North and West Belfast Health And Social Services Trust

1. North and West Belfast Health And Social Services Trust The Context Urban Area – Inner City Issues for N&W Belfast High Levels of deprivation Post Conflict Weak Infrastructure Large Travelling Community High suicide rates Substance misuse – Drugs, alcohol

2. Regeneration to address • Political vacuum • Devolved Government • Unemployment • Inequality • Sectarianism • Policing • Cultural Issues • Financial Investment levels

3. Structures At present in NI Children services are delivered within a Social Health Model, with Social Services and Health Professionals managed under 4 area health Boards incorporating 19 Trusts. The structure in England is different with local Councils managing Social Services and education provision and health managed separately.

4. Population Total population of children aged under 18 in North and West Belfast HSS Trust is 41945 Source ‘Key Indicators of Personal Social Services for NI 2003’

5. Children Services Include: • Child Protection • Care of Looked After Children • Family Support • Adoption • Children in Need (including disabled children • Day Care facilities • Children’s homes

6. Children in Receipt of Services • Details from North and West Belfast HSS Trust Corporate Parenting Report • 1.10.05 – 31.3.06

7. CHILDREN IN NEED

8. PROG OF CARE NUMBER LEARNING DISABILITY 222 PHYSICAL DISABILITY 24 VISUALLY IMPAIRED 55 HEARING IMPAIRED 11 MENTAL HEALTH 3 TOTAL 315 Children with a Disability CN4 How many of these children in need have a disability? Source: Management Information Department

9. Child Protection • A parent, a sibling or other relative or carer, an acquaintance or a stranger may abuse children. The abuse may be as a result of a direct act or of a failure on the part of a parent or carer to act to provide proper care or both. The abuse may take a number of forms including: • Neglect • Sexual abuse • Physical abuse • Emotional abuse

10. How many children’s names are there on CP Register There appear to be no discernible trends informing the fluctuations in the levels of registered children across the period since 31/03/04.The figure does, however, reflect the significant volumes and throughput of Child Protection registration work.

11. Children Looked After

12. Children’s Placements • The Trust directly manages 5 Residential units providing 35 placements • The Trust accesses a further 26 residential placements in the voluntary sector • The Trust is responsible for 143 approved foster placements • Central to Looked After Children’s well being is the promotion of their positive emotional and mental health.

13. Current guidance to Social Work staff and carers emphasises the importance of the monitoring of Looked After Children’s health needs, emphasising a strong preventive as opposed to reactive approach and identifying issues such as sexual health education, dental care, personal esteem and emotional well-being.

14. How we manage Child Protection in N&W Trust • Six fieldwork prevention teams in 3 sub-offices: Antrim Road Falls Road Shankill Road • And a specialist CP Team comprising: 1 APSW/Manager 6 Senior Practitioners 1 Community CP Worker 1 Secretary 1 Team Clerk

15. Remit of CP Team • Investigate all allegations of Physical and sexual abuse • Joint protocol working with Police • Risk manage all alleged SIO • Risk manage all convicted SIO

16. Outcomes • Short term intervention to include initial and comprehensive assessment • Outcomes: No further action Family support Initial CP Case Conference Care Placements • Cases then transfer to Prevention Team