Growth and development.pdf

Run by NCH in partnership with the housing and social work departments, the Dundee FamiliesProject helps families who have exhibited anti-social behaviour and have lost their home or areat risk of eviction. The aim is to avoid eviction or achieve satisfactory tenancy arrangements,and to prevent the breakdown of vulnerable families. Services consist of individual and couplecounselling, family support and groupwork. An external evaluation identified as the Project’ssuccess factors:• commitment to inter-agency partnership;• supportive yet challenging nature of its direct work;• flexible range of interventions; and• good management.There is a high rate of looked after children. Numbers increased from 1999 to 2000 but fell againin 2001. A high proportion of those children and young people who are looked after andaccommodated are cared for in foster homes. This is a creditable achievement in a city withhigh levels of deprivation and unemployment. While progress has been made in reducing thenumbers of children in residential homes, the rate remains high.The recommendations of Learning with Care which cover assessment, care planning, theprovision of full-time education, and statistical monitoring have been implemented. In addition,every school has a designated teacher to oversee progress of looked after children, and someindividual learning plans contain educational targets. A link teacher (co-located with the childcarereview team) inspects and reports on the educational environment of each accommodatedchild. There is a homework base in every establishment, and an educational resource pack forfoster carers.The Council has a throughcare and aftercare strategy. A lead officer has been appointed toensure the successful implementation of the strategy and of the new responsibilities. The careand assessment teams are arranging joint training for relevant staff. An implementation grouphas been set up to consider issues including local payment methods, data collection and asystem for representation.In a Council response to ‘For Scotland’s children’, an action team consisting of the Directors ofSocial Work and Education, the Commissioner for Child Health and a representative from theVoluntary Sector is planning a single system for the planning and delivery of children’s services.It is charged with securing:• improved co-ordination in the planning, development and delivery of services;• partnership of health, voluntary sector services, educational and housing services to supportthe most vulnerable children;• much improved information-sharing between agencies; and• enhancement of the skills of staff in working with families.With Sense Scotland, the Social Work Department has developed a flexible respite service forthe carers of 5 young people with complex health and care needs. A multi-agency review iscurrently being undertaken on Tayside Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. As part ofthis CAMHS review a study of needs assessment has been carried out and a CAMHS strategyand action plan will be produced by Spring 2003.58