Re: Assignment Essay Example
Re: Assignment Essay Example

Re: Assignment Essay Example

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  • Pages: 11 (2887 words)
  • Published: November 19, 2016
  • Type: Essay
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This text analyzes the measures implemented to ensure high-quality care for children and young individuals in foster care, encompassing policies, procedures, roles, and responsibilities. It also assesses the regulation of care provision for this group. The P2 assignment specifically delineates the roles performed by central government, local authorities, and the third sector in delivering care for children and young people.

The paragraph discusses services and departments that cater to the needs of children and young individuals. These include universal, specialist, and targeted services along with foster care, respite care, residential child care, and adoption. The Department of Health is a government department in charge of public health matters and supervising the NHS. Their aim is to offer accessible services with qualified personnel for enhancing public health and well-being.

The NHS, which stands f

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or the National Health Service, is in charge of delivering a range of healthcare services. Its main responsibility is to provide care and support to families with children and young people who have learning disabilities or difficulties. The NHS staff work together as a multi-disciplinary team to develop a comprehensive care plan for these individuals.

The National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services was established in 2004 following the tragic death of Victoria Climbie. Its purpose is to promote a cohesive approach to multi-agency support for children, young people, and their families. This framework aims to encourage integrated assistance from local authority services in caring for children and young people, thus creating a more unified method.

In some cases, the authority may need to intervene to safeguard a child's well-being. This could involve offering temporary car

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when a parent is recovering from an accident or illness. Furthermore, if there is imminent danger, it may be necessary to relocate the child to a secure location until the risk subsides. The authority, which functions similar to the central government, offers various services including integrated services. These integrated services aim to provide children with specific needs a strong basis for their future by providing specialized education, healthcare, social services, and youth justice.

The Children Act 2004 enabled the establishment of children's services that prioritize safeguarding and enhancing the well-being of children and young individuals. These services aim to integrate different organizations, such as Local Authority Children's Services in England, Local Councils in Scotland, Health and Social Service, and Care Trust in Northern Ireland. The effectiveness of all these services is formally assessed under The Children's Act 2004. Additionally, The Children's Trust unifies local services for children and young people.

Tadworth, which is part of The Children's Trusts, provides support to children with brain injuries, multiple disabilities and complex health needs. Their objective is to aid in the progress of these children by delivering care, rehabilitation, education and research. Additionally, Tadworth extends its services to the local community by offering expert advice, training and information to children and families while ensuring their opinions are valued. This approach aligns with Every Child Matters' five outcomes: good health, safety, enjoyment and achievement, positive contribution and economic well-being.

The third sector, also referred to as the voluntary or community sector, consists of non-profit and non-governmental organizations. It is known as the civic sector to highlight its connection with society. This sector can be divided into

three groups: the voluntary sector, independent providers, and charitable organizations. In the voluntary sector of pre-schools, there are multiple services provided by volunteers such as carer and toddler groups.

The leaders of these groups have different levels of training, including some who are untrained. Therefore, volunteers do not need training if parents or caregivers are present with their children. Independent providers consist mainly of private nurseries and childminders. Private nurseries primarily serve children aged from birth to four years old. As a result, staff members receive training from the start and the child's care arrangements are customized between the nursery and the family.

Childminders are certified individuals who provide care for children and young people in their own residences. They must pass rigorous exams and receive training to become registered as local authority childminders. Charitable organizations like Barnado’s and the NSPCC have a renowned reputation across the country for their dedication to fulfilling the requirements of children and young people.

Our organization is dedicated to prioritizing the welfare of children and actively works towards improving support for them. We have implemented Children's Universal Services, which provides universal services for all children including Health Visitors, School Nurses, School Staff Nurses, Immunisation Nurses, and Nursery Nurses. Our objective is to assist children and young people aged 0-19 years in promoting their health, safety, and achieving three out of five desired outcomes outlined in Every Child Matters. Additionally, we engage in health promotion activities to prevent illnesses. We collaborate closely with community partners such as GPs, children centers, nurseries, and schools to ensure families have access to appropriate health information and services. Lastly, we work

with a multidisciplinary team to provide the best possible care for families with children who have additional health or complex medical needs.

Sense is a specialized service that caters to the specific needs of children and young people. It focuses on individuals aged 0-18 years who have deafblindness or multi-sensory impairment (MSI), which can cause challenges in sight, hearing, learning, and may be accompanied by other disabilities or medical conditions like Usher Syndrome as they grow older. Sense offers various forms of support, including practical strategies to enhance the child's abilities and guidance on suitable play activities. They also organize group sessions for families to improve communication with their child and boost confidence. Families facing difficulties related to deafblindness or MSI can receive direct assistance from Sense. Additionally, when deafblind or multi-sensory children are admitted to the hospital, Sense ensures that hospital staff understand their unique needs. Moreover, Sense assists young people in planning their future by involving their families in the process, empowering them to actively choose their own path and feel more empowered in controlling their lives.

