Resource
Allocation Panel
Terms of
Reference
JOINT SOUTHEND ON SEA
BOROUGH COUNCIL AND
HEALTH COMMISSIONERS
Revised December 2014
1
Contents
1
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 4
1.1
Principles ................................................................................................................... 4
1.2
Panel Membership .................................................................................................... 4
1.3
Aims of the Panel....................................................................................................... 5
2
Scope of the Panel ......................................................................................................... 6
3
Children/young people eligible for services ................................................................ 6
4
Cases to be presented at Panel ................................................................................... 7
5
Operational procedures ................................................................................................. 7
6
Governance ..................................................................................................................... 8
Appendix 1: STAGED MODEL OF INTERVENTION FOR CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE with
DISABILITIES ......................................................................................................................... 10
Appendix 2 – Referral Pathways.......................................................................................... 13
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POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR RESOURCE ALLOCATION PANEL
(DISABLED CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE)
Local Authorities have specific duties towards disabled children. Their main
duties are set out in Children Act 1989 and the Chronically Sick and
Disabled Persons Act 1970.
The definition of a ‘child in need’ under the Children Act 1989 includes a
disabled child if that child is:
‘Blind, deaf or dumb or suffers from mental disorder of any kind or is
substantially and permanently handicapped by illness, injury or congenital
deformity or such other disability as may be prescribed.’
The Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2010
…a local authority must
a) have regard to the needs of those carers who would be unable to
continue to provide care unless breaks from caring were given to
them; and
b) have regard to the needs of those carers who would be able to
provide for their disabled child more effectively if breaks from caring
were given to them to allow them to –
i.
undertake education, training or any regular leisure activity,
ii.
meet the needs of other children in the family more effectively,
or
iii.
carry out day to day tasks which they must perform in order to
run their household.
The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 provision includes the
following services: Practical assistance in the family home such as personal
care, equipment, a sitting service, home help, community based services
such as day centre, after school club, holiday club or play scheme etc,
travel and other assistance to help the child participate in activities outside
the home.
Definition of Short Break:
“Short breaks provide opportunities for disabled children and young people
to spend time away from their primary carers. These include day, evening,
overnight or weekend activities and take place in the child’s own home, the
home of an approved carer, a residential or community setting.”
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1 Introduction
The following principles and aims inform the policy and associated best
practice guidelines set out in this document and should serve as a guide for
all practitioners
1.1
Principles
Children and Young People with Disabilities have the right to:

Have their wishes and feelings taken into consideration,

Have their interest regarded as paramount,

Have their complex needs considered as a whole and not to be
subjected to a range of unnecessary additional assessments,

Have an up to date Early Help Assessment (EHA) or Single Social
Work Assessment (SSWA) which includes their views - but to have
additional assessments only if they are proportionate to the need,

Have agencies work together to provide ‘joined up’ support and a
seamless approach to service delivery,

Expect that agencies will acknowledge that no one agency can meet
their needs alone,

Expect that a transition from children’s services to adult services will be
planned from 14 and will be implemented accordingly,
Parents/Carers of children/young people with disabilities have the right
to:

Assistance that will support them with their role and enable them to
continue to give care and to reduce stress,

To have their own needs (medical, emotional, well-being and
leisure/educational needs) taken into consideration as a part of any
assessment,

