West Lothian Council delivers

Young people - advice, support and activities

 

CHILDREN & FAMILIES PRACTICE TEAMS

There are three Children and Families Practice Teams in West Lothian who offer support to a range of children and their families. Some will be receiving a service from the Practice Team voluntarily, others will have social work involvement as a result of statutory responsibilities of the Practice Teams, for example following a decision of a Children's Hearing to place a child or young person on a supervision order.

Practice Team staff work alongside many partner agencies including Education, Health, SCRA and the Police. They also work alongside voluntary sector organisations and other teams within Children and Families.

Children & Families Service Standards

We will:

• respond to referrals within 10 working days
• provide a high quality service as judged by our customers
• provide the information you need in ways which are wasy to understand and meet your needs and preferences
• ensure our staff behave professionally in all aspects of their dealings with you
• work with you to achieve the best outcomes for children

Practice Team Objectives

We will:

• carry out child protection investigations in partnership with our colleagues in the police and health according to interagency procedure
• prepare reports for the Reporter (SCRA) in time for decisions to be made
• prepare reports for child protection and LAC meetings in time for children, young people, families and carers to read them over
• visit each child or young person on a new home based supervision order within 15 working days of the order being made
• allocate a social worker to every child or young person on the child protection register or looked after by the council
• create a care plan for every child and young person with a social worker
• involve service users and partner agencies in agreeing and reviewing the care plan

Further information on the work of the Practice Teams can be obtained from the Group Manager, Jo Macpherson on 01506 282194 or by e-mailing jo.macpherson@westlothian.gov.uk

Alternatively contact details for local offices are as follows:

• Bathgate - 01506 776700 - Team Managers: Susan Mackenzie and Sarah Summers
• Broxburn - 01506 775666 - Team Managers: Sheila Morris and Amanda Preston
• Livingston - 01506 282252 - Team Managers: Margaret Keillar, Judith Batson, Norma Paterson and Karen Lourens

The team produce annual performance standards, including monitoring of complaints - see the downloadable documents section below. We will let you know about the complaints that we receive and any improvements that have been made as a result.

Child Disability Service

The Child Disability Service provides a social work service to children and young people who live in West Lothian and have a significant or complex disability. We offer support, advice and guidance to children, young people, their families and carers. The Child Disability Service strives to promote social inclusion and to maximise the potential of individual children with the emphasis on providing, as far as possible, services in local communities. In addition to providing services directly related to the impact of the disability, the Child Disability Service also delivers statutory services, including reports to the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA), child protection investigations and supporting children who are Looked After and Looked After and Accommodated by the Council.

Children & Families Service Standards

We will:

• respond to referrals within 10 working days
• provide a high quality service as judged by our customers
• provide the information you need in ways which are wasy to understand and meet your needs and preferences
• ensure our staff behave professionally in all aspects of their dealings with you
• work with you to achieve the best outcomes for children

Child Disability Service Objectives

We will:

• respond to enquiries and referrals within two weeks
• allocate assessments to an appropriate worker within twelve weeks of referral
• complete all assessments in partnership with children, young people, parent/carers and colleagues in education, health and voluntary agencies - undertake this within twelve weeks of allocation
• complete a West Lothian Priority Assessment Tool alongside all Comprehensive Assessments to ensure consistency and equality in the provision of service
• establish a Care Plan for every child or young person who receives service. All relevant parties will be involved in agreeing the Care Plan
• review Care Plans every six months involving all relevant parties
• establish clear communication in relation to decision making regarding referrals, assessed need, provision of service and care plans - inform relevant parties of any decision within two weeks

The team produce annual performance standards, including monitoring of complaints. See downloadable documents section below.

Contact details:

Linda Sanders
Child Disability Team Manager
Strathbrock Family Unit
47 West Main Street
Broxburn
EH52 5RL
Tel. 01506 855244
email linda.sanders@westlothian.gov.uk

Reviewing Officers Team

The Reviewing Officers Team carries out reviews on children and young people who are accommodated away from home (usually with foster carers or in residential units and schools). These reviews take place as per Government regulations at 6 week, 3 monthly and 6 monthly intervals after a child is accommodated with 193 children and young people being looked after in March 2009.  The child or young person, their parent(s), the care provider and associated professionals are invited to attend the review. These meetings are minuted and a Care Plan is agreed. In addition, young people who have been accommodated and have a right to an aftercare service are also reviewed (60 people in March 2009).  The Reviewing Officers Team also chair all Initial and Review Child Protection Case Conferences held in West Lothian. In 2008, 169 case conferences took place.

Children & Families Service Standards

We will:

• respond to referrals within 10 working days
• provide a high quality service as judged by our customers
• provide the information you need in ways which are wasy to understand and meet your needs and preferences
• ensure our staff behave professionally in all aspects of their dealings with you
• work with you to achieve the best outcomes for children

Reviewing Officers Objectives

We will:

• meet with parents/carers prior to every Child Protection Case Conference to ensure they understand the process and report content
• ensure that parents/carers are facilitated and encouraged to participate during Reviews/Case Conferences
• ensure that actions on Care Plans have been met and seek explanations if this is not the case
• agree modification of Care Plans
• contribute to quality assurance process by monitoring standards in respect of both the quality and effectiveness of the review/case conference process for children and families
• contribute to quality assurance by monitoring and maintaining standards in respect of both quality and effectiveness of the reviewing service

Further information on the work of the Reviewing Officers can be obtained from the Service Development Officer, John Howe on 01506 281926 or by e-mailing john.howe@westlothian.gov.uk

Alternatively, contact jan.gollan@westlothian.gov.uk who is the Looked After Children Administrator.

There is no charge to customers for any service detailed above.