Contact: Janet Féat 01962 847183 [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 This report feeds back on the introduction of phased changes to the management of Family Group Conferences (FGCs) in Hampshire, seeking to improve both the way they are used and their accessibility, as well as outlining plans for future integration and development to increase the capacity of the service, in particular ensuring that everything possible is done to minimise the need for children to be in public care or their families prosecuted for their non- attendance at school.

1.2 This supports the corporate strategy for making Hampshire safer and more secure for all by increasing the possibility that children will be diverted from public care and be cared for safely within their extended family and community and attend, enjoy and achieve at school. It supports maximising wellbeing by helping people feel informed and empowered and requires working in partnership with both families and other agencies. It seeks to improve services to the community by enabling a more systematic and consistent use of FGCs across Hampshire. Finally, it increases the opportunity for staff to practise in a way which has been shown to be empowering of families and which prioritises family members' participation in key decisions which affect their family.

1.3 The changes to the FGC Service in Hampshire in this report support the 5 outcomes of the Children Act 2004, in particular "being healthy" by making it less likely that children's mental health is compromised by living apart from their families; "staying safe" because extended families can help to protect a child; "enjoy and achieve" by helping the child to attend school on a regular basis; and "make a positive contribution" by empowering families, young people and children to make key decisions about their lives.

2 Background

2.1 The FGC process is based on the premise that families know more about their own circumstances and needs than professionals do ( Dept of Health Messages from Research 1995)and should have a greater say in deciding what help, support and services they need. Better outcomes for children can be achieved when families and young people have a greater say in key decisions which affect their lives, and are enabled to work in collaboration with professionals.( Dept of Health 1995 ibid )

2.2 FGCs originated in New Zealand, where their use is embedded in primary legislation for the care and protection of children. Family Group Conferences were first introduced in Hampshire in 1993 as part of a national pilot scheme, externally researched by Portsmouth SSRIU and later, Sheffield University. The positive evaluations received led to service provision extending across the whole County, and in 1999 also extending to the use of FGCs in education to promote better attendance and reduce exclusions. Hampshire, with consultancy from Mike Doolan, formerly national Chief Social Worker of New Zealand, has now integrated the use of FGCs into policy and practice within Children's services.

2.3 Essentially a Family Group Conference is a structured planning and decision-making meeting which involves the wider family network in partnership with, and supported by the statutory, and other, agencies. The conferences are convened by a trained co-ordinator, who arranges a meeting, to consider concerns and enable the family to make plans to resolve the child's problems and meet their needs.

2.4 The process involves

· use of co-ordinators, independent of any case-holding role, to identify, meet and prepare all participants and facilitate the meeting at a neutral venues Coordinators may come from a social work, education, health or other social care background with specific training and expertise in facilitating FGCs

· using a wide and inclusive view of `family', drawing on their strengths and resources, including relatives at a distance, and significant family friends, as well as the immediate household and the child or young person themselves.

· support and advocacy to ensure young people feel empowered to participate.

· the referrer from Children's services and other professionals attending the first part of the meeting and acting in the role of consultant to the family, clarifying concerns, and providing information about options and services available.

· the actual planning and decision-making responsibility resting with the family group itself, to make a plan which addresses their problems, during private time at the conference

· the coordinator helping the family to finalise their plan with the professionals, which is accepted provided it addresses the care and protection needs of the child and is practicable

· the endorsement and implementation all concerned, the FGC plan forming an integral part of the care plan

3 The Family Group Conference Service

3.1 Previously , social care FGCs were provided through Daybreak an external voluntary organisation, and education FGCs provided directly through the department, and from 1996 -2005 some youth justice FGCs were provided though the Hampton Trust.

3.2 A decision was taken by Children's Services Policy Review Committee on 13^th July 2005 to unify the delivery of Hampshire FGCs starting with the north of the county, phasing in the other areas, the unification of the budget and joint management with Education from April 2006, on the basis of extensive consultation with stakeholders with the aim of achieving greater and more equitable access to FGCs for Hampshire families.

3.3 The conclusion leading to this decision was that a change in management arrangements would be is necessary in order to move FGCs from the margins to the mainstream of work, and to target their use more rigorously with children in particular priority groups identified in the Children's services FGC service specification 2005, listed below:

"A key priority is to target and increase the use of Family Group Conferences at specific decision making points in children's lives. The aim is to engage more families in Family Group Conferences at times when outcomes are most likely to be influenced and have an effect on the future well being of children. It is therefore expected that:-

· Family Group Conferences will be offered to families in all situations where there is a request for accommodation (Section 20, 1989 Children Act)

· No young person should be placed in public care without there having been a Family Group Conference prior to admission, unless there are immediate welfare or safety issues for the young person.

· Family Group Conferences should also be a key feature in the decision making process by the Social Worker and Team Manager in the following circumstances:-

a) Application for Care Proceedings (Section 31)

b) Placement breakdown of children in public care

c) Children leaving care

d) Requests for, or breakdown of, Out of County Placements

e) Child Protection

f) Any other situation where a decision making process is required

· An FGC will also be offered to all year 1 -7 children who have been permanently excluded from school

· All families liable to prosecution for their child's unauthorised absence from school will be offered an FGC and review prior to invoking the legal process"

3.4 Targeting the use of FGCs will help:

· To prevent harm, or further harm, to children and young people from abuse and neglect.

