Agenda item

The Residential Care Manager will provide a presentation to the Board.

The Service Manager for Future for Families, attended the Board to provide an update on the service over the last 12 months and the wider system change for Middlesbrough.

The Service Manager outlined that following the Ofsted inspection, Future for families set about to changing culture, and did this by adopting and adapting the Provocations and Non Negotiables of No Wrong Door (service in North Yorkshire to which Future for families is adopted from). What this meant for Middlesbrough was we needed to think about was important to Middlesbrough and to use provocations and non negotiables to shape a new culture for Middlesbrough.

In the first 12 months, the Service Manager outlined that Future for Families

·         have received 163 referrals in 12 months

·         Worked with 91 young people and families which is 56% of all referrals

·         Currently working with 43 young people and their families

·         3 young people have returned home from residential placements to family

·         2 young people who have had high levels of support 3:1 in external residential were now supported within the hub on reduced staffing levels. 

Within Future for Families, they look to understand the child’s journey and this is done by the power of deep dive. Deep dive looks at all the key events in a young persons’ life and allow to listen to the young person and share their experiences through support from their workers. We look forward at their aspirations and lastly reflect and look at lessons learnt. Any outcomes are fed back to senior management. Deep dives look to change the way of thinking for professions involved and make an impact on practice. Over the past 12 months approx. 50 deep dive sessions have been completed.

The Board heard that Future for families has also looked at increasing safety for young people in Middlesbrough, by adapting and adopting RAISE- Risk, Analysis, Intervention, Solution, Evaluation. RAISE is a process from North Yorkshire which Middlesbrough has adapted to fit the young people of Middlesbrough.

The RAISE group looks at therapeutic measures to reduce risk for the young people. The service has also done RAISE for young people in the Risk Management group (RMG), Edge of Care or with a group, who may be involved in a worrying situations. The Raise process has also used with young people who may be involved/exploited in organised crime groups (OCG) and have supported with 15 missing plans for our most vulnerable young people , who are not under future for families.

The Service Manager further outlined that it was important to invest time to save time later, and this has been done by upskilling colleagues from across children’s social care.

Future for families have looked at the following over the last 12 months:

-          Referrals

-          The power of communications

-          Trauma informed practice

-          Future for families have done presentations on themselves to challanage their service, by asking, what are we? How can we help?

-          Deep dive process for newly qualifies social workers, this training has been well received.

-          Supervisions training support in the development of training for managers.

Cost avoidance – what does it mean for Middlesbrough?

Lastly the Service Manager outlined the cost avoidance and how future for families has assisted.

u  During 2020/21 two young people moved into the Futures for Families hub where in the previous year they where in external Residential at a cost of £28,000 a week (£1,206,000 for the period of their stay at FFF actual savings) This is the equivalent of Gleneagles short break service for children with disabilities and Rosecroft children’s home.

Cost avoidance

• August 2020 – March 21 £919,112.41 this is approx the same as 2x social work teams who support 270 young people.
• 2021 – 2022 £3,897,516.48 (projected cost avoidance)
• 2022 – 2023 £6,487,347.84 (projected cost avoidance)

Following the presentation, the Chair queried what support is provided to families once the young person’s returns home. In response, the Service Manager advised that this was done on an individual basis, between the family and social worker and look at their needs.  Once it is decided that they no longer need professional support, they will be directed to other outreach support e.g. early help.

AGREED- That the update be noted.