Early Help MASH Desk Business Processes and Procedures Version 7_7 Date 28/08/2015 1
Document Control Organisation Title Author Owner Subject Protective Marking Review date Sandwell MBC Early Help MASH Desk Business Processes Guidance Rachel Stringer / Stephen Tedcastle Early Help Services Early Help MASH Desk Business Processes Guidance Not Protectively Marked Document History Issue Date Author Change History 1_0 26/11/2012 Denise Williams First Draft 2_0 27/11/2012 Rachel Thompson Revisions 2_1 13/03/2013 Stephen Tedcastle Revisions 3_0 12/04/2013 Rachel Thompson Amendments 4_0 08/05/2013 Stephen Tedcastle Amendments 5_0 10/05/2013 Stephen Tedcastle Final Amendments 6_0 16/06/2013 Stephen Tedcastle Revisions 6_1 17/06/2013 Rachel Thompson Minor Amendments 6_2 09/09/2013 Rachel Thompson Update Process charts 7_0 21/01/2015 Rachel Stringer Review of Early Help Desk Processes Stephen Tedcastle 7_1 26/01/2015 Rachel Stringer Review of Early Help Desk Processes 7_2 26/01/2015 Rachel Stringer Review of Early Help Desk Processes 7_3 27/01/2015 Rachel Stringer Review of Early Help Desk Processes 7_4 27/01/2015 Rachel Stringer Review of Early Help Desk Processes Stephen Tedcastle 7_5 06/02/2015 Claire Stephens Minor Amendments Rachel Stringer 7_6 25/08/2015 Claire Stephens Review and update Rachel Stringer 7_7 28/08/2015 Rachel Stringer Review and update References No. Name Issue 1 Document Distribution No. Name Date Issue 1 ACCESS Meeting 2 Stephen Lees 27/01/2015 7_4 Document Approvals No. Name Date Issue 1 Denise Williams 18/06/2013 6_0 2 Claire Stephens 27/01/2015 7_0 3 Stephen Tedcastle 27/01/2015 7_3 4 Tom Common 27/01/2015 7_4 5 Stephen Tedcastle 28/08/2015 7_7 6 Claire Stephens 28/08/2015 7_7 2
Contents 1.0 Early Help Desk MASH Process... 4 1.1 Check for Consent... 5 1.1.1 No Consent... 5 1.1.2 Consent provided... 5 1.2 Check systems... 6 1.3 Incomplete EHAs... 7 1.4 EHA reviewed by Triage Team... 8 1.5 Insufficient Information: Provide advice/information by phone.... 8 1.6 Below Early Help Level: Provide advice/information by phone... 8 1.8 Early Help Assessment Required... 9 1.7 Progress to COG... 9 1.8 Meets Family Solutions Team (FST) Criteria... 10 1.9 Meets Level 4 criteria: Signpost to Children s Social Care... 10 1.10 Direct Phone Call... 10 2.0 Meets Family Solutions Team (FST) Criteria... 11 2.1 Crisis Response... 12 2.2 All other routes into FST... 12 3.0 Early Help Desk Transfer to Children s Social Care... 14 3.1 Transfer to ICS... 16 3.1.1 Senior Early Help Coordinator... 16 3.1.2 The Business Support Officer... 16 3.1.3 Senior Early Help Coordinator... 16 3.2 Decision from CSC... 16 3.3 Step Up to Children s Social Care: Conflict resolution... 16 4.0 Step Down from Level 4 Services... 17 4.2 Consent... 20 4.2.1 No Consent... 20 4.2.2 Consent provided... 20 4.3 Dispute Resolution... 21 4.7 Dispute Resolution... 24 4.8 Close ICS Episode.... 24 5.0 Early Help Desk Dispute Resolution Process... 25 5.1 Conflict Resolution... 26 6.0 Early Help Desk MASH Out of Authority... 27 6.1 Check for Consent... 28 6.1.1 No Consent... 28 6.1.2 Consent Provided... 28 6.2 Notify Relevant Authority... 29 6.3 Closure... 29 7.0 Missing... 30 7.1 Children Reported as Missing... 32 8.0 MASH Responsibilities... 33 8.1 MASH Notifications... 33 8.2 Domestic Abuse Notifications... 33 3
1.0 Early Help Desk MASH Process Early Help MASH Desk Process v4_1 EH Desk CAF received via ecaf system Direct telephone call received CAF Received by White Mail / electronic Check Relevant Inboxes Senior EH Co-ordinator logs incoming information on Early Help MASH database Submitted via ecaf Consent given No BSO - Create child on Yes ecaf and load CAF Form, ensuring Parent/Carer details are input for each child BSO - finalise EHA BSO - Send letter to referrer, parents/carer to confirm receipt (generated from ecaf) BSO check safetynet+ and complete checklist BSO Add key agencies identified from Safetynet BSO Workflow to Triage for decision Check consent (Senior EH Coordinator) No consent BSO - Create child record on ecaf Senior EH Coordinator - Provide advice/info by phone. Add general note as per guidelines Updates EH MASH database BSO letter to referrer (if not received via ecaf) re outcome OR Referrer resubmits with consent Reassign consent denied task to Senior EH Coordinator Senior EH Coordinator Completes consent denied stage on ecaf END NOTE: EHA to be kept for 30 days then destroyed Phone call / advice and guidance Meets Early Help Threshold: Progress to COG Meets FST criteria Decision made by Triage team (Senior EH Coordinator) EHA received Advice and Guidance Meets Level 4 Children s Social Care criteria No EHA required EHA required Record on EH MASH database Record on EH MASH database Record on EH MASH database Provide advice/info by phone and record as case note on ecaf Record on EH MASH database Provide advice/info by phone and record as case note on ecaf Record on EH MASH database EHA Requred - Agency identified to complete EHA, Record on EH MASH database COG Business Processes and Procedures Follow FST Process Step up to CSC Process END Complete Closure Process END Follow EH Desk processes 4
