Eligibility Criteria

Service Priorities

Under the Children Act 1989, we (the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham) must protect the welfare of children in need, children who are in care, and other children living away from home.

The act says that we must take reasonable steps to:

Identify which children are in need in Barking and Dagenham; and
Provide services to promote their welfare

To do this well, we have agreed priorities for the following reasons.

We want to meet the needs of all children (who meet our conditions) in a reasonable time, so we have to target our resources and services carefully to help children who are most in need
We want to be open with our partner agencies (such as education and health) and the public about how we spend our money and how we meet the needs of children and young people in particular circumstances
We want to make sure we respond to the needs of children, young people and families consistently and fairly across Barking and Dagenham. We expect all Children's Services staff to use the same set of priorities
This policy will help us understand how we are meeting needs, and collect information about gaps in services. As a council, we have a duty to monitor needs we are not meeting and to respond to them

Assessing needs

We will look at all referrals carefully. If the information we gather shows that a child is in need, we will carry out a review to identify the child's needs and the suitable priority level. We may then carry out a more in-depth assessment
If a referral does not seem to be about a child who is in need, we will keep a note of the referral and response for our records
If from the information we receive it appears that it is more suitable for another agency to respond, we will ask the person to organisation who referred the case to contact them
When we carry out an assessment, as far as possible we will do it with the child or young person, and their parents or carers. The assessment will set out what needs the child has
When necessary, assessments will take account of information we have gathered from other agencies about the health and development of children in need. We will keep this information confidential. Where possible and appropriate, we will ask parents or carers for their permission to share any information
Children in need may have a range of needs. The response will depend on the assessment. This includes making judgements about the risk to, or the lack of, opportunities the child has of achieving a reasonable standard of health and development without services
The priority we give to nay child will depend on the extent to which the need is not being met

When you contact us, we will use the introduction you provide and use the Service Priorities to decide how quickly assessments are made:

Priority 1

These children are at greatest risk and must receive an appropriate response without delay.

Priority 2

We will meet these children's needs as fully as possible within a reasonable time. We recognise that if we don't meet these needs, they will become priority 1 in the future.

Priority 3

These children are at mild risk. Some families need services to make sure their children have what they need to develop. Otherwise, these children might become Priority 2 or 1 in the future.

Following assessment services will be allocated to children and young people in need according to order of priority. We have to ensure that the most vulnerable users and carers get services that meet their needs. This is sometimes called targeting services.

However we recognise that 'prevention is better than cure' and therefore some services will be available to help people stay safe and active.

The needs of parents and carers

It is important that parents and carers are able to provide for their children's health, safety and development. If parents' or carers' needs are not being met, or if they are not able to care for the children properly, services may have to be provided.

We can prosecute parents in some circumstances if they harm or neglect their children. Although we do this as a last resort, we will take legal action to protect the welfare of the child.

Contact

Tolis Vouyioukas

Divisional Director of Safeguarding and Rights

Civic Centre

Rainham Road North

Dagenham

RM10 7BN

Tel: 020 8227 2233

Fax: 020 8227 2241

Textphone: 020 8227 2462

Email: tolis.vouyioukas@lbbd.gov.uk|