Re-thinking support for adolescents on the edge of care in England

The Department for Education Children’s Innovation Programme aims to: promote better life chances for children and young people receiving help from the social care system; provide stronger incentives and mechanisms for... [ view full abstract ]

The Department for Education Children’s Innovation Programme aims to: promote better life chances for children and young people receiving help from the social care system; provide stronger incentives and mechanisms for innovation; and better value for money across children’s social care. A number of the pilot projects that were initiated focus on rethinking support for adolescents on the edge of care to improve the quality of services and promote positive transitions to adulthood.
The Brighter Futures pilot involved the establishment of new teams intended to support and enable the children’s social care workforce to build effective, consistent relationships with young people, families, communities and carers, and to use those successful relationships to bring about positive change. Key elements of the model included:
• Re-designing the model of service delivery: creating multi-disciplinary teams with lower caseloads to allow them to build relationships and work intensively with young people, families and carers;
• Shifting power and decision making: providing young people with a choice of lead professional, offering access to peer mentors to help young people present their views, and introducing personalised budgets;
• Providing intensive early support to young people, families and carers: providing skilled, intensive interventions to prevent family breakdown;
• Expanded support for adolescents on the edge of care (i.e. access to provision available to those in care): positive activities, education, employment and training support, and specialist services for those at risk of involvement in gangs or sexual exploitation.

A mixed methodology was employed to evaluate implementation of the Brighter Futures ‘intensive engagement model’ and to explore whether aspects of the model promoted positive relationships and social networks and improved young people’s wellbeing. Drawing on qualitative data from twenty young people, their parents and lead professionals, the presentation will provide an overview of the model and explore similarities and differences in perspectives on its strengths and limitations.