The New Arrangements for Children Leaving Care.


The provisions of the Children (Leaving Care) Act (NI) 2002 and the Children (Leaving Care) Regulations (NI) 2005, come into operation on the 1st September 2005.


The new arrangements introduce a range of new terms into the Looked After Child’s world and for some children it creates a continuing dependency on Social Services beyond the end of the formal Looked After arrangements.

The new scheme has four main aims:

- To ensure that young people do not leave care until they are ready to do so,
- To improve the assessment, preparation and planning for young people leaving care,
- To provide better personal support for young people after they leave care,
- To improve the financial support available to care leavers.







The Children (Leaving Care) Act inserts a number of new Articles into the Part IV of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.

Article 34A deals with the preparation of a young person for ceasing to be looked after.

Articles 34B and 34C deals with the Trusts responsibilities toward relevant children.

Article 34D sets out the responsibilities toward former relevant children.

Article 34E introduces the Personal Adviser and Article 34F introduces the Pathway Plan.

There is a new Article 35 which sets out the persons who qualify for advice and assistance under the new scheme. Articles 35A, 35B, 35C and 35D set out further provisions in relation to advice and assistance.

The Children (Leaving Care) Regulations (NI) 2005 builds on the Act and provides more detail on the Trusts duties in particular, the assessment of needs, the Pathway Plan and the functions of the Personal Adviser.





There are now three new categories of child who are entitled to some level of aftercare services from the Trusts under the new scheme, The Eligible Child, The Relevant child and The Former Relevant Child.

The Eligible Child is a young person aged 16 or 17 who is still looked after and has been looked after for a period of at least 13 weeks since the age of 14.

The Relevant Child is a young person aged 16 or 17 who has ceased to be looked after and before this he was looked after for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14.

The Former Relevant Child is an adult aged 18 -21 who has left care and before leaving care was either an eligible child or a relevant child or both.
From the 1st September 2005.

Eligible Children are entitled to a Personal Adviser, a Needs Assessment and a Pathway Plan, because they are still looked after they are also entitled to all the provisions of the looked after system.

Relevant Children are entitled to a Personal Adviser, a Needs Assessment, a Pathway Plan, Accommodation and Maintenance, Assistance to meet the young person’s needs in relation to Education, Training, or Employment as provided for in the Pathway Plan and the Trust must keep in touch with the young person.

Former Relevant Children are entitled to have their Personal Adviser and their Pathway Plan continue, Assistance with Employment, Education and Training as well as Assistance in general and also accommodation during vacation from Higher education if needed.


The Personal Adviser.

There are no prescribed qualifications for a Personal Adviser, guidance states that the Trusts will recruit, appoint, train and support people it feels are suitable to fulfil the duties of the Personal Adviser. Guidance states that the Personal Adviser will act as a mentor and will take steps to strike an appropriate balance in respect of what the young person wants and what a good parent would be expected to do for him/her.

Functions.

The specific functions of the Personal Adviser are set out in Regulation 11.
(a) To provide advice (including practical advice) and support;
(b) Where applicable, to participate in the assessment and the preparation of the Pathway Plan;
(c) To participate in reviews of the Pathway Plan;
(d) To liaise with the responsible Trust in the implementation of the Pathway Plan;
(e) To co-ordinate the provision of services, and to take reasonable steps to ensure that the young person makes use of services;
(f) To keep informed about the young person’s progress and well being;
(g) To keep a written record of contacts with the young person.

The Pathway Plan.

Guidance states that the Pathway Plan is an opportunity to explore with the young person their wishes and aspirations for the future and how they can be assisted in meeting them. The Pathway Plan should look forward as far as the young person’s 21st birthday and beyond if they continue in education and training. It must be recorded in writing and a copy must be made available to the young person in an accessible form. The Trust should consult with the young person about anyone else receiving a copy of the plan.

Content of the Plan.

The schedule to the Regulations sets out the matters to be dealt with in the Pathway Plan.

1. The nature and level of contact and personal support to be provided, and by whom, to the young person.
2. Details of the accommodation the young person is to occupy.
3. A detailed plan for the education or training of the young person.
4. How the Trust will assist the young person in relation to employment or other purposeful activity or occupation.
5. The support to be provided to enable the young person to develop and sustain family and social relationships.
6. A programme to develop the practical and other skills necessary for the young person to live independently.
7. The financial support to be provided to the young person, in particular where it is to be provided to meet his accommodation and maintenance needs.
8. The health needs, including any mental health needs, of the child or young person and how they are to be met.
9. Contingency plans for action to be taken by the Trust should the Pathway Plan for any reason cease to be effective.

