The Edge of Care panel includes representatives from Fieldwork, Fostering and the Family Intervention Team, and takes a holistic approach to planning and decision making in respect of children and young people most at risk of coming into care.
The Edge of Care panel will focus on:
- Cases on the child protection register for more than six months, where the social worker feels that the case is heading towards the PLO process
- Cases where the social worker has identified the need for viability assessments
- CIN cases where the young person is considered at risk of coming into care
Functions of the panel
- Provide an opportunity to present and discuss complex CP cases open over six months where progress is not being made under the pre-proceedings protocol.
- To discuss cases where family members are being considered as alternative carers.
- To track progress around the completion of the full connected persons document
- To empower the worker, strengthen the decisions of social workers.
- To take shared ownership between Fieldwork and Fostering in joint decision making.
- To ensure clearer accountability and identification of outcomes for families.
Panel members have sufficient authority to commit resources in addition to signposting social workers to appropriate services. Where necessary, panel members will fast-track the delivery of services identified in relation to their respective disciplines. The panel will quality assure and review the cases with the Team Manager and social worker where a decision not to accommodate has been made, but ongoing monitoring is required.
Panel referral criteria
- Open Child in Need case/ Child on the Child protections register/ Child’s wider family members subject to a connected persons assessment
- Completed Core assessment in respect of the child
The Panel will:
- meet initially once a month/ or as required if the section leaders feel this is required
- consider cases based on an assessment of need
- have the delegated authority to allocate resources from their service area
- If assessed support is not available, provide interim support
Four Edge of Care panels have taken place since they began in October 2014. We are in the initial stages regarding the impact.