· To promote and support safe and effective parenting in order to ensure that children are increasingly able to stay in their own families.

· Where children cannot live with their parents, to increase the number of children placed within their extended family or friends network as a first choice.

· To support the rehabilitation of those children looked after who do not require a permanent placement away from home and promote and sustain links with their parents or other family members or friends.

· To help children and families to access the services they need in their local community, directing them to universal services wherever possible.

· To maximise the life chances of children in need, whether looked after or living at home with their families.

· To improve individual pupils' and schools' attendance rate

· To reduce fixed-term and permanent exclusions from school and provide support towards re-integration into school.

· To support schools, parents and children in developing plans and strategies to manage pupil's behaviour

4 Implementation

4.1 The move towards in-house provision of child welfare FGCs began as planned on 1 October 2005 with the North District (Basingstoke, Alton and Aldershot). The workers from Daybreak (the voluntary organisation which had provided the child welfare FGCs since 2000) who covered this area were seconded to Children's Services from this point until 1 April when they became HCC employees, along with one third of the programme manager's time. Accountability for the service was taken on by one of the North District Service Managers.

4.2 One of the lessons learned from this first phase of the change was that the expectation that referrals would immediately increase and focus on children on the brink of care was not realistic, and that the change needed time to be embedded in the practice of workers and coordinators. Practitioners initially took the change to mean that they could not make the usual referrals, with the result that there were fewer referrals and therefore FGCs from the North District than the other Districts over 2005/6, when other years had shown them to be making the highest numbers of referrals in the county. This was addressed as soon as it became clear.

4.3 The second phase of the move to in-house provision of FGCs was completed as planned in April 2006, when those Daybreak employees who wished to, transferred into the employment of HCC to provide FGCs for the other two Districts. This did not include the Daybreak director, programme manager, finance officer or administration officer. Learning from the first phase, practitioners were encouraged to continue to make referrals as usual and referrals have not decreased.

4.4 The move to unify the child welfare FGC service with FGCs in Education was completed by 1 July 2006, when the Education manager and administration support were slotted into the available posts. The Youth Offending Team continues to review the position with regard to FGCs and has been part of the planning for the changes thus far: in September 2006 they are hoping to be able to make a decision as to when and how FGCs may be used, possibly by the Youth Inclusion and Support Panels (YISPs) they are funding within the County.

4.5 In April 2006, three FGC coordinators ( one full time, one half time and one 0.8) agreed to be transferred across to become Hampshire employees on their existing voluntary organisation terms and conditions under TUPE regulations. A further capacity for two half time posts ( one coordinator, one supervisor )which had been agreed in the 2005/6 workforce plan remained unfilled. The 2006/7 workforce plan approved agreement for a fulltime FGC manager and another two FTE coordinators. This brings the total establishment for the newly formed FGC service up to one manager, one admin support, and 5.5 FTE coordinators .

The unfilled coordinators' posts were successfully recruited to in July and currently the team comprises seven coordinators ( some full, some half-time), filling 5 of the 5.5 posts available, in post and operational since early September 2006.

4.6 The target for 2006/7 is to achieve at least 210 convened FGCs out of a total of approximately 320 referrals generated. The budget share will allow for 240 child welfare referrals from the social care sector and 80 education referrals. The intention is that all families will be encouraged to take up the offer of review FGC after their initial FGC, and that this will be achieved in 75% of cases, bringing FGC reviews for the year to over 155 .

5 Costs

5.1 As stated in the summary, the changes will be managed within the current budget resources. By seconding the Daybreak employees in the first phase, the full budget remained with Daybreak until 31 March 2006: funding from the final quarter of the 2005/6 budget is being used to complete work with families referred in the South East and South West Districts prior to 1 April 2006, until 30 September 2006.

5.2 The budget for the unified service was created, and has been operational since 1 July 2006. The table below reflects the costs for FGCs in 2005/6 (the 1^st column for Child Welfare FGCs only, the 2^nd for Education FGCs only and the 3^rd for the combined costs) compared with the new structure and costs for 2006/7.

6 Conclusions

6.1 The phased changes proposed to the function and management of FGCs in Hampshire have been designed to encourage a more targeted and consistent use of FGCs within Children's Services, and to ensure integration of the FGC system and practice into case management and decision-making to ensure full consideration of the care needs of children in families whose difficulties are such that children are either on the brink of or already being looked after, or in danger of being prosecuted for non-school attendance.

7 Legal implications

7.1 None.

8 Financial implications

6.1 The changes which have taken place or are due to take place are within the FGC budget.

9 Personnel implications

9.1 The trade unions were involved in the TUPEing across of the Daybreak staff in April 2006, and all personnel issues addressed.

10 Impact assessment

10.1 Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

11 Crime prevention issues

11.1 The implications of the approval sought in this report on the prevention of crime has been considered and no adverse impact has been identified.

12 Views of the Local County Councillor

12.1 Not applicable: the FGC Service is county-wide.

Recommendations

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

List documents here or type `none'.