To have their views respected and represented in any plan to support
their child/young person,
1.2
Panel Membership
1.2.1 The RAP will be chaired by the Service Manager CWDT or Deputy
Chair.(Deputy Chair to be nominated and appointed by the Panel.)
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1.2.2 Membership of the Panel will include:
Chair (Service Manager)
Family Information Service Representative
Health Representative
Early Years Representative
Parent’s forum Representative
Carers Forum Representative
CWDT Representative
Team Manager of CWDT as legislative consultant
1.2.3 Membership of the Panel may also include:
Representative from Youth Services
Representative from Transition Services
Representative from Adult services
Representative from C&FCS
1.2.4 The Panel will be considered quorate if there are representatives from
two other agencies in addition to the Chair. In the event of not being
quorate in principle a decision can be made but must be ratified by full
Panel.
1.3
Aims of the Panel
a) To ensure that children/young people with disabilities and their
families have the necessary support to maintain their care at home
and to achieve positive outcomes (ECM).
b) To ensure that the widest range of community opportunities are
considered and made available for children/young people with
disabilities.
c) For the Panel to consider requests for Care Packages/Grants to
ensure transparency and fair access to resources.
d) To support and enable practitioners to develop support based on
creative and flexible local opportunities that will enable children/young
people to be included, participate, achieve, develop friendships and
enjoy themselves.
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e) To monitor local services and identify gaps in provision in order to
inform the development of a range of local provision geared to
meeting the specific needs of children/young people with disabilities.
2 Scope of the Panel
2.1
To consider requests from Social Workers and Lead Professionals for
an allocation of funding to provide a Care Package to provide Short
Breaks (Children Act 1989) and/or support for disabled children/young
people and their families and/or carers support (Chronically Sick and
Disabled Persons Act 1970).
2.2
To consider cases where Health is primary case holders and where a
multi-agency plan is needed to support the family.
2.3
To provide advice to the Lead Professional about the range of
resources in the community in order to enhance Care Packages.
2.4
To consider requests for Self Assessed Grants in line with the eligibility
criteria.
2.5
Following the de-escalation of a case the Panel will consider changes
in Care Packages with the relevant paperwork from lead professionals
at Schools and within Locality Teams.
3 Children/young people eligible for services
3.1
In addition to the CA 1989 definition the initial threshold for eligibility for
services is the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 definition,
“Someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a
substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry
out normal day-to-day activities”.
3.2
The Eligibility criteria for services is aligned with the Staged Model of
Intervention (Appendix 1) in order to ensure that children/young people
and their families are not subject to unnecessary assessments and that
any assessment is proportionate to need.
3.3
Parents/carers of children/young people with severe disabilities (and
young people over 16 who have the capacity to manage their own
finances) are able to apply for a Self-Assessed Grant (SAG) if they are
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not receiving any Short Break services from Social Care or Health see Guidelines for details.
3.4
Health- eligibility – health to complete this section.
4 Cases to be presented at Panel
4.1
Cases which have been assessed by a Social Worker and a
recommendation has been made for a Care Package, any
recommended significant increase to an existing Care Package or a
case with a significant change in family circumstances.
4.2
Where there is a possible need for a multi-agency response that may
or may not require funding from more than one agency.
4.3
Requests for one-off Self Assessed Grants – either on EHA or SAG
application form.
4.4
This panel runs in conjunction with the Acute and Complex Placements
Panel. Cases to be presented to the ACPP are only those of Looked
After Children or those whose home situation indicates that they are at
risk of needing accommodation This panel complements the Stage 2
and 3 Locality panels.
5 Operational procedures
5.1
The RAP meets on a twice monthly basis, on Tuesday mornings, 9.3011.30am unless otherwise advised Panel held once a month includes
Health.
5.2
Practitioners will undertake any new SSWAs or CIN/DPA Reviews and
pass to the Team Manager with recommendations for a Care Package.
The Practitioner will pass details of case to Panel Administrator to add
to the agenda at least 5 working days before Panel and complete panel
paperwork 3 working days before Panel date.
5.3
The Panel Administrator will compile Agenda and send to all Panel
members 4 working days before Panel. Based on possible conflict of
interests the Parent representatives will choose who will attend and will
notify the Panel Administrator.
5.4
The Panel Administrator will collate most recent SSWA or CIN/DPA
Review assessments and circulate to all the Panel Members who are
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attending 2 working days before panel (only the Parent Representative
who has been nominated to attend).
5.5
Each case will be discussed at the RAP and a decision will be made
regarding the Care Package by drawing upon the Panel member’s
range of knowledge of services available.
5.6
The Panel Administrator will complete a summary of the discussion
and decisions/allocation and desired outcomes on a letter template
addressed to parent/carer for each child. This, along with overall
Minutes specifying Panel members attending and names of all children
discussed, will be sent to the Panel Chair Person within 2 working days
of the Panel date.
5.7
The Chair Person (Service Manager) will check contents and make any
necessary amendments to the RAP decision letters and then sign/date
each one and return them and Minutes to the Panel Administrator
within 2 working days of receipt.
5.8
Within 24hours of receipt The Panel Administrator will circulate the
individual RAP Information Forms and a copy of the Minutes to the
Panel Members who attended the Panel, the relevant social workers
for each child, the Team Manager and Practice Manager CWDT. The
decisions will be recorded on each child’s electronic file.
5.9
Requests for Self Assessed Grants will be sent to the RAP Chair and
the decision, which will be recorded on the RAP decision letter
(Appendix 3), will be sent to the applicant by the practitioner/panel
administrator within 24 hours of the decision.
