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Contents

1. Timescales
2. Initial Contact
3. Referral Process
4. Actions for Duty Administrator, Duty Initial Contact/Social Worker and Duty Manager
5. Referrals Involving Domestic Abuse

1. Timescales

In accordance with the Framework for the Assessment of Children In Need and Their Families 2000 all referrals need to be dealt with within 24 hours.

2. Initial Contact

The first point of contact into the Children's Service is the borough wide duty service, based in Welbeck House, a central extension number, 6622, is used for initial contact for referrers/members of the public.

The duty service for Referral & Assessment teams includes:

• Duty Manager
• Two Social Workers
• One Youth Support Team Duty Social Worker
• Initial Contact Worker
• Receptionist
• Two Duty Administrators.

The Duty Manager is the overall manager and has a quality control role in relation to the work processed. The initial Contact worker offers two roles to duty:

The initial Contact worker offers two roles to duty:

1. Offering telephone advice to callers on issues such as homelessness, benefits, immigration and other similar enquiries and following these through to resolution by referring to/or being in contact with other relevant agencies.
2. Seeing callers to the office who have similar difficulties and require immediate assistance. Callers complete a form in reception outlining the reason they are seeking assistance, which is passed to the duty manager for decision on whether an Initial Contact Worker or duty social worker needs to see them. At St. Georges Hospital Children’s Team the same processes operate for recording referrals and contacts.
3. Dealing with non child care matters, as determined by the duty manager, and assisting the Youth Support Team duty social worker in dealing with homeless young people.

The initial contact workers must:

• Record people seen and telephone contacts as Contacts on FWi if they meet the agreed contact criteria. Please see Integrated Children's System (ICS) Overview Procedure.
• Where there is a service needing to be provided, for example financial assistance, a formal referral must be completed on Frameworki.
• Personal callers requiring general advice about where to get help are not noted as referrals or contacts if the person has not been known to the service in the past.

Contact within three months of a case closing to CIN/CLA

In the event of a child being re-referred or information being received by Children’s Specialist Services within twelve weeks of the case being closed to CiN, or another service, Section 2.8, Other Case Issues of the Children's Specialist Services Case Transfers Protocol states that the case will be returned to the original team to respond.

When RAS receive the referral or information this should be passed to the relevant team’s duty worker, previous allocated worker and copied to the Team Manager.

Where the contact is for information sharing only (i.e. a letter being received) this can be entered as a CaseNote and recorded as “information received on a closed case” and any hard copies, i.e. letters, reports, scanned and uploaded.

Where the information received requires a decision, response or further consideration this should be opened as a Contact Episode and the details recorded.

Where the appropriate response is not clear within the relevant team this should be discussed with the Team Manager/Principal Social Worker.

The opening of a Contact Episode that has not led to a Referral, will not re commence the 12 week closure period which will still be linked to the original closure date.

New Referrals which require CiN intervention

Where a request for a transfer conference or a request from the Court for the Local Authority to undertake court reporting in private law is received, RAS will open the case and complete a Contact. This will then be passed to the relevant team.

When an Early Years Consultant Social Worker, based across Children’s Centres and CIN Teams, is involved and knows the child and family and Children’s Specialist Services thresholds may be met the EYCSW should undertake a Child and Family Assessment. A referral to RAS is not required but the approval of the relevant CiN Team Manager is needed to accept the case

3. Referral Process

Referrals are received either by the telephone, in person (self-referrals) or the common assessment. Where the Common Assessment is in place this is used to support the referral but does not replace it and is not a referral form, although it may be used to support a referral or specialist assessment.

A common assessment form is not initially required to be completed for any referrals involving a child at risk of significant harm. The agency or family member speaks to the duty social worker who records the referral and a decision is made by the duty manager on how to proceed. The referral in writing is expected to be received from the agency within forty-eight hours.

If there are child protection concerns, the referral should be discussed with the Duty Manager immediately.

