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Contents

1. The Role and Development of Joint Working Protocols
2. The Legislative Framework for Younger Adults and Children's Services the Children Act (1989) and (2004) - Fair Access to Care Services (FACS) and the NHS and Community Care Act (1990)
3. Parenting Roles and Parenting Tasks
4. Conflict Resolution about Packages of Care
5. Financial Responsibilities of Adults and Children's Services

1. The Role and Development of Joint Working Protocols

Services for supporting parents with additional requirements are necessarily spread over a number of services and agencies, each working to different priorities , budgets, time frames and legislation. There is an increasing emphasis in social care for joined up working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. In England this has coincided  with organisational separation of Children's and Adults social care services. If the existing differences between the services  are not to grow wider still then there is an urgent need to develop effective links across services for children and specialist services for adults. It is therefore more  important than ever to develop agreed procedures and approaches to address the following issues:

• The needs of families where parents have additional support requirements which, if not met, may have a negative impact on their children's welfare.
• Disagreements between adults and children's services about their respective roles and responsibilities and who should meet the costs.
• Lack of clarity about responsibility for assisting parents with specific challenges, such as which services should provide parenting classes or support for getting the children to school.
• Organisational barriers to good communication and a  lack of shared understanding of aims, roles and responsibilities.
• Families where neither the adult nor the children's needs meet the threshold criteria to receive services when considered in isolation from one another.

2. The Legislative Framework for Younger Adults and Children's Services the Children Act (1989) and (2004) - Fair Access to Care Services (FACS) and the NHS and Community Care Act (1990)

If parents with disabilities have care needs that do not rise from being a parent, and which do not impact on their care of their children, the assessment should be carried out within the Community Care Assessment Framework, and eligibility determined according to the  Fair Access to Care Services ( FACS ).

The NHS and Community Care Act (1990) legislation governs health care and social care in the United Kingdom.

It sets out how the National Health Service should assess and provide for patients based on their needs, requirements and circumstances. The act introduced an internal market into the supply of healthcare making the state an 'enabler' rather than a supplier of health and social care provision.

The act states that it is a duty for local authorities to assess people for social care and support. This is to ensure that people who need community care services or other types of support get the services they are entitled. Patients have their needs and circumstances assessed and the results determine whether or not care or social services will be provided. This also ensures that the people giving the care follow a certain set of rules called the care value base.

Local authority resources can be taken into account during the assessment process, but if it is deemed that services are required, then those services must be provided by law: services can not be withdrawn at a later date if resources become limited.

The NHS and Community Care Act in 1990 split the role of health authorities and local authorities by changing their internal structure. Local authority departments assess the needs of the local population and then purchase the necessary services from 'providers'. To become 'providers' in the internal market, health organizations became NHS trusts, competing with each other. Community care ensures people in need of long-term care are now be able to live either in their own home, with adequate support, or in a residential home setting.

If the parents with disabilities have care needs that affect their parenting abilities which also impact on the well being of their children, then it is the responsibility of Children's Services to consider their duties under the Children Act (1989) and to assess need  using the Assessment Framework Guidance .

A child is defined as in need under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 if they are unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health and development without the provision of services, or if the child is disabled.

Furthermore, if it is felt that the child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm as a result of the care given by the parents, it is the responsibility of children's services to investigated the child's circumstances under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989. This applies to abuse and neglect cases.

Under the Fair Access to Care Services (FACS) parenting roles and responsibilities fall into those elements of the eligibility framework dealing with family and other social roles and responsibilities.

A parent who appears to be in need of Community Care Services is therefore entitled to an assessment of their needs under the adult assessment framework, which should cover all needs including those relating to family and other social roles and responsibilities.

Government guidance on Fair Access to Care Services state "we should bear in mind that the provision of services that assist disabled parents who need support in bringing up their children is still the most effective means of promoting the welfare of the children and that even though children may be well cared for in a domestic situation, an adult parents well being would be undermined, and problems exacerbated, if she/he is not able to fulfil the parenting roles she/he aspires too."

3. Parenting Roles and Parenting Tasks

Fair access to Care Services (FACS) 2002 paragraph two states that it is the "statutory duty of adults' services to support disabled adults in their parenting role."

Disabled adults who are parents are eligible for an assessment under the FACS and appropriate services required to fulfil "vital" ( critical band ) and the "majority" ( substantial band ) of family roles, responsibilities and tasks.