The following processes apply to Early Help Desk MASH staff. 1.1 Check for Consent Under Early Help guidance information cannot be shared with agencies unless consent has been provided. Before any action can be taken it is necessary for the Senior Early Help Coordinator to check the Early Help Assessment (EHA) for consent. EHAs will not be processed unless consent has been provided and all mandatory fields have been completed. Mandatory fields include: i) Child or young person s name, DOB, address with postcode ii) Parent/s or carer/s name iii) Siblings name and DOB iv) Name and DOB of other household members v) Child/young person s ethnicity and special needs 1.1.1 No Consent If consent has not been provided the Senior Early Help Coordinator will contact the referring agency and provide advice and information regarding how to obtain consent. For Early Help Assessments not received via ecaf the Business Support Officer will: Create/update the child on ecaf o Start the Episode o Record no consent obtained o Reassign the consent denied stage to the Senior Early Help Coordinator o Adds a general note to the record Send a standard letter to referrer within 24 hours stating that the Early Help episode has been closed and advise that the agency may re-submit the EHA once consent has been obtained. The Senior Early Help Coordinator will record the closure reason, closure date and final vulnerability level on ecaf under the consent denied stage and close the Early Help episode, the Early Help Assessment will be retained for 30 days, and then destroyed. The Early Help MASH database should be updated with the appropriate outcome and date. 1.1.2 Consent provided If consent has been provided the Senior Early Help Coordinator will log the receipt of the EHA on the Early Help MASH database with the appropriate data. The Early Help Coordinator will determine the level of need and priority using the following guidance as a general rule: 5
Received from MASH or MAET - Priority 1 All other routes - Priority 2 The Business Support Officer will: Create the child on ecaf or If the EHA has been completed on the system, populate and finalise the EHA. Send the standard confirmation letter to the parent informing them of receipt of the EHA form. The standard letter (code: RCP) is found in the documents section of the basic demographics for the child. A Fair Processing Notice will be included with the confirmation letter to parents. Once the letter has been generated the Business Support Officer will proceed to Check Systems. 1.2 Check systems The Business Support Officer is responsible completing EHA validation process outlined below. All EHAs must be validated within 24 hrs of receiving the EHA. The following initial validation processes apply for all EHAs. System Checks need to be recorded on the Triage Support Involvement Checklist, please see Appendix A. Check Safetynet+ system to establish: Previous Notifications made to CSC but no action taken If previous a contact/s to CSC has been made record the date of the contact. Case previously known/currently open to CSC If the case has previously been or is currently open (referral) to CSC record detail of involvement e.g. dates of involvement, team/person responsible. (Note - If further details on any contact or involvement with CSC are required the ICS system will need to be checked independently). Open to YOS If the case is currently open record the date the order with the YOS began, duration of the order and name of responsible YOS officer Previously known to YOS If the young person was previously known to the YOS record dates of previous order. (Note - If any further details on any contact or involvement with YOS are required the YOIS system will need to be checked independently). 6
Open to Prevention Service If the case is currently open to YOS prevention services record the date TYS involvement began and details of the responsible Lead Professional Previously known to YOS Prevention Service If the case has previously been known to TYS record detail of involvement e.g. dates of involvement, team responsible. (Note - If any further details on any contact or involvement with TYS are required the UMIS/eCAF system will need to be checked independently). Education Information Current and previous School or Nursery where the child is registered. Record the name of the establishment and the date(s) the child was registered and left Current and previous involvement from Attendance Service, Inclusion Support, Exclusions Team and BEST Team. Record the dates on involvement and responsible team/professional. Check the Capita One Education System to establish and record any of the following: Attendance level Previous or current exclusions Any previous or current involvement from Long Term Absence Team Once the validation has been completed attach the Triage Support Involvement Checklist to the appropriate child record on the ecaf system and workflow directly to the Triage Team for review by the Senior Early Help Coordinator. 1.3 Incomplete EHAs A weekly report that lists incomplete EHAs and the referrer will be produced by the ISM Team every Wednesday. The report highlights incomplete EHA activity from the previous week therefore giving the referring agency enough time to complete the EHA from the date of first opening. The ISM Team will be responsible for following up the Early Help Assessment with the referring agency in the first instance at which point the episode may be closed if it was started in error or is not required, the agency will then have 7 days to complete the EHA before the ISM Team highlight the case to the COG Manager to liaise with the agency. 7