The Duty Administrator must:

• Check if the child is already open on Frameworki, a check must be made against all children within the family and the parent/carer's names.
• Note: If a child is allocated to a CIN/CLA team the information is passed by the duty administrator via an alert on FWi and email to the relevant social worker and Team Manager. If the allocated worker is absent then this is dealt with by the duty worker in that team.
• Collect accurate details of home contact information including e-mail addresses, telephone numbers etc. The social or initial contact worker who deals with the referrer adds key information such as the school and GP to FWi
• Where a caller by phone contacts Duty, they enter the details of the child not previously known in Frameworki and after verbal consultation with the duty manager pass the caller quickly to a social worker or initial contact worker.
• Written referrals from other professionals are entered on Frameworki and passed to the duty manager for decision on outcome. All police reports are sent electronically to the duty manager who determines whether a contact, referral or information only is the outcome. Where a contact is the outcome they are recorded on Frameworki by the duty administrator.
• Pre-birth referrals received at Referral and Assessment duty are recorded as contacts and transferred to St. Georges for a decision on whether an assessment should be undertaken. Where a pregnant woman has been subject to domestic abuse and there are concerns regarding substance misuse, mental health, learning difficulties etc, these are open as a contact and sent to the St. Georges Team. Please see Pre Birth Assessments Procedure.
• Unaccompanied minors are initially seen by the Initial Contact Worker and if an age assessment is required, they are passed for allocation to the Unaccompanied Minors social worker. The Other Destitute's Team in Housing are contacted and they provide accommodation for the young person while the age assessment is undertaken. Age Assessments must be ‘Merton Compliant’. If an age assessment is not required, the young person is allocated to the Unaccompanied Minors social worker and referred to Housing for accommodation. Please see Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, Refugees and Child Trafficking Procedure.
  

Referrals from Housing involving potential evictions or families facing homelessness. The eviction notices and alerts of families facing homelessness are dealt with by the initial contact workers. Notifications received from Housing regarding the intention to evict under Section 213a of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homeless Persons Act 2002 are also dealt with by the Initial Contact worker. In the event of the family becoming homeless with nowhere to go a Child and Family Assessment is required to determine whether the children in the family are in ‘need of services’, (Please Refer to the Protocol between Wandsworth Children’s Services and Housing Section). Referral of Families with NO Recourse To Public Funds (NRPF) The referral process is as outlined above and is allocated to the NRPF Social Worker. Please see Families With No Recourse to Public Funds Procedure. Privately fostered children are allocated to the private fostering worker for assessment. Please see Private Fostering.

4. Actions for Duty Administrator, Duty Initial Contact/Social Worker and Duty Manager

Duty worker (initial or social worker):

• Non-professionals or family members who refer concerns about a child are seen and spoken to by the duty social worker once the relevant framework checks are undertaken. Personal information about non-professional referrers should not be disclosed to the parents or other agencies without their consent.

The Duty worker (initial contact or social worker) must:

• Ensure there is parental consent to the referral where it relates to a child in need and not child protection. If the parent has not verbally consented to the referral or there is no signature on the form, the duty manager will ask the duty social worker to contact the referrer to ascertain why the parent/child has not consented. The referrer is requested to seek the consent of the parent/child before proceeding with the referral.
• Give her/his name and designation to the referrer

The Duty worker in dealing with an agency or member of the public should establish:

• The nature of the concern and when it was identified
• How and why it has happened
• What the child’s and family’s needs appear to be
• Clarify who has and who has not been told about the referral
• Clarify the whereabouts of the child
• Whether there are protective factors or support systems relating to the child, which should be considered.
• Clarify information, for example, what the referrer is reporting directly from their own observations and knowledge and information that has been obtained from a third party
• Detailed information from the person making the referral. They should be asked specifically if they hold any information about difficulties experienced by the family/household due to domestic abuse, mental illness, substance misuse, and or learning difficulties, although absence of information must not delay a referral. Outside normal working hours, the Emergency Duty Team will receive urgent referrals and report these to the duty service at the start of the next working day.
• What other agencies are involved and obtain parental consent for obtaining information and consultation.
• Whether the concern involves Significant Harm
• Whether there is any need for urgent action to protect the child or any child in the household or whether any child is in contact with an alleged perpetrator.
• Request a written referral within 24 hours from professional referrers - if not received,
• Check if the referrer has completed a recent specialist assessment, which can be sent with the common assessment to support the referral

The Duty worker must discuss the referral with the duty manager and a decision should be made in regard to the outcome. All professionals and other agencies must be informed within 48 hours of the outcome of their referral and the duty social worker dealing with the child is responsible for ensuring that this is sent out in writing.