Targeted services have the goal of improving the well-being of children and young people by focusing on specific groups. These services provide various benefits, such as disrupting cycles of neglect and disadvantage, enhancing outcomes, and maximizing potential. They offer a range of support, including therapy for abused children and specialized parenting programs for behavioral issues. Ultimately, their main objective is to maintain family unity and foster the long-term development of children by strengthening personal resilience.

The objective of foster care is to safeguard children's emotional, physical, and intellectual welfare when facing challenging circumstances.

It offers therapy and assistance to parents dealing with mental health or substance abuse problems. In addition, foster care establishes a secure and confidential environment for families to confront their difficulties. Although it was initially intended as a temporary resolution, the duration may be prolonged depending on evolving circumstances. Consequently, local authorities assess the capacity and suitability of foster carers to guarantee they can deliver sufficient care in their own residences.

Foster care is essential for vulnerable children, offering them necessary support and security as they transition into independent adulthood. It is crucial for foster carers to possess the required skills and receive adequate support in order to meet the diverse and intricate needs of the children under their care. Respite care provides temporary placements with the same carer for a specific child, varying in duration and timing based on individual needs such as mornings, afternoons, after school, weekends, or overnight stays. In some cases, respite carers may be asked to provide longer periods of care lasting up to four weeks if available and approved. The objective of respite care is to assist children during times when their families are facing challenges or unable to handle difficult behaviors due to illness or other circumstances.

Respite care provides families with the chance to take breaks, preventing family breakdowns or the need for foster care. Residential child care ensures that children's needs are met when they cannot live with their own families due to reasons such as parents' ill health, familial issues requiring separation from home, disabilities necessitating time away from their families, or staying with foster carers.

Residential child care in a children's

home provides nourishment, accommodation, and recreational areas to support the growth and progress of children. It is also important to ensure that they maintain connections with their loved ones and acquaintances while receiving a high-quality education that promotes their overall well-being - including physical, intellectual, emotional, and social aspects. Adoption is a formal and legal process through which a child or young person becomes a permanent member of a family different from their biological one.

They provide assistance in ensuring successful adoptions and fostering loving relationships between children and their adoptive families. They also offer impartial support, information, and guidance on adoption best practices. Furthermore, they may intervene when a child's biological parents pass away. In the M1 assignment, I will explore the importance of "Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families 2000" with regards to looked after children. Likewise, I will examine the role and objective of "The Common Assessment Framework" for looked after children.

The text will discuss the five acts that are important for looked after children, including United Nations Convention the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 1989, Every Child Matters (ECM) 2003, The Children’ Act 1989 revised 2004, The Human Rights Act 1998 and The Data Protection Act 1998. Additionally, "The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (2000) provides a systematic basis for collecting and analysing information to support professional judgements about how to help children and their families in the best interests of the child".

Therefore, practitioners should use this information to acquire knowledge in three key areas. The first area relates to a child's developmental needs including

health, education, emotional and behavioral development, identity (including self-perception, abilities, self-esteem, and fostering a positive sense of self), family and social relationships, social presentation (including understanding how others perceive them based on appearance and behavior, and any impairments such as appropriate clothing for age, culture, and gender; cleanliness and personal hygiene), and self-care skills (including practical, emotional, and communication abilities necessary for increased independence like dressing oneself or feeding oneself , participating in activities,and developing problem-solving strategies in social situations). The second area focuses on the ability of parents or caregivers to appropriately respond to a child's developmental needs. This involves providing basic care for the child's physical needs such as food,d rink,warmth,s helter,c leanliness,s uitable clothing,and adequate personal hygiene.

To ensure their child's safety and emotional well-being, parents should educate them about the importance of their racial and cultural background. Additionally, parents can foster intellectual growth by encouraging cognition, offering support, facilitating social interactions, effective communication, responding to questions in the child's language, actively engaging in playtime, and advocating for educational opportunities.

In addition, parental boundaries assist children in developing emotional and behavioral control. This aids them in establishing their own moral values, conscience, and social conduct. Consequently, children will become independent adults who can adhere to their own principles while interacting appropriately with others. Furthermore, a stable family environment is crucial for a child's optimal growth as it guarantees a strong and secure bond with primary caregivers.