1.4 EHA reviewed by Triage Team The Senior Early Help Coordinator will review every validated EHA along with the completed initial Triage Support Involvement Checklist information to determine what service response is required Following validation the Senior Early Help Coordinator may decide that further information is required before a decision can be made. For example specific information from agencies such as the Police, Health, CAMHS, Housing or voluntary sector may be required. In such cases the Senior Early Help Coordinator will determine the nature of the information required and contact the relevant professional before making a decision. The Senior Early Help Coordinator should update each child record with the appropriate CIN Code dependent on need. Each child must be allocated at least a Primary CIN Code but can also be allocated a Secondary CIN Code if the need arises. The CIN code, which can be found in further details on the child s record within ecaf, can only be updated by a Senior Early Help Coordinator or a COG Manager. The Senior Early Help Coordinator should check the EHA to determine if the family have asked/consented to being contacted by Welfare Rights Team. Where the family have agreed the relevant team should be added to the consent and a casenote added to advise of a Welfare Rights referral whereby the Welfare Rights Team are copied in to the casenote so that they may contact the family. The Early Help MASH database should be updated with the appropriate action and date. 1.5 Insufficient Information: Provide advice/information by phone. The Senior Early Help Coordinator will contact the referrer and provide advice and information by telephone about what information they need to provide. This will then be recorded as a case note and end reason on ecaf and the episode will then be closed. The Early Help MASH database should be updated with the appropriate outcome and date. 1.6 Below Early Help Level: Provide advice/information by phone The Senior Early Help Coordinator may decide that the needs identified in the EHA can be met by a single agency and does not require a multiagency response. In such cases the Senior Early Help Coordinator will contact the referrer and provide advice and information electronically or by telephone. The Senior Early Help Coordinator will provide advice as to the relevant service to provide support i.e. single agency support from name of agency. This will then be recorded as the end reason on ecaf and the episode will then be completed. A letter will be sent to the referrer within 48 hours outlining the names and contact number 8
for the relevant service. The Early Help MASH database should be updated with the appropriate outcome and date. 1.8 Early Help Assessment Required If the Senior Early Help Coordinator determines that an Early Help Assessment is required they will advise the professional that they should engage with the family to complete the Early Help Assessment and submit this to the Early Help Desk within 7 days. The Early Help MASH database should be updated with the appropriate details, outcome and date. On a daily basis the Early Help Business Support will run a report from the Early Help MASH database to identify those cases where the EHA has not been received within the 7 day period and generate a letter to the allocated agency to advise them of such. This will be recorded as an action on the Early Help MASH database by the Early Help Business Support Officer. On a daily basis the Early Help Business Support will run a report from the Early Help MASH database to identify those cases where the EHA has not been received within the 14 day period. If the EHA has not been received after 14 days the Early Help Business Support will raise this with the Senior Early Help Coordinator who will review the case and contact the allocated agency via telephone to advise them that the case will be closed and to gain an update on the case. The Senior Early Help Coordinator will advise The Early Help Business Support who will then confirm closure of the record via letter. This will be recorded as an action on the Early Help MASH database by the Senior Early Help Coordinator. The Senior Early Help Coordinator will then close the contact on the Early Help MASH database with the appropriate outcomes and date. 1.7 Progress to COG If the Senior Early Help Coordinator determines that the EHA is appropriate for a multi-agency response she/he will update ecaf to reflect progress to meeting and workflow to the relevant COG Team, including their recommendation in comments. The relevant COG Team is determined on child s address, using the Sandwell Trends postcode checker where necessary (http://www.sandwelltrends.info/lisv2/navigation/postcode_finder.asp). This is selected from decisions tab and reassigned to xxx COG Group. The Early Help MASH database should be updated with the appropriate outcome and date. The COG Manager will then determine which service is appropriate for the family and follow the COG Business Processes and Procedures 9
1.8 Meets Family Solutions Team (FST) Criteria Where the needs of the family meet the FST criteria the Senior Early Help Coordinator will update ecaf to reflect progress to meeting and workflow to the relevant FST Group. See section 2.0 The Early Help MASH database should be updated with the appropriate outcome and date. The FST Manager will then determine which service is appropriate for the family and follow the FST Processes and Procedures 1.9 Meets Level 4 criteria: Signpost to Children s Social Care See Step Up to Children s Social Care 1.10 Direct Phone Call 1.10.1 From a member of the public Where a child / young person / relation / member of the public calls the Early Help Desk directly their concerns will be logged on the Early Help Desk MASH database and appropriate advice and guidance provided. The outcome of this phone call will be recorded along with the date. 1.10.2 From a professional Where a professional calls the Early Help Desk directly and their concerns directly relate to a child / young person their call will be logged on the Early Help Desk MASH database and appropriate advice and guidance provided. The outcome of this phone call will be recorded along with the date. Where their call is for advice and guidance this should be actioned as appropriate. 10
2.0 Meets Family Solutions Team (FST) Criteria 11
