Halton Children & Family Service

MAP is a short way of saying Multi-Agency Plan. A MAP is a type of form that tells the story of you and your family and what life is like right now. It involves listening to you and your family to find out what your needs are, and what is working well in your family’s life. You and your family may have a MAP because one or more of your family need a little extra help or support.

• Halton MAP Guide for Parents-Carers
• My MAP Children’s Guide

Young carers have a right to an assessment of their needs separate from the needs of the person they care for (Care Act 2014 and Children and Families Act 2014) this includes:

• All young carers under the age of 18 regardless of who they care for, what type of care they provide or how often they provide it.
• A young carer has the right to an assessment based on the appearance of need – which means that young carers will no longer have to request an assessment or be undertaking a ‘regular and substantial’ amount of care.
• An assessment can still be requested but should also be offered.
• Local authorities must take a whole family approach to assessing and supporting adults so that young carer’s needs are identified when undertaking an adult or adult carer’s needs assessment.

How would an assessment would be carried out?

Through a Multi-Agency Plan (MAP) using the Halton Levels of Need Framework unless they already meet the threshold for Social Care involvement in which case it would be included in the Single Assessment Process. All Halton schools should have nominated member of staff to assist with young carers issues

• Young Carers Leaflet

If you would like to register with Halton Carers’ Centre, complete the online form using the following links:

The Council for Disabled Children and the National Children’s Bureau have developed two new websites to support children and young people to understand their rights.

• Get Your Rights helps to explain to children and young people their rights when using the NHS
• Information, Advice and Support Services Network is to help disabled children and young people with SEND to understand their rights for accessing information, advice and support across education, health and social care

Halton Carers’ Centre Services and Support

If you would like to register with Halton Carers’ Centre, complete the online form using the following links:

• Halton Healthwatch Advocacy Hub  Tel: 0151 347 8183
• Advocacy First support people (adults) living in the community
• NYAS Advocacy Care Leavers Leaflet
• NYAS – National Youth Advocacy Service

Professionals working with children and young people have a shared responsibility to work together to ensure that all privately fostered children are well cared for and are safeguarded from harm.

Professionals can play an important role in helping to identify private fostering arrangements and providing information to carers and parents who may be unaware of their responsibility to notify the Local Authority.

Find out more about Private Fostering here

The following teams may be able to help:

• Positive Behaviour Support Service (PBSS)
• Behaviour Support in Halton
• Educational Psychology Service
• Education Welfare Service

Halton SENDIASS Helping children, parents, carers and young people to take part in decisions that affect their lives.

Free confidential and impartial information, advice or support is available

Tel 0151 511 7733 or email SENDpartnership@halton.gov.uk

Easy Read Guides

• Halton Children and Young People Safeguarding Partnership
• Halton Adults Safeguarding Board

Are you worried about a friend, child or family member?

If you suspect a child is being abused and you are a child, parent or member of the general public, Children’s Social Care can help and advise you on:

• 0151 907 8305 (Mon-Thurs 9am–5pm, Fri 9am–4.30 pm)
• 0345 050 0148 (out of office hours and throughout weekends)

• Housing advice

The CSDPA places a duty on local authorities to make arrangements for the provision of assistance for an eligible disabled person for adaptations to the home, or the provision of any additional facilities designed to secure greater safety, comfort or convenience. This also includes the provision of equipment.

There is no age distinction under the CSDPA so it applies equally to adults and children. The National Service Framework also relates to Disabled Children and devotes one of its themes to ‘Equipment and Adaptations’ subsequently this also sets a number of standards.

Disabled children and young people should have:

• The equipment and housing they need for their health, well-being, development and social inclusion; and for their families’ health and well-being;
• Access to the equipment they need in all the settings in which they find themselves.

Children’s Services have responsibilities for ensuring that assessments of needs which might best be met by the provision of equipment and/or adaptations are carried out under the CSDPA. These assessments are usually undertaken by the child’s Occupational Therapists (OTs) on behalf of Children’s Services.

Section 2 of the CSDPA gives Local Authorities a duty to assist disabled people (as defined by Section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948) with the provision of a whole range of services including equipment, adaptations, home helps, meals on wheels, etc. For example:

• Practical assistance in the home;
• Provision (or assistance to obtain) radio, TV, library or other recreational services;
• Provision of lectures, games, outings, recreational or educational activities outside the home;
• Provision of services or assistance in obtaining travel to and from the home to participate in any of the activities mentioned;
• Assistance in arranging adaptations or provision of additional facilities to promote “safety, comfort or convenience”;
• Provision of meals in the home or elsewhere;
• Assistance in obtaining a phone and any special equipment necessary to use it.

The Children Act 1989 (CA 1989) remains the statutory framework underpinning the local authority’s responsibilities and involvement with all children and their families. Disabled children can and should access services through Part III of the CA 1989. All disabled children are children ‘in need’ for the purposes of section 17 (s17) of the CA1989.

The duty on local authorities under s17 of the CA 1989 is to provide a range and level of support services for children in need in their area, where possible to support them in the context of their families.

All work with disabled children and their families in the context of the Children Act should be based on the following principles:

• The welfare of the child should be safeguarded and promoted by the provision of services;
• A primary aim should be to promote access for all children to the same range of services;
• Disabled children are children first;
• Recognition of the importance of the parent and families in children’s lives;
• Partnership between parents and carers and local authorities and other agencies;
• The views of children and parents should be sought and taken into account.

The Council for Disabled Children have produced useful factsheets to provide additional information to IAS Services, practitioners, parents and young people that meet both the letter and the spirit of the Children and Families Act 2014.

• Factsheets