Team Remit and Case Transfer Between Teams

These procedures set out 'best practice' principles and processes regarding case transfers. This is for the process of case transfer to work as effectively as possible for the child & family. At all times the needs of the child are paramount when considering a change of the adult who is helping them. A change of practitioner is a significant event for a child and family and needs to be reflected in sensitive and careful handling by managers and practitioners. Professional judgment will be required in many cases to decide when to transfer where there are more complex issues impacting on the child and family.

Transfers between practitioners and/or services will be conducted in a timely fashion, ensuring as much continuity as possible for families. All transfers between services will be discussed and decided through the weekly transfer panel. Transfer panel involves the service manager as chair, the team manager and practitioners from each of the services for case presentation.

There are critical transfer points, i.e., for children on plans: the ICPC and CIN meeting, for children in our care: Sec. 20 the first CLA review and on ICO, the first IRH with PLO at the first PLO meeting.

1. Allocated practitioner sends transfer summary to transfer panel administrator and family is put on the agenda for the next panel;
2. Allocated practitioner and/or manager attends transfer panel to present rationale for transfer;
3. Transfer panel decides on transfer and agreed handover/transfer date is identified;
4. Pending change of worker discussed with family and professionals;
5. Team manager oversight and transfer check list (please see Annex) ensures child's case file record is up to date and ready for transfer;
6. The handover meeting/visit held within 5 working days from the transfer date, introducing the new worker to the child & family;
7. Correspondence via letters by post, phone messages or email (as preferred by the family) is dispatched to family and emails to professionals confirming a change of service and/or practitioner and date of transfer. (See standard template on LCS).

All transfers (re-allocations) between practitioners in the same service area will be decided and managed between Team Managers with authorisation of the Service Manager, i.e., where there are conflict of interest, health & safety, or capability issues of the practitioner. The above steps (d) to (g) also apply to changes of allocated practitioner.

At no point should a child be left without a named allocated practitioner. If difficulties are experienced in transferring cases due to capacity this should be immediately escalated to the Service Manager. The Head of Service and Deputy Director should be notified in writing and a record kept of the agreement for each case that has been escalated.

If a family are receiving a service in the family support and child protection service move to a different locality within the borough of Bexley, case responsibility will remain with the locality team to whom the case is originally allocated.

Transfer/closure summaries & case records

Transfer arrangements will always be mindful of the need to ensure the safety of children. It is essential that good quality information is passed from the transferring practitioner/service to prevent gaps in knowledge and delay in activity.

Wherever a child experiences a transfer between practitioner and/or service, the transferring practitioner must ensure the child's record is up to date with all relevant information and a transfer or closure summary is available. The manager is responsible for ensuring the case record is up to date with the transfer summary fully completed and the transfer check list signed as completed before transfer.

Handover meetings

Children, young people, their parents/carers and other professionals engaged with the family should always be advised of any plans to change practitioner and/or service in advance. Transfers should always involve a joint visit with the transferring and receiving practitioners, with the family. If this is not possible, the reasons will need to be explained to the family and recorded on child's record as this will not in itself delay or stop the transfer. Always keep in mind families’ cultural needs and language etc. use interpreters to make any discussions easier and transfers as smoothly and seamlessly for the family and children as possible.

Transferring a family from Family Wellbeing Service to Children's Social Care

If at any time the family Key Worker in the Family Wellbeing Service identify the family's risk is increasing and the team around the family has become worried that the plan cannot be managed safely at Level 3 of the effective support document, the family Key Worker must alert a Family Wellbeing manager immediately. Using the harm matrix to assess risk with a case mapping session, the manager will make the decision whether or not to transfer the family to Children's Social Care.

If the child or young person is assessed to be 'in need' of a statutory social work assessment, the family should be transferred to Children's Social Care by the Family Key Worker and/or manager presenting the case at the next weekly transfer panel.

If the child or young person is assessed at risk of, or suffering from significant harm, the family will be transferred from Family Wellbeing Service to the MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub) for progression to the R&A (Referral and Assessment) Duty Team for a Child Protection (Section 47) Strategy Meeting. The Family Key Worker and manager must attend the Strategy Meeting.

Transferring a family from Children's Social Care to the Family Wellbeing Service

When Children's Social Care social work Level 4 specialist service has been helping a family to improve a situation, the child or young person's needs should have lessened, and the family may no longer require a statutory service. However, to embed the positive changes the family may need some continued help at a non-statutory Level 3 service. With consent from the family and agreement to continue to receive a service, can be transferred from Children's Social Care to the Family Wellbeing Service. To transfer a family the social worker will need to present the case at weekly transfer panel and follow the same guidelines for the introduction of the family key worker from children social care.