Case meets Family Solutions Team Criteria Where the needs of the family needs meet the FST criteria the Senior Early Help Coordinator will follow the referrals into FST process. 2.1 Crisis Response The Senior Early Help Coordinator will log the contact on the Early Help MASH database with the appropriate details. She/He will then review the case and liaise with the Early Help Desk Business Support to advise on the type of referrals received and emails them with the additional information, reason for referral, consent details and vulnerability level. The Early Help Desk Business Support will then: Create / update the child on ecaf Begin Early Help episode with start reason of FST Crisis Response Update the vulnerability level Complete consent Complete EHA with see casenote for more information Adds casenote to ecaf record with all details with casenote type FST Crisis Contact Populates and finalises EHA Carries out Triage Support Involvement Checklist as per section 1.2 Reassigns to Triage Worktray for review by Senior Early Help Coordinator A face to face discussion between the Senior early Help coordinator and Team Manager/Assistant Team Manager of FST will take place to advise of the contact and confirmed via email. 2.2 All other routes into FST The Senior Early Help Coordinator will log the contact on the Early Help MASH database with the appropriate details. She/He will then review the case and liaise with the Early Help Desk Business Support to advise on the type of referrals received and emails them with the additional information, reason for referral, consent details and vulnerability level. The Early Help Desk Business Support will then: Create / update the child on ecaf Begin Early Help episode with start reason with one of: o Level 4 FST o Step Up U+ - FST o Step Up CAF-FST (historic) Update the vulnerability level 12
Complete consent Complete EHA with either: o Targeted Services Referral Form received please see standalone forms o Decision form MASH FST Referral Populates and finalises EHA Carries out Triage Support Involvement Checklist as per section 1.2 Reassigns to Triage Worktray for review by Senior Early Help Coordinator The Senior Early Help Coordinator then selects progress to meeting and selects FST Group as the meeting arranger. The Early Help MASH database should be updated with the appropriate outcome and date. The FST Manager will then determine which service is appropriate for the family and follow the FST Processes and Procedures 13
3.0 Early Help Desk Transfer to Children s Social Care Transfer to ICS ecaf Process v1.6 EH Desk Decision made by Triage to refer to CSC at point of receipt. Snr Coordinator informs referrer that a referral to CSC is required Referrer advised to inform family of outcomes Pick up transfer to ICS task from Triage Support worktray Click on task details tab and copy reasons: If none noted check case notes. Click back on Transfer to ICS tab and paste into Details Click create record On the flowchart, click on episode completed Input the date as today, click start this step Click task details tab and reassign to Snr EH Co-ordinator Follow transfer to ICS ICS process to complete. Snr EH coordinator - After 24 hours the Early Help Episode can be closed with the end reason transfer to ICS END 14
Transfer to ICS - ICS process v1.2 EH Desk Transfer to ICS ecaf Process complete Log in to ICS and search for child Click into row on results Select Case notes from left hand column, select create case note Choose type of Incoming Information ( C ) Insert date, input early help documents attached in headline, in notes please see early help docs in document management click save Clcik on actions button: Add action In action choose: View document Choose today s date Click add person button: search for social worker, if no SW allocated please use ID number 351220 (MASH Duty Team) click onto ID number of person, Click save Attach relevant documents to ICS using Information @ work process END 15
3.1 Transfer to ICS 3.1.1 Senior Early Help Coordinator If following validation the Senior Early Help Coordinator determines the EHA has met the criteria at level 4, she/he will discuss the case with the MASH Team Manager and if in agreement that the case should step up, the Senior Early Help Coordinator will then: Contact the referrer to advise that a referral to CSC is required and that the EHA will be passed to them. The referrer will be expected to advise the family of the outcome Inform the Business Support Officer via the ecaf system by choosing the decision option Transfer to ICS and inputting the reason. A task will automatically be sent to the Triage Support worktray for the Business Support Officer to action. 3.1.2 The Business Support Officer Will follow the transfer to ICS process as outlined in Appendix B: Pick up transfer to ICS task from Triage Support worktray Click on task details tab and copy reasons: If none noted check case notes. Click back on Transfer to ICS tab and paste into Details Click create record On the ecaf flowchart, click on episode completed Input the date as today, click start this step Click task details tab and reassign to Triage group Follow transfer to ICS ICS process to complete. See Appendix C. 3.1.3 Senior Early Help Coordinator Early Help Senior Coordinator to create contact on ICS. Workflow to MASH Team (Separate documents provided). Log contact only on main child. 3.2 Decision from CSC The Senior Early Help Coordinator will await a final decision from Children s Social Care. This decision should be made within 24 hours. Once it has been determined by Children s Social Care that the notification has met level 4 criteria the Senior early Help Coordinator will complete the closure of the episode within 24 hours. 3.3 Step Up to Children s Social Care: Conflict resolution Where disputes regarding threshold levels arise, Managers in the respective services must follow the Dispute Resolution Process. 16
4.0 Step Down from Level 4 Services 17
