3.3.5 Management Procedure for Team Held Cases

This chapter was added to the manual in September 2010.

1.	Introduction
2.	Duty Management
	2.1	Referral and Assessment Service
	2.2	Children in Need Teams
	2.3	Team Held Cases
	2.4	Tracking Team Held Cases
	2.5	Case Closure

1. Introduction

The purpose of the management procedure is to ensure the safe risk management of team held cases and to ensure consistency in the Children in Need teams. It addresses the risk management of cases waiting for further assessment/intervention and case closure.

The protocol has been developed to assist operational managers in their day-to-day management of unallocated work, and to provide a reporting framework within Children’s Services with clear management accountability.

2. Duty Management

2.1 Referral and Assessment Service

There are no cases to be held on duty and Team Manager/ Principal Social workers are expected to make decisions on outcome within 24 hours. The allocation of assessments takes place within duty on the same working day except where the child has been dealt with after normal office hours and this is allocated the next working day.

There are occasions when contacts may be held on duty for the Initial Contact Worker to clear them the following day to complete various tasks or they are awaiting more information from agencies.

2.2 Children in Need Teams

The Team Manager/ Principal Social Worker must review team held at least on a weekly basis until a decision has been reached about allocation to a specific social worker.

The duty manager must prepare a list of duty actions for each week, recorded on FWi as “Managers Decisions”. This must identify tasks for each case that is Team Held for Duty Social Workers to action; give time scales for action and a review date.

2.3 Team Held Cases

It is recognised that in some instances it is appropriate to hold cases open to duty when waiting for more information or contact from another agency or children’s parent.

Every case in a team held system must have a review date, no longer than a week since the previous action/decision.

The Duty Manager must review all such cases on the review date and record, sign and date a decision and check for any change in circumstances. It is essential to keep FWi up-to-date.

2.4 Tracking Team Held Cases

All cases that are team held must be tracked on a weekly basis to ensure that papers can be located, to redress any drift and to check that decisions have been have been acted upon.

This is the responsibility of the team’s Duty Managers and Team Manager in order to ensure oversight of the duty system.

Team Held case must be reported monthly via supervision to the Service Manager by the Team Manager.

2.5 Case Closure

Cases must only be closed when this has been agreed, recorded, dated and signed on case papers by a Team Manager or Principal Social Worker.

End