MASH

A child will transfer from the MASH to the Assessment Service at the point at which it is agreed that the threshold for Child & Family assessment has been reached. This transfer should occur within 24 hours of receipt of the request for service. If the MASH receives a re-referral on a child previously known to any statutory service within 3 months of the case being closed, the child will be transferred back to the previous service and where possible to the previous allocated social worker and for the worker to present the case as a re-referral to the Case Management Review panel. Exceptions to the 3 months will be discussed by MASH with the Service Manager to record decision making and rationale as an exception. A child must be allocated to a social worker within 24 hours of the decision being made in the MASH.

The Referral & Assessment Service

The Assessment Service includes five teams, responsible for undertaking the C&F assessment, child protection enquiries, and Section 7 or 37 court welfare reports. If the assessment concludes that the child is in need of a non-statutory family wellbeing service, or a statutory social work service, the case will need to be presented at transfer panel at the earliest opportunity to transfer to one of the following services, dependent on level of help required:

Family Wellbeing Service

This is not dependent on specific criteria but as a continuation of support where a level 4 specialist plan is not appropriate any longer. The Referral & Assessment social worker will arrange a joint visit with the Family Wellbeing key worker once transfer panel have agreed the date of transfer (within one week of the case presented to the transfer panel) for an introduction of the new team/service to the family. It is the responsibility of the transferring social worker to ensure that the family has the assessment and support plan and are ready to continue with the new service/team.

Family Support & Child Protection Service

This service includes four locality teams who are responsible for providing help and services to children in need and children who are subject to a Child Protection plans and undertake private fostering assessments by the private fostering worker. A case will transfer to the Family Support & Child Protection Service at either the Child in Need Meeting, the Initial Child Protection Conference, the initial PLO meeting or the first Child Looked After review (Sec.20) where children have a reunification plan within 6 months.

FS&CP will present a case at transfer panel at the earliest opportunity for transfer to the Family Wellbeing Service or the Children in Our Care service. A case may transfer to the Family Wellbeing service in the circumstances and through the process stated above.

A case will transfer from the Family Support & Child Protection service to the Children in Our Care service when a child is becomes Looked After with no reunification plan. If a child becomes looked after under Section 20, without a legal order, the transfer will be at the first Child Looked After review. Where a child is subject to Care Proceedings, the transfer will take place at the IRH. The team manager of the Child Looked After team should be invited to the IRH and the first Child Looked After review. Cases should be presented to transfer panel with a clear permanency plan in cases where children are in our care within a week of coming into our care.

Children in Our Care Service

This service includes three teams responsible for children who are looked after by Bexley. All children and young people transferring to the Children in Care Service should be presented at the transfer panel within a week of coming into our care. The transferring social worker should ensure that the family is introduced and handed over to the new practitioner at the IRH when in care proceedings and/or Child Looked After review where children are subject to Sec. 20 and no short term reunification can be achieved.

For children in our care the following must have been completed before transfer:

1. Most recent Child in Our Care Social Workers review report;
2. Placement Information Record;
3. Initial Person Education Plan (PEP);
4. Initial Medical should have been arranged and where possible taken place;
5. Up to date Care Plan;
6. A copy of all current Legal Orders must be scanned into the case file record. The legal pathway must be up to date on LCS. In the case of a child Looked After (on a Care Order under Section 31 of the Children Act 1989) a copy of the birth certificate will be retained, or (for children accommodated under Section 20) will have been requested;
7. Any financial agreements should be up to date and agreed by the resource panel.

Cases that transfer to the Leaving Care Team do not go through the traditional weekly transfer meeting.

Leaving & After Care Service

The Leaving Care team and the three Children in Our Care's teams are overseen by a service manager who reports to the Head of Service for Children in Our Care and Permanence which includes leaving care.

Children and young people in Bexley are leaving care aged 18. At 17.6 months the Children in Our Care team notifies the Leaving Care Manager of a young person and the Leaving care manager will allocate a Personal Advisor to the young person. The Personal Advisor will co-work with the allocated social worker until the young person becomes 18.

This allows for a smooth transition and introduction to the young person's preparation to leaving care.

Will work with a young person up until they are 25 as set out in the governments Keep on Caring Policy: supporting young people from care to independence.

Children with Disabilities service

The service has two teams and supports children and young people with severe and profound disabilities. All referrals are made via the MASH team into Bexley although any team can at any time seek guidance and support from the CWDS duty worker for an assessment/registration of a child or young person’s disabilities to establish if the child/young person need the support from CWDS. The case does not need to be presented at transfer panel as this is subject to the Children with Disability criteria assessment/registration.

Managers will work co-operatively to resolve case transfer issues as they arise. Resolution should in all cases be achieved within 1 working day. The key aim is to ensure that the flow of cases is achieved by managers working together. In rare and exceptional cases, it will be necessary to refer the matter to the Service Manager and/or Head of Service whose decision will be binding.