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Cases Stepped Down from Children s Social Care 19
4.1 When might a step down occur There are a number of points in the Children s Social Care process when a child/young person and their family may be stepped down to Integrated Services: At any point in a Child in Need (CIN) Plan when it is agreed that Children s Social Care no longer have a role After a Single Assessment has been carried out by Care Management and Children s Social Care intervention is not required After a Single Assessment has been carried out by Multi Agency Enquiry Team (MAET) and allocated a Green RAG rating where no Children s Social Care involvement is required and it is agreed that the case meets Integrated Services criteria. If a social worker requires assistance during the Step Down process they may contact the Early Help Desk for support and consult the Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator. Once agreement to Step Down has been agreed by the relevant Team Manager, consent must be gained from Parents /Carers /Children/ Young People. 4.2 Consent The Senior Early Help Coordinator will check for consent. Under Early Help guidance information cannot be shared with agencies unless consent has been provided. Before any action can be taken it is necessary for the Senior Early Help Coordinator to check for consent. 4.2.1 No Consent If consent and/or appropriate documentation has not been provided the Senior Early Help Coordinator will contact the Social Worker and provide advice and information regarding the need to obtain consent. If the Social Worker does not provide consent the Senior Early Help Coordinator will send an email to the Social Worker and copy in their line manager within 24 hours stating that the contact has been closed and advise that the agency may re-submit the request for CAF once consent has been obtained. 4.2.2 Consent provided If consent has been provided the Senior Early Help Coordinator will review the CAF Form and information on ICS to clarify that all required actions have been completed by Children s Social Care, that Level 4 issues have been resolved by the Social Worker and the case and risks can be managed at Early Help level. The Senior Early Help Coordinator may decide that further information is required before a decision can be made. For example specific information from agencies such as the Police, CAMHS, Health, Housing may be required. In such cases the Senior Early Help Co-ordinator will determine the nature of the information required and contact the relevant professional before making a decision. 20
4.3 Dispute Resolution If, in the Senior Early Help Coordinator s professional opinion, there are outstanding issues to be addressed by Children s Social Care they will liaise with the social worker providing clear reasons why the Step Down will not be accepted and the discussion recorded on ICS. Where disputes regarding threshold levels arise, Managers in the respective services must follow the Dispute Resolution Process. 4.4 Step Down from Care Management CIN Plan In order to step down a case to Integrated Services where the child is subject to CIN the allocated Social Worker should send an email to CAF Team inbox including the child s basic demographics and date of the next CIN meeting. There should be a minimum of 10 working days notice. Upon receipt of the email the Early Help Desk Business Support Officer creates the child on the Early Help System, if their record does not already exist, and sends a general note using type CIN Meeting to the appropriate COG group worktray and the Triage Group. The Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator records this on the Early Help MASH database to show outcome of Awaiting Step Down Decision. The COG Manager will review the details of the meeting and allocate a Key Worker to attend the meeting. The Early Help Representative and the members of the meeting will make a decision as to whether it is appropriate for the case to be transferred to Integrated Services. 4.4.1 CIN Meeting Rejected If it is agreed that the case remains with a Care Management then the Early Help Representative should record this decision on general notes with type CIN Meeting Rejected and send to both the COG Manager and Triage Group. The Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator will update the Early Help Desk database appropriately to reflect outcome of Step Down Rejected. 4.4.2CIN Meeting Accepted If it is agreed that the case may be transferred to Integrated Services the Early Help Representative should record the outcome of the meeting in general notes with the type CIN Meeting Accepted and send to both the COG Manager and the Triage group. The Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator updates the Early Help Desk database appropriately to reflect that the case has been accepted Step Down Accepted - awaiting handover. 4.4.3 Care Management The Care Management Team will, within five working days, create a contact on ICS and workflow to the Early Help Desk ICS worktray. This will include consent details and most recent plan and minutes which should either be sent via email or attached on ICS. The Early Help 21