The Duty Manager must:

• Where consent is evident, decide on the outcome of the referral; either the social worker or initial contact worker follows up the referral to obtain more information to decide if an assessment is required or the child can be allocated for assessment from the information supplied in the referral.

Note: Referrers should have an opportunity to discuss their concerns with a qualified social worker. Children's Services will deal with the referral in accordance with the 'Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families' and determine whether a referral should be responded to on the basis that the child is in need of support under (s.17) or in need of protection under (s.47), of the Children Act 1989.

• Make an informed decision whether the case is allocated for an assessment.
• Where a child referred is at risk of Significant Harm, decides whether the child does need to be accommodated or protected by legal action.
• Record their decision on Frameworki in case notes under “Managers Decision”.
• Ensures that the agency receives an acknowledgement within one working day of receiving the written referral and that the social worker taking a referral from a member of the public or family confirms with them either in writing or on the telephone advising them about the proposed course of action.

The outcome of a Referral, which must be authorised by the manager and recorded on the Framework Record, may be:

Child may be at risk of Significant Harm, in which case steps must be taken to protect the child or others in the household, including the immediate provision of services. The manager has discretion to allocate for an assessment or to immediately conduct a Strategy Discussion/Meeting and complete the relevant episode on Frameworki. A Child and Family Assessment would be completed and, if there is suspicion that a crime may have been committed including sexual or physical assault or Neglect, the Police must be notified immediately. If a Section 47 enquiry is undertaken, the duty and receiving team manager need to ensure that checks with all agencies relevant to the child are conducted, recorded and concluded.

Also see the London Child Protection Procedures Section 5, Children in Specific Circumstances.

No indications of Significant Harm but it appears the child has medium or high level needs, in which case the manager may initiate a Child and Family Assessment. This is a brief assessment of each child to determine whether the child is in need, the nature of any services required.

If the child does not appear to be a Child in Need or is a Child in Need with Low level needs, then it is appropriate to provide information, advice, sign-posting to another agency and/or no further action.

5. Referrals Involving Domestic Abuse

No more than three minor incidents should be allowed to occur without the completion of a Child and Family Assessment.

• Duty administrator completes FWi check for family details on notification of an incident of domestic abuse;
• Duty social worker consults existing records to ensure that no previous incidents are recorded.

If the incident is a minor one and the family are not previously known, a contact should be recorded and a check completed with the allocated Health Visitor to see if they are undertaking a visit to the child.

If previously known as a referral a letter is sent to the family concerned, inviting contact with the department or offering an appointment to see someone.

Domestic Abuse involving pregnant women

All notifications from agencies about domestic violence incidents or concerns involving pregnant women are treated as referrals.

• Duty social worker records details on Frameworki
• Duty manager decides if the woman requires the intervention of the St. Georges team or an assessment by the team.
• Duty manager transfers the case as a contact to the St. Georges Children’s Team for further investigation if the mother has substance misuse, mental health or associated difficulties. The duty manager at the hospital team will decide on whether the completion of a Child and Family Assessment is required. Liaison with the antenatal staff at St. Georges or Chelsea & Westminster hospitals is undertaken to ensure that they are aware of the referral and to seek any relevant information.
• St Georges Team Duty Manager will make a decision about the need for a pre-birth assessment on completion of the Child and Family Assessment.

Serious Domestic Abuse Incidents

For any serious incidents of domestic abuse, where a child is in the household, a Child and Family Assessment must be undertaken. Consideration by the duty manager should also be given as to whether the child by being a witness either by being present or in another part of the household should be subject to a Strategy Discussion and Section 47 Enquiry procedures. If the child in the family is under 12 months old an assessment must be undertaken.

Where a family refuse to cooperate with an assessment, consideration must be given to convening a Strategy Discussion and consultation with a child protection coordinator. Any serious incident involving an injury to the woman or child is subject to a Strategy Discussion and Section 47 enquiry. In these cases, a Child and Family Assessment would be required and a decision on whether an initial child protection conference would be convened is dependant on the circumstances of each referral.

Please see the Joint Service Protocol to meet the needs of Children and Unborn Children who may be Affected by Domestic Violence and Safeguarding children abused through domestic violence – London Child Protection Procedures which has assessment tools and guidance.

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