Finally, the third component focuses on how broader familial and environmental factors affect both parents and children. This includes considering aspects like family history and dynamics, the role of extended family in the

child's life, housing conditions, employment status, income level, social integration within the community (including friends and social networks), as well as access to community resources like day care facilities, schools, transportation options, leisure activities, primary health care services, and local shops.

The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a tool utilized in England to assess children's services across all local areas. Its main objective is to identify needs at an early stage and encourage coordinated service delivery. The CAF comprises a pre-assessment checklist, a three-step process, and a standard form. The checklist aids practitioners in determining individuals who would benefit from a common assessment, while the three-step process facilitates gathering and comprehending information about the child's needs and strengths.

A standard form is crucial for practitioners as it enables them to document and distribute assessment results, aiding families in identifying their unmet needs. Moreover, there are four essential reasons for implementing common assessments. Firstly, it equips practitioners with a comprehensive instrument to identify a child's needs before they escalate into a crisis. Secondly, it guarantees that significant needs of children and young people are not disregarded. Thirdly, it establishes a unified framework for recording and facilitating information exchange among practitioners.

The final reason is to provide evidence that will help meet the requirements of other agencies, reducing unnecessary referrals and allowing specialist services to focus on their most important resources. The common assessment also requires practitioners to consider the needs of children and young people in three main areas: child development (including health, emotional and social development, behavioral development, identity, family and social relationships, and learning), parents and carers (including basic care, safety,

protection, emotional support, stability, guidance, boundaries, and stimulation), and family and environmental factors (such as family history,
extended family,
housing,
employment,and
social and community factors).

The CAF's goal is to assist children and youth with special needs in attaining the five Every Child Matters outcomes, which include being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution, and achieving economic well-being. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international treaty that ensures a comprehensive set of rights for individuals under 17 years old. This treaty covers civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights to guarantee a secure and fulfilling childhood for every child regardless of gender, religion, social origin or geographical location.

The Convention ensures that children and young people have over forty important rights. These include the right to receive special protection measures and assistance, access education and healthcare services, develop their personalities, abilities, and talents to the maximum extent possible, be raised in a nurturing environment of happiness, love, and understanding, as well as being informed about and actively participating in achieving their rights.

The implementation of Every Child Matters (ECM) stemmed from the tragic death of Victoria Climbie, resulting in a report by the Social Exclusion Unit. The report aimed to improve educational achievement for children in care. ECM's main objective is to ensure that every child and young person can achieve their full potential. This includes reducing academic underachievement, substance abuse, mistreatment and neglect, poor health, criminal activity, antisocial behavior, and teenage pregnancy. Additionally, ECM seeks to encourage the government to adopt a positive vision focused on five key outcomes for children and young people.

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In order to enhance outcomes such as being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and economic wellbeing, the government has taken various measures. These include establishing 'Sure Start Children Centres' in disadvantaged neighborhoods and promoting 'full service extended schools' that provide breakfast clubs, after school clubs, and childcare beyond regular school hours.

One additional initiative is the creation of a "Young People's Fund with an initial budget of ?200 million" to enhance activities for children outside of school. Furthermore, there will be increased investment in 'child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)'. Another objective is to enhance speech and language therapy through the National Service Framework for Children. Lastly, endeavors will be made to tackle homelessness by ensuring that no homeless families with children are placed in bed and breakfast accommodations.

The government aims to enhance the youth system by modifying the Child Safety Order. This will involve increasing efficiency and utilizing Intensive Supervision and Surveillance as an alternative to child care or protection. The Children's Act 1989 defines parental responsibility, offers support for families in need through local authorities, and establishes laws to protect children who may be at risk of significant harm.

The aims of this act are to merge private and public law into one framework, strike a balance between protecting children and empowering parents in dealing with state intervention, foster stronger collaboration between statutory authorities and parents, promote voluntary agreements, and reorganize the court system for smoother family proceedings. Furthermore, this Act includes various principles and provisions such as prioritizing the welfare of children when courts make decisions concerning them.

The notion

of parental rights has been replaced by the idea of parental responsibility, enabling children to legally separate from their parents and engage in legal affairs. Local authorities now have the duty to identify and assist children who require help, while also offering services for both children and families. Prior to reaching decisions, courts are required to take into account multiple factors.

It is crucial to consider that orders issued under this Act should only be given if it can be demonstrated that they are in the child's best interest. Another concern is that any delays in making decisions regarding children's matters could potentially jeopardize their well-being. The Human Rights Act 1998, which officially came into effect on November 9, 1998 and was largely implemented on October 2, 2000, seeks to offer additional safeguards for the rights outlined in the European Convention on Human Rights as part of UK law.

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