Desk Senior Coordinator will update the Early Help MASH database outcome to Step Down Accepted. If after 5 working days following the meeting the workflow on ICS has not been received the Early Help Senior Coordinator should choose Step Down Accepted not workflowed. This report will be run from the Early Help database on a daily basis to ensure that no child/family wait longer than five working days for Integrated Services intervention. Upon receipt of the workflow or after the five working day waiting period the Early Help Desk Business Support Officer will: Begin the Early Help Episode for the child/family on the Early Help System with the start reason of Step Down from Care Management CIN and a start date of the CIN Meeting Input the consent Within the Early Help Assessment question Please identify the child and/or family's needs will input either: o please see attached CIN Plan and Minutes or if no workflow has been received o CIN meeting - Accepted not received via workflow. The Early Help Desk Business Support Officer will populate and finalise the Early Help Assessment and carry out the Triage Support Checklist as per section 1.2. She / He will send a letter to the parent/guardian/young person to inform them that Early Help Services have received the handover If received, attach the CIN Plan and minutes to documents restricted to ecaf group. The decision task is then reassigned to the Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator. The Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator then chooses progress to meeting and selects the COG Business Support worktray as meeting arranger. If the workflow from ICS was not received then the Early Help Senior Coordinator should put this in the comments when carrying out the reassign task. 4.5 Step Down from Care Management - Single Assessment As per the process diagram the Step Down from Care Management will be processed as follows: The Care Management Team will workflow the contact on ICS to the Early Help Desk ICS worktray. Upon receipt of the workflow the Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator to pick up case from ICS worktray and review as appropriate. The Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator will review the contact and liaises with the Early Help Business Support Officer. The early Help Desk Coordinator sends an email to the Early Help Desk Business Support Officer containing additional case information/reason for 22
referral/vulnerability level. The Senior Early Help Coordinator records the details on the Early Help MASH database The Early Help Desk Business Support will then: Create/update child on ecaf Start ecaf episode (inc. siblings), select reason Step Down from Care Management Single Assessment, input vulnerability level and add case information received from Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator into additional notes, extra information can be recorded in case notes Complete Consent Statement, in comments state Step Down Care Management Single Assessment Start Assessment input social workers name as person undertaking the assessment and in the question Please identify the child and/or family's needs please input Please see Single Assessments in documents Populate and finalise assessment. Attach Single Assessment in documents and restricts to ecaf Group The Early Help Desk Business Support Officer performs system checks as per section 1.2, uploads Triage Support Involvement Checklist and reassigns to Triage tray with comment Please review Care Management Step Down Single Assessment The Senior Early Help Coordinator reviews the Triage Support Involvement Checklist and case. The Senior Early Help Coordinator selects progress to meeting in the decision and reassigns to appropriate COG worktray. The Senior Early Help Coordinator records the outcome details and date on the Early Help MASH database 4.6 Step Down from MAET - Single Assessment As per the process diagram the Step Down from MAET be processed as follows: The MAET Team will workflow the contact on ICS to the Early Help Desk ICS worktray. Upon receipt of the workflow the Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator to pick up case from ICS worktray and review as appropriate. The Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator will review the contact and liaises with the Early Help Business Support Officer. The early Help Desk Coordinator sends an email to the Early Help Desk Business Support Officer containing additional case information/reason for referral/vulnerability level. The Senior Early Help Coordinator records the details on the Early Help MASH database The Early Help Desk Business Support will then: 23
Create/update child on ecaf Start ecaf episode (inc. siblings), select reason Step Down from MAET Single Assessment, input vulnerability level and add case information received from Early Help Desk Senior Coordinator into additional notes, extra information can be recorded in case notes Complete Consent Statement, in comments state Step Down MAET Single Assessment Start Assessment input social workers name as person undertaking the assessment and in the question Please identify the child and/or family's needs please input Please see Single Assessments in documents Populate and finalise assessment. Attach Single Assessment in documents and restricts to ecaf Group The Early Help Desk Business Support Officer performs system checks/ as per section 1.2, uploads Triage Support Involvement Checklist and reassigns to Triage tray with comment Please review MAET Step Down Single Assessment The Senior Early Help Coordinator reviews the Triage Support Involvement Checklist and case. The Senior Early Help Coordinator selects progress to meeting in the decision and reassigns to appropriate COG worktray. The Senior Early Help Coordinator records the outcome details and date on the Early Help MASH database 4.7 Dispute Resolution If following Safetynet and validation checks there is additional information that means the case appears to be above Early Help thresholds the Senior Early Help Coordinator will follow the Dispute Resolution Process. See Section 5.0. 4.8 Close ICS Episode. Once the case has been transferred to ecaf the Senior Early Help Coordinator will close the workflow on ICS. 24
5.0 Early Help Desk Dispute Resolution Process 25
