Growth and development.pdf

North LanarkshireYoung people with learning disabilities who are at the transition stage between children’sservices and adult services are no longer necessarily progressing from special school to daycentre. Some young people – among them many with high support needs – now haveindividual support plans and they get non centre based day opportunities. There is an advocacyproject specifically for young people with learning disabilities.A costed strategy based on shared assessment of need has yet to be developed, involvinghealth, service users and carers. There is evidence of effective partnership working atoperational level between community psychiatric nurses and mental health officers and othersocial work staff.A development agenda is being progressed for sensory impairment services. Action has beenfocused on links with Deafblind UK, and on IT developments for people with a sensoryimpairment. The Council has reorganised its service teams under the umbrella of independentliving, with the sensory impairment teams accountable to a single manager.The Council and its health partners have discussed but still to agree the joint resourcing pot.North Lanarkshire is one of the most advanced areas on single shared assessment, and surpassedthe bottom line. A local assessment tool has been agreed and piloted and 12,000 assessmentshave already been done. An information sharing project, part of the eCare initiative, is highlyadvanced and is to go live from spring 2002.3. Performance: Children and FamiliesBalance of care – Looked afterchildren (aged 0-17)1999-2000actual1999-2000per 1,000Quartile2000-2001actual2000-2001per 1,000QuartileAt home 343 4.5 2 301 4.0 2With friends/relatives/other community 50 0.7 3 54 0.7 3With foster carers/prospective adopters 140 1.8 3 161 2.1 3In residential accommodation 79 1.0 3 81 1.1 3Total 612 8 3 597 7.9 3Key performance indicators1998-1999actual1998-1999per 1,000Quartile1999-2000actual1999-2000per 1,000QuartileChild protection (CP) referrals 215 3.2 4 136 2.0 4(aged 0-15)Children subject to a CP case 93 1.4 4 95 1.4 4conference (aged 0-15)Children placed on CP register 50 0.7 4 67 1.0 4(aged 0-15)Adoption applications in year 30 0.4 2 18 0.2 4(aged 0-17)Stranger adopter applications 19 0.3 1 10 0.1 3(aged 0-17)The rate of looked after children is similar to that in many other authorities, having decreasedsince 1999. Lower rates of looked after children live in residential accommodation or with fostercarers than in other authorities, but the number living with foster carers increased between1999 and 2001. The Council have undertaken a series of initiatives to increase the number offoster carers, including raising the allowance, improving support for carers and recruitmentcampaigns.187