This guidance is to help professionals identify what is a parenting task and so clarify the provision of support and funding.

4. Universal Parenting Tasks

Parenting children is both a challenging and rewarding task, it represents the cornerstone for the development of a child's  emotional, interpersonal and social well being.

The parental role in essence is linked to the Every Child Matters  Agenda for Change.

The parenting role is to facilitate the child's health and development, to ensure the child is kept safe,  for them to enjoy and achieve in their lives, for them to make a positive contribution in their community, and to have economic stability.

Accord assert that there are certain parenting tasks which are universal and are required to meet the needs of any child. These tasks derive from the needs of the child, and not of the capacity of the adult to meet them.

In these circumstances, the Younger Adults Worker should  consider family roles and responsibilities under Fair Access to Care Services ( FACS ).

The day to day activities associated with these tasks will vary according to the age of the child and the general circumstances. If the activity would generally be considered typical care for a child of a similar age, for example dressing a two year old , or preparing meals for an 8 year old child, , its is considered to be part of a Universal task.

4.1 Examples of Universal tasks for a parent

The child's physical needs

This includes meeting the child's day to day physical needs for food, warmth, shelter. Ensuring the child has appropriate clothing and adequate personal hygiene. The child need's appropriate medical, dental and optical care.

The child is safe

Every child requires a safe and secure environment to live in the absence of harm or danger. Ever local authority has a duty to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.

The child's emotional needs

This includes meeting the child's needs for encouragement and praise, appropriate physical contact and comfort, feeling valued and special, having a positive identity. Having secure, stable, and affectionate relationships with significant adults.

Opportunities to learn and socialise

This includes promoting the child's needs for learning and intellectual development. Parents ensuring that the children attend school or college, and that adequate provision from learning has been accessed through the Education Department.

Receives guidance about behaviours

Parents will give advice and discipline which meets the child's needs for learning and understanding appropriate social behaviour, managing their own emotions, and to develop an internal model which will enable them to become responsible and autonomous adults.

Lives in a stable and secure environment

This includes meeting the child's needs for consistency and developing and maintaining a secure attachment to their carer (s) and keeping in contact with other family members and significant people.

4.2 Additional Parenting Tasks

An additional parenting task is associated with meeting additional needs of the child which are not typical of most children of a similar age.

These additional parenting tasks will exist whether or not the parent is disabled.

Additional tasks include care for some children with a physical or a learning disability who need significantly more support than most children, for example support with feeding or bathing, or mobility.

It can also include children who have specific emotional needs through experiencing significant trauma, Neglect or loss.

It also includes children who have suffered or are likely to suffer Significant Harm from abuse or neglect. For example, maltreatment caused by the parents and or extended family should be directly referred to Children and families Referral and Assessment team for investigation. 

Children with additional needs will require an assessment of their needs in their own right under Section 17 CA1989.

5. Conflict Resolution about Packages of Care

It is fundamental that the needs of all the family members are inter related and also that differences of opinion about funding should not delay the provision of appropriate services.

Funding for services to enable a disabled parent to carry out universal parenting as defined above, tasks is normally provided by Adult Services.

Funding for services to meet additional needs of the child, including additional parenting tasks, as defined above is normally provided by Children's Services.

However, sometimes it will be difficult to disentangle these needs and where this happens funding for services will be provided on a 50 / 50 basis.

If on the rare occasions there is still no agreement, the case should be referred to the respective service managers for both Adults and Children Services for a decision.

6. Financial Responsibilities of Children and Adults Services

• Financial responsibility rests with adults services where an adult has eligible assessed parenting needs.
• Financial responsibility rests with Children Services where children are assessed as being ' in need' or where there are safeguarding concerns (section 47 of the Children Act 1989)
• Where parents and children are assessed as having eligible needs financial responsibility is shared.

In reality it is not always possible to separate children's and adults needs and local authorities who demonstrate good practice have found it necessary to be flexible and have assessed each specific case on a case by case basis.

Where children and adults  within a family have eligible needs there are three options:

• Pooled budgets, with agreed contributions from adults and children's services, to fund service responses where joint assessments have been carried out.
• To make equal contributions from adults and children's services to each plan where joint assessments have been undertaken.
• To identify respective responsibilities between the services for meeting the assessed need and ensuring financial contributions are made accordingly.

End