Council to be presented with Chief Social Work Officer Report for 2020/21
The Chief Social Work Officer Report (2020/21) is set to highlight work being done to protect and care for vulnerable children and adults which is to be presented to members of The Highland Council when they meet tomorrow, 9 December 2021.
The report highlights the delivery of services across all social work services (children’s, justice and adult social work and social care) and provides an overview of the professional activity within the region to carry out the delivery of statutory functions and responsibilities held by the local authority’s Chief Social Work Officer.
A key highlight of the report outlines improvements which were implemented during 2019/20 to help boost foster carer numbers, and provide appropriate support to them, including:
- payment of an age-related fee per child as opposed to a fee per household
- the development of an online enquiry process to help eliminate those not suitable to foster or adopt at a much earlier stage and to speed up the initial enquiry process.
- a new and quicker referral process for requesting PVG’s (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) and Disclosure checks which are required for fostering, adoption and kinship.
- a new website for the Fostering and Adoption service that explains clearly to enquirers the process of becoming an approved foster carer or adoptive parent as well as the skills and experience required.
- an online application form to assist the assessing social workers reduce their administration tasks.
- an additional two social worker posts to undertake fostering and adoption assessments.
All of these improvements have assisted in speeding up the process of recruitment and assessment of suitable carers. Of note, there were 10 foster carer approvals during the period 2020/21 – a considerable increase from the previous year and a significant achievement given the pandemic and staff working from home.
A further area of success highlighted within the report is the Placement Services Change Programme (PSCP), established in June 2018, with a core aim to actively return young people who had been placed in out of area (OOA) placements back to Highland. The report highlights that this has been achieved through establishing alternative services, accommodation and resources to enable young people to remain as close as possible to their communities in Highland.
Since June 2018, 53 young people have been enabled to return to Highland, with the aim of a better outcome for these young people and avoiding costs to the council of over £11M as compared with them remaining out of area for a further year.
Furthermore, the report highlights how the Council is gradually increasing the number of older children being placed for adoption (or in other permanent families) and demonstrates an increase in the number of older children where permanent fostering is being achieved, with this outcome being secured legally by the granting of a Permanence Order.
During 2020/21, 4 Permanence Orders; 7 Permanence Orders with Authority to Adopt and 13 Adoption Orders were granted in Courts within and out with Highland. Given delays in the Court process, this has been a positive achievement.
Chair of the Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee, Councillor Linda Munro, said: “2020-21 saw extraordinary challenges around growing demand for services, workforce pressures, financial uncertainty and the COVID-19 pandemic. We remain committed to improving our services and have some very complex and testing decisions to make around what services will look like in the future.
Cllr Munro continued: “As we move into 2021/22, we appreciate and understand the challenges that services will be faced with. Covid has impacted on those in our community and we need to be alert to the complex needs that are emerging. However, Highland Council staff, working in partnership with NHS Highland, the Police and our third sector colleagues, remain committed to working together to improve outcomes for people we are working with.”
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