| Leeds - jointly commissioned services
for disabled children and those with emotional and behavioural difficulties |
Summary of Context
Leeds is a large metropolitan authority that has a very mixed population.
Though a mainly prosperous area, there are pockets of deprivation
and there have been some particular difficulties in supporting families
where children have emotional or behavioural difficulties. For many
years, Leeds had high numbers of children on the Child Protection
register and a large looked after children population. Local paediatricians
were particularly in favour of social services intervention where
children were experiencing distress. Social services and health providers
tackled this jointly. |
Good Practice
Within an overall Child and Adolescent Mental Health strategy alongside
a refocusing approach, a number of joint teams were developed. These
included a 0-16 team that undertakes short-term interventions with
families where there are behavioural or relationship problems and
a Multi-Agency Support Team that focused on children experiencing
difficulty in primary schools in a particularly deprived part of the
City. These teams are supported by a therapeutic team who work with
children and families with more complex needs. These teams are able
to 'fast track' children to more specialist tier 3/4 services when
needs are high. The therapeutic team also provides support to residential
units, foster carers and the developing family resource centres.There
is also a small team of staff who work with disaffected adolescents
at risk of becoming looked after, again using short-term interventions
with sessional workers. |
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Benefits
- Substantial reduction in numbers of children
on the Child Protection register (CPR).
- Reducing numbers of children becoming looked
after, particularly adolescents.
- Stable placements for looked after children.
- Good access to specialist CAMHs, with minimal
waiting lists.
- Services that can be accessed directly by families.
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