5.1 Conflict Resolution Where the Senior Early Help Coordinator has determined that an EHA is above the Early Help Service threshold and the MASH Team Manager does not agree, the following process applies: 5.1.1 Conversation between Senior Early Help Coordinator and MASH Team Manager to agree outcome Where a dispute regarding threshold levels occurs the Senior Early Help Coordinator and MASH Team Manager will discuss the referral. 5.1.2 Has agreement been reached? The respective managers should arrive at a decision within 24 hrs. 5.1.3 Exceptional circumstances In exceptional circumstances where clarification is required or an agreement cannot be reached, team managers will escalate through the respective: 1. Group Head 2. Service Director 5.1.4 Outcome In exceptional circumstances a resolution will be reached within 24 hours. The relevant Group Head should detail the outcome of the decision on the ICS and ecaf systems respectively, in order that management oversight is recorded. On the ecaf System this should be recorded as a casenote using the casenote type of dispute resolution. 5.1.5 Workflow to Early Help Where a decision is made to signpost the referral to Early Help the Business Support Officer Will workflow the referral to Early Help Desk using ICS and record outcome as Early Help Action Required (C). 5.1.6 Work flow to MASH If the decision is made to continue with the transfer to MASH the MASH Team Manager will workflow the task to undertake an Single Assessment. 26
6.0 Early Help Desk MASH Out of Authority Early Help Desk Out of Authority EHA v1.2 EH Desk CAF received via ecaf system CAF Received by White Mail / electronic Check Relevant Inboxes Direct telephone call received Senior EH Co-ordinator logs incoming information on Early Help MASH database Advice and Guidance Check consent (Senior EH Coordinator) Consent given No consent Submitted via ecaf No BSO - Create child on ecaf ensuring Parent/ Carer details are input for each child BSO - Create child on ecaf BSO Complete consent statement Yes BSO - Start Early Help Assessment In assessment tab complete what has led to this child or young person being assessed? Please see attachment EHA. Out of Area (name of LA) Populate and finalise EHA and reassign decision task to Triage worktray Populate and finalise EHA and reassign decision task to Triage worktray Letter to parent advising receipt of EHA and outcome BSO - Start Early Help Episode Complete consent denied stage Reassign to Triage Worktray Snr EH Coordinator complete consent denied stage on system Snr EH Coordinator - At decision stage choose Episode Completed Enter in reason Out of LA Area (name of LA) Outcomes complete Snr EH Coordinator - Enter date From closure reason choose from: Out of LA Area Birmingham Out of LA Area Wolverhampton Out of LA Area Walsall Out of LA Area Dudley Out of LA Area Other Do not amend vulnerability level Click complete episode button BSO & Snr EH Coordinator - Notify relevant authority Snr EH Coordinator -Act on expiration, choose: begin purge process finalise Snr EH Coordinator update EH MASH db with appropriate outcome and date END 27
EHAs received for other LA Areas 6.1 Check for Consent Under Early Help guidance information cannot be shared with agencies unless consent has been provided. Before any action can be taken it is necessary for the Senior Early Help Coordinator to check the Early Help Assessment (EHA) for consent. EHAs will not be processed unless consent has been provided and all mandatory fields have been completed. Mandatory fields include: vi) Child or young persons name, DOB, address with postcode vii) Parent/s or carer/s name viii) Siblings name and DOB ix) Name and DOB of other household members x) Child/young person s ethnicity and special needs 6.1.1 No Consent If consent has not been provided the Senior Early Help Coordinator will contact the referring agency and provide advice and information regarding how to obtain consent. For Early Help Assessments not received via ecaf the Business Support Officer will: Create/update the child on ecaf o Start the Episode o Record no consent obtained o Reassign the consent denied stage to the Senior Early Help Coordinator o Adds a general note to the record Send a standard letter to referrer within 24 hours stating that the Early Help episode has been closed and advise that the agency may re-submit the EHA once consent has been obtained. The Senior Early Help Coordinator will record the closure reason, closure date and final vulnerability level on ecaf under the consent denied stage and close the Early Help episode, the Early Help Assessment will be retained for 30 days, and then destroyed. The Early Help MASH database should be updated with the appropriate outcome and date. 6.1.2 Consent Provided If consent has been provided for Early Help Assessments not received via ecaf the Business Support Officer will: Create/update child on ecaf and upload the EHA into the documents section on the child s record restricting it appropriately. 28
Complete the Consent Statement Start the Early Help Assessment In assessment tab complete what has led to this child or young person being assessed? Please see attached EHA. Out of Area (name of LA) For all Out of Area EHAs Populate and finalise the EHA At decision stage reassign to Triage Group worktray Reassign the episode completed task to the Senior Early Help Coordinator 6.2 Notify Relevant Authority The Senior Early Help Coordinator will notify the relevant authority of the referral by telephone. The Business Support Officer will forward a copy of the EHA to the relevant authority. Where the receiving authority does not hold a secure email account then MoveIT (secure transfer) should be used. 6.3 Closure The Business Support Officer will send a closure letter to the referrer advising that the EHA has been sent to the relevant authority. The Senior Early Help Coordinator will close the episode on ecaf. Entering in reason Out of LA Area (name of LA) and from closure reason choose from: Out of LA Area Birmingham Out of LA Area Wolverhampton Out of LA Area Walsall Out of LA Area Dudley Out of LA Area Other The Senior Early Help Coordinator records the outcome details and date on the Early Help MASH database. 29
