community Justice Structures. Contributing to the conversation / consultation on introducing violent offenders into MAPPA (Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements) Areas for Improvement Improving performance in relation to the time it takes for service users to complete unpaid work as a condition of Community Protection Order. Improving attendance management across the service. While the sickness absence for Children & Families and Criminal Justice Service has improved slightly since last year, with the first 2 quarters of the year below last years figures, it is still generally over the target which has been set and in quarter 3 was higher than last year. Making the best use of information gained through file audits by improving our monitoring and reporting approach to identify improvements to our processes. 6
Our next steps / Key areas of work 2014/15 Continue to manage the transition from Drug Courts to Drug Treatment and Testing Order scheme. Continue to work with partners to manage the impact of the closure of Cupar Sheriff Court. Contribute to the consultation on the redesign of Community Justice Structures. Build upon progress in relation to working with women offenders. Contribute to the conversation/consultation on introducing violent offenders into MAPPA. 7
Key Objectives Giving children the best start in life Improving outcomes for children, families and young people who are vulnerable, at risk or in trouble to help them develop their full potntial and do this in the most efficient and effective way possible. Key objective What we plan to do during 2014/15 (Deliverables/Actions) CF1 We will work in effective Build on the reorganisation of the Family partnership with other children s Placement Service by implementing further services to support and improve improvements, alongside the recently completed outcomes for children, families and commissioning of some foster care services from young people who are vulnerable, at other providers. risk or in trouble to help them to Increase the number of Fife Council Foster Care develop to their full potential. We will placements. do this based on a shared understanding of wellbeing and by Further development of kinship care strategy providing appropriate, timely and effective services. CF2 We will protect children at risk from abuse or harm, quickly and effectively. This includes children experiencing domestic abuse and children affected by substance misuse. CF3 We will provide and improve services to address specific needs of young people who may have a disability or learning need, be caring for a relative, may be misusing drugs or offending including effective management of children who present a risk to others. 8 Key milestones (Steps to achieving these) New staff in post to facilitate development of two teams within Family Placement Services. Recruitment includes: Panel Co-Ordinator, Team members Permanence mentors Timescale Lead Officer Rae Ormiston May 2014 Aug 2014 Sept 2014 Support to Kinship carers of LAC will be September Rae provided by the new Permanence Team. 2014 Ormiston Re- tender for Fife s local Foster Care Contracts Re-tendering and contract completion Mar 2015 D Wright Tender for Fife s local Residential Care Contract Tendering and contract completion Mar 2015 D Wright Joint work within the Directorate to develop the Working Group Formed (Complete). D Dunlop Education and Children s Service LAC Strategy to provide practical guidance on how best to support Strategy completed and implemented across Mar 2015 LAC. the Directorate Complete the implementation of the third phase of the service modernisation strategy with a particular focus on developing front line services to vulnerable children and families Complete the implementation of the third phase of the service modernisation strategy with a particular focus on developing front line services to vulnerable children and families New staff in post to support activity in areas of greatest demand New staff in post to support activity in areas of greatest demand March 2015 March 2015 D Dunlop D Dunlop
Effective Management of Service Assets and Resources Key objective What we plan to do during 2014/15 (Deliverables/Actions) Performance Management and Further work on the Balanced Scorecard, Planning particularly to include indicators expressing the satisfaction of young people and parents with the service they receive. Management of Financial Resources Development of service strategy to address future financial challenges Key milestones (Steps to achieving these Inclusion of qualitative indicators on satisfaction with services (Young People and Parents) in the scorecard. Effective monitoring processes in place for both capital and revenue budgets Timescale Lead Officer December D. Wright 2014 September 2014 D Dunlop 9
Reducing antisocial behaviour Providing Criminal Justice Social Work Services to help reduce re-offending and contribute to public safety and to do this in the most efficient and effective way possible. Key objective What we plan to do during 2014/15 Key milestones Timescale Lead Officer CJS1 We will carry out effective risk Implement effective risk assessment and risk Develop and implement an action plan to Dec 2015 B. assessments, and where appropriate management tools, including providing staff improve service use of risk assessment tools Kinnear implement robust risk management training and support. plans with structured interventions designed to reduce reoffending and Mar 2015 improve community safety. CJS2 We will provide a range of credible community justice services as an alternative to custody. CJS3 We will promote reintegration and social inclusion of people who have committed offences. CJS4 We will help to sustain and improve service users physical and mental health and wellbeing. Staff will continue to use accredited risk assessment tools and these will be monitored and audited by Team Manager/Service Manager throughout the year. Work with partners to ensure a smooth and successful transition from the Drug Court to Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO) Scheme. Continue to monitor the trends reflected in respect of the imposition of Community Payback Orders and the presumption against 3 month sentences or less which came into force as of 1 February 2011. Continue to support the development of a specialist and multi-disciplinary team to work with women who offend. Continue to work in partnership with SPS, NHS, Housing and third sector partners to improve reintegration on release from custody, with additional focus in relation to women who offend. Strengthen links with Forensic Mental Health resources. Build on partnership working with NHS around areas of substance misuse. Work towards improved monitoring and reporting of audits to identify key themes, strengths and weaknesses which can then be addressed. Discussion with stakeholders on how to manage service provision once legacy funding stops. Continue to review workforce plans and allocation of resources to deal with increasing demand and improve speed and immediacy. Investigate the possibility of expanding the current One Stop Shops into the central Fife area. Develop stronger links with SPS around the transition from prison to the community: improve gate pickups for prisoners and strengthen housing presence within the prison as well as early intervention visits by the Women Offender Team nurse. Along with partners, explore opportunities for service users to address wellbeing via statutory court orders. Mar 2015 B. Kinnear Mar 2015 B. Kinnear Mar 2015 A. Simpson Mar 2015 B. Kinnear Mar 2015 B. Kinnear 10