In an emergency the CWDT Manager is authorised to agree a service for
a short specified period to start immediately. The Assessment (SSWA or
CIN/DPA) will then go to the earliest RAP for consideration.
6 Governance
6.1
All external members of the Panel i.e. those not employed by the Local
Authority or Health Authority or Partner Agencies will receive an
induction from Chair to identify needs, new members will also receive
the Safeguarding Disabled Children guidelines and will sign a form
regarding Conflict of Interests and Confidentiality.
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6.2
In the event of a claim regarding Breach of Confidentiality or
misconduct regarding a member of the Panel, the Panel Member will
be suspended without prejudice and the allegation will be investigated
by the Service Manager if the Panel Member is a Parent
Representative or the allegation will be reported to the relevant
Governing body if the Panel Member is employed by the Local
Authority, Health Authority or Partner Agency.
6.3
Data on allocation and outcomes will form part of the Children with
Disabilities data collection.
6.4
Data regarding complaints will be forwarded to the complaints Manager
- Conflict resolution
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Appendix 1: STAGED MODEL OF INTERVENTION FOR CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE with
DISABILITIES –
parenting capacity and family/environmental strengths/needs are also crucial factors in any assessment. A child’s needs may be met by
Stage 2 but a sibling may require Stage 4 services for a while to resolve issues. Additionally, it is important that a child is not 'fixed' into
a category as their personal needs and family situation is 'fluid' and any assessment needs to reflect this.
Needs (Social, emotional,
developmental,
educational, care and
General Position
Disabled child’s needs
Siblings needs
Service/ Support
Parents / Carers needs
eligibility
medical.)
Stage 1
Child and family
Child’s needs do not
Child’s needs do not
normally as possible and
understand and manage
significantly impact on
significantly impact on
needs easily met by
the child’s condition and
siblings opportunities.
parents personal or social
family.
can access appropriate
Child’s needs are having a
lives.
initiated by the Aiming High programme,
Child requires limited
resources.
limited impact on siblings
Child’s needs are having a
including the short breaks opportunities
support to access services
Child’s level of needs limit
opportunities
limited impact on parents
e.g. clubs/activities/workshops
to broaden experiences
their participation in
and/or prevent build-up
some community
clubs, children’s centres and specialist
of stress in family
activities and their
clubs e.g. Mencap/PHAB
personal or social lives
primary health care resources.
 Open access to many new resources
 Open access mainstream groups e.g. youth
 Information and advice- useful contacts
development would
Stage 2
 Universal such as Children's Centres,
Child leading life as
benefit from additional
include Family Information Service, Carers
social and leisure
Forum, CAB and (AH funded) SNAP online
activities
director
Child requires support to
Child’s level of needs
Child’s needs significantly
Parents need to provide
Services as for Stage 1as appropriate, in
prevent impairment of
result in them being
restrict sibling’s personal
significant care to other
addition:
health or development
unable to participate in
or social lives.
dependants who would
 Common Assessment Framework
and/or alleviate stress in
some community
otherwise be at risk OR
undertaken by the Agency who knows
the family which may
activities which increases
child’s needs are
child/family best e.g. school, HV
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lead to risk in Stage 3 or
impairment and social
significantly impacting on
4.
isolation.
parents personal or social
lives.
 Co-ordinated plan and delivery of services/
support arising from the EHA
 lead professional
 Access to locality panel consideration/ coordination
 Possible application to self- assessed grant
from Short Breaks service
 Services to support sibling (COOL/CHIL,
Carers Forum)
 Services from specialist support groups e.g.
days out/holidays with Carers Forum,
Family Voice, Southend Toy Library Or in
some exceptional circumstances contact
with CWD Team for information, advice
and signposting
Stage 3
 Services as for stage 1 and 2 as
Child very vulnerable to
Child’s level of disability
Child’s needs are
Child’s needs met but at
risk of significant
results in lifelong impact
impacting on Every Child
significant cost to their
impairment of health or
with likely lifetime
Matters Outcomes for
own physical or mental
development OR to need
support from statutory
siblings
health OR considerable
assessment and possible core assessment
for long term
social care services
risk of family breakdown
undertaken.
accommodation
AND service required to
appropriate, in addition:
 Referral to CWD Team and initial
 Recommended Care Package arising from
continue to provide care
assessment taken to multi agency
or to do so more
Resource Allocation Panel
effectively
 Direct payment
 Domiciliary care
 Short breaks in and out of the home,
including marvellous minders /domiciliary
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agency
 Health short breaks services, provided by
Health
Stage 4
 Services as for stage 1,2 and 3 as
Services required to
Child’s essential care
Siblings’ essential needs
Child’s and/or parent’s
prevent immediate risk of
and/or medical needs
cannot be met because of
essential needs are not
significant impairment
related to their disability,
disabled child’s needs.
being met leading to
 Core assessment undertaken.
which might directly
their need for emotional
imminent risk of
 Recommended Care Package arising from
affect child’s growth,
development and
breakdown of physical or
assessment taken to multi agency
development, physical or
stimulation cannot be
mental health OR
Resource Allocation Panel
mental well-being.
met without high levels of
imminent family
OR to prevent the need
lifetime specialist
breakdown AND service
for long term
Statutory services
required to continue to
 CWD team family support services
provide care or to do so
 Residential short breaks
more effectively
 Accommodation
accommodation
appropriate, in addition:
 Child protection plan and services subject
to parent’s ability to protect.
 Residential school
 In patient mental or physical health
provision
 Health provision e.g. EPIC (home support
service)
 Hospice provision
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Appendix 2 – Referral Pathways
CWD Referral
If
CP/Safeguardi
ng concerns
SSWA
If CP or
complex
case
CWD
If direct
payments
required
If CP or
complex
case
Locality
Panel
RAP
If
CP/Safeguardi
ng concerns
De-escalation
If direct
payments
required
If additional
support
needed
Universal
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