7.0 Missing Children Missing Process not known to EH v1_0 Not known to Early Help Services Call from parent / family member to COG Manager/Integrated Services Key Worker/EH Desk to advise child is missing Caller to be informed that they MUST contact the Police Refuse If person refuses COG Manager/Integrated Services Key Worker/EH Desk to take details and call Police on their behalf Agree COG Manager/Integrated Services Key Worker to add general note to child s record with note type missing status: missing Copy in worker Rob Cotterill Barnardos Black Country Base For advice and information regarding missing children please call; Barnardos on 01922 644338 and speak to Rob Cotterill, Beth Wooldgridge or Annemarie Griffiths Or contact Rob on 07710 917141 or by email robert.coterill@barnardos.org.uk Rob is based within MASH on Tuesdays and Thursdays 30
Children Missing Process v1_0 Open to Early Help Services Call from parent / family member to COG Manager/Integrated Services Key Worker/EH Desk to advise child is missing Caller to be informed that they MUST contact the Police Refuse Agree If person refuses COG Manager/Integrated Services Key Worker/ EH Desk to take details and call Police on their behalf COG Manager/Integrated Services Key Worker/EH Desk to add casenote to child s record with casenote type missing status: missing Copy in worker Rob Cotterill Barnardos Black Country Base and COG Manager Barnardos worker to add update casenote of type Missing status: update if/when appropriate Child Found Barnardos notified Early Help Service Notified Rob Cotterill Barnardos Black Country Base to add casenote to child s record with casenote type missing status: found Copy in worker COG Manager/Integrated Services Key Worker COG Manager/Integrated Services Key Worker to add casenote to child s record with casenote type missing status: found Copy in worker Rob Cotterill Barnardos Black Country Base Barnardos worker carries out return interview within 72 hours of return, including completing CSE Screening tool and uploads to child s record on ecaf using internal document type Barnardos Return Interview Form (previously Barnardos Level 1 case notes ) For advice and information regarding missing children please call; Barnardos on 01922 644338 and speak to Rob Cotterill, Beth Wooldgridge or Annemarie Griffiths Or contact Rob on 07710 917141 or by email robert.coterill@barnardos.org.uk Rob is based within MASH on Tuesdays and Thursdays 31
7.1 Children Reported as Missing Should the Early Help Desk receive a call from a parent or family member to advise that a child is missing they must in the first instance advise the caller to contact the Police. If the caller refuses to contact the Police the Early Help Desk should do this on their behalf. The Senior Early Help Coordinator will then need to determine if the family is known to Early Help. If the family are not currently open to Early Help the Senior Early Help Coordinator should create the child s record, if required, and add a general note using the casenote type of Missing Status: Missing and copy in the Barnardos worker based within the CSE Team. If the family are known to Early Help the Senior Early Help Coordinator should add a case note using the casenote type of Missing Status: Missing and copy in the Barnardos worker based within the CSE Team. 32
8.0 MASH Responsibilities 8.1 MASH Notifications The TYS and Early Help Representatives at the Early Help Desk will monitor the MASH Log, this is the MASH database used by Children s Social Care for incoming cases. Incoming MASH notifications have the following priority rating system: Red: response within 4 hours Amber: response within 72 hours Notifications which are rated as Green upon receipt by the MASH Team are workflowed through to the Early Help Desk via ICS for processing in the usual way unless they meet the Domestic abuse criteria in which case they will be processed as per the Domestic Abuse Notifications below. The TYS Representative will check the list on the TYS section of the MASH Log for incoming requests for information, upon receipt of a case the TYS Representative will check the YOIS and UMIS systems and produce a synopsis for inclusion in the agency response on the MASH Log. This record is then returned to the MASH Team. The Early Help Representative will check the list on the Early Help section of the MASH Log for incoming requests for information, upon receipt of a case the Early Help Representative will check the Early Help systems and produce a synopsis for inclusion in the agency response on the MASH Log. They will also produce a chronology for inclusion in the MASH discussion. This record is then returned to the MASH Team. The cases will then be discussed as part of the MASH discussion. If the case is RAG rated as Green after MASH the TYS Representative will log this on the Early Help Mash database with the appropriate outcome and date. 8.2 Domestic Abuse Notifications The TYS Representative will check the Domestic Abuse Child and Domestic Abuse lists on the MASH Log, upon receipt of a notification they will check all Early Help and TYS systems, collate the synopsis for inclusion in the agency response on the MASH Log. This record is then returned to the MASH Team. The cases will then be discussed as part of the MASH discussion. If the case is RAG rated as Green after MASH the TYS Representative will log this on the Early Help Mash database with the appropriate outcome and date. 33