The plan should also set out the manner in which the Trust proposes to meet the needs of the young person and the date by which and by whom any action required to implement the pathway plan will be carried out.

Reviews.

The Trust must review the Pathway Plan if requested to do so by the young person or if the Trust or the Personal Adviser consider a review to be necessary, in any case the plan should be reviewed at intervals of not more than six months.

The Assessment of Needs

The assessment of needs should be carried out for an eligible child, not more than three months after the young person reaches 16 or becomes an eligible child. For a relevant child who does not already have a plan, not more than three months after they become a relevant child.

A written record should be kept of all the information obtained during the assessment, the details of any meetings held in connection with any aspect of the assessment and the results of the assessment.

In carrying out the assessment the Trust should take account of:

1. The young person’s health and development;
2. The young person’s need for education, training and employment;
3. The support available to the young person from members of his family and other persons;
4. The young person’s financial needs;
5. The extent to which the young person possesses the practical and other skills necessary for independent living;
6. The young person’s need for care, support and accommodation.

The Trust should take into account the views of the following people when assessing need:

1. The young person’s parents;
2. Anyone with Parental Responsibility
3. Anyone who cares on a day to day basis, or provides accommodation for the young person
4. Any school or college attended by the young person or the Education and Library board for the area in which the young person lives.
5. Any Independent Visitor appointed for young person
6. Any person providing primary medical services for the young person.
7. The Personal Adviser.
8. Any other person whose views the Trust or the young person consider may be relevant.

Accommodation.

The new Article 34C of the Children (NI) Order sets out the Trust’s responsibilities toward Relevant Children and Article 34C(8) states that the Trust shall safeguard and promote the child’s welfare by maintaining him/her, providing him/her with or maintaining him/her in suitable accommodation and providing assistance in order to meet the child’s needs in relation to education, training or employment. Accommodation must be, so far as is reasonably practicable suitable for the child in the light of his/her needs including health needs and any needs arising from a disability. The Trust must satisfy itself as to the character and suitability of the landlord or other provider. The Trust must also take account of the child’s wishes and feelings and his/her education, training or employment needs. Guidance states that as a general rule it would not be sensible for 16 and 17 year-olds to live independently and to carry the responsibility for sustaining their own tenancy without high levels of appropriate support. Bed and Breakfast accommodation would not be suitable although guidance indicates that it might be justified as a short term emergency measure. Guidance indicates that a multi-agency accommodation strategy should be developed.

Financial Support.

Most Relevant Children will no longer be eligible to claim Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Housing Benefit. Some Relevant Children, those who are lone parents or are disabled will continue to be eligible for Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance. There are no specific amounts for maintenance in either the legislation or the guidance, in some cases the guidance states young people might be able to handle their own budgets, while in other cases the Trust will do this and give the young person pocket money. The aim in all cases is to foster independence and to help young people to learn to handle money responsibly, so that they are able to cope on their own when they cease to be a relevant child at age 18.

The guidance indicates that no Relevant Child should receive a package for their accommodation and maintenance which comes to less than they would have received if they had been entitled to claim Social Security Benefits.

The guidance indicates that the Trusts should publish transparent criteria for deciding between the competing demands of different young people they are responsible for.

Trusts should encourage and help young people to open and manage bank accounts and as far as possible financial assistance should be channelled through these accounts.


Other Personal Support.

Guidance states that Trusts should also provide other forms of personal support comparable to that provided by most families. Examples of the ways in which such support should be delivered include: drop-in centres; out of hours and outreach support; mentoring and befriending schemes; and programmes of life skills training. The nature, extent and source of support are matters for agreement and inclusion in the pathway plan.

Complaints

A new Article 35D inserted into the Children (NI) Order deals with complaints. Each Trust is required to establish a procedure for dealing with complaints by young people who are eligible for the new leaving care arrangements. A young person can complain if they consider that the Trust has not given them adequate preparation for leaving care or provided adequate aftercare services or support. Trusts should allow young people access to an independent advocacy service at any or all stages of the complaints process.