Right Help at the Right Time

What is ‘Right Help at the Right Time’?

We provide services to support children, young people and families across Carmarthenshire.

Most children and young people will have their needs met by their family and universal services such as leisure centres, parks, libraries, schools and health services.

Some families may need early support or a little extra help to manage things such as children’s behaviour, budgeting and housing advice, improving their community and support networks.

We also provide targeted support for children, young people and families who are experiencing difficulties and have multiple needs such as difficult and challenging behaviour, poor emotional health and complicated family dynamics.

A smaller number of families will have significant needs that requires a specific Care and Support plan to ensure families are safe and not at risk provided by Children’s Services.

The Mid and West Wales Regional Safeguarding Children Board (CYSUR) has produced “The Right Help at the Right Time framework” to explain what services are available at different levels of need.

We want to hear from you

We want this framework to be as helpful as possible and so we need your feedback to make improvements. If information is missing or out of date please contact childreninfo@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

Universal
Enhanced
Targeted
Assessment
Protective
Level 1
level 2
level 3
level 4
level 5
Children, young people and families whose needs are met by universal services
Children, young adults and families who have additional needs and may be in need of early support from services
Children, young people and families that are experiencing difficulties and need a coordinated targeted response
Children, young people and families that are in need of a Care & Support Assessment
Children, young people and families in need of protection, protective action or urgent need of safeguarding
Universal Support

FEATURES

Level 1 needs
Children with core universal needs such as parenting, health and education. Typically these children are likely to live in a resilient and protective environment where their needs are met.

ASSESSMENT PROCESS

These children require no additional support/assessment beyond that which is universally available.

EXAMPLE KEY AGENCIES

Universal services that provide support at this level:

HEALTH

The Health Visitor is key to the delivery of the Healthy Child Wales Programme which is central to delivery of a progressive, universal service offering a range of preventative and early interventions.

EDUCATION

CHILDCARE & PLAY

FAMILY SUPPORT/ PARENTING

YOUTH WORK

COMMUNITY

Enhanced Support

FEATURES

Level 2 needs
These children can be defined as needing some additional support or extra help to improve education, parenting or behaviour or to meet health needs.

If ignored these issues may develop into more worrying concerns for the child or young person.

ASSESSMENT PROCESS

No formal assessment process is required and agencies can use their own assessment tools. However a JAFF assessment can be completed if thought helpful.

All action plans should be undertaken with the child/family to identify their strengths & needs. The action plan should identify the child’s additional needs, appropriate services and interventions to meet those needs and who will act as the keyworker if appropriate.

JAFF ASSESSMENTS:

Keyworker Resources

Part 1: Request for support
Part 2: Assessment for Single/Multi agency support
Part 3: Planning, Review & Closure For single and multi-agency support

EXAMPLE KEY AGENCIES

Key agencies that may provide support at this level (Universal support can be found in Level 1):

HEALTH

EDUCATION

CHILDCARE & PLAY

FAMILY SUPPORT /PARENTING

DISABILITY

YOUTH SUPPORT

RELATIONSHIPS

COMMUNITY

TRAINING & EMPLOYMENT

Targeted Support

FEATURES

Level 3 needs

This Tier applies to those children, young people and families experiencing difficulties and identified as requiring a coordinated targeted response. This can be through a multi-agency Team Around the Family approach. Often a TAF approach can provide intensive family support that reduce concerns or address multiple concerns to reduce the likelihood of problems escalating. There may be times however where there are specific child protection concerns or emerging Child in Need concerns when statutory children’s services must be considered for these children.

Children, young people and families experiencing difficulties will be living in greater adversity than most other children or have a greater degree of vulnerability than most.

ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Where multi-agency intervention is required a TAF approach is indicated.

A JAFF assessment (Joint Assessment Family Framework) will need to be completed where a key worker will coordinate a Plan around the child and family.

If the needs of the child are not clear, not known or not being met and there are immediate safeguarding concerns this would indicate that the Level 4 process is more appropriate.

If after completion of a JAFF assessment it is felt that the needs of the child warrant statutory intervention the STEP UP/DOWN Protocol (See Appendix 5) should be followed.

Support from Preventative Services may be required to support a child moving out of statutory services with an agreed STEP-DOWN action plan. This could include continuing multi-agency or single agency, targeted support coordinated to enable the child and family’s move back to enhanced and universal support.

JAFF ASSESSMENTS:

Keyworker Resources

Part 1: Request for support
Part 2: Assessment for Single/Multi agency support
Part 3: Planning, Review & Closure For single and multi-agency support

EXAMPLE KEY AGENCIES

Key agencies that may provide support at this level: (please also see Level 2)

HEALTH

  • CAMHS ( Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services)
  • Meic (advocacy, information and advice helpline for children in Wales)
  • Amethyst (mental health support, parents & guardians)

FAMILY SUPPORT 

DISABILITY

DOMESTIC ABUSE

  • Threshold (Domestic abuse organisation)
  • Calan (Domestic abuse charity)
  • Carmdas (Carmarthen Domestic Abuse Services)
Assessment for care Support

FEATURES

Level 4 needs

Children requiring statutory intervention and in need of a Care & Support Assessment and when needed a Plan.

Child in need of care and support:
These children may be eligible for a Care and Support service from statutory Children’s Services and are potentially at risk of developing acute/complex needs if they do not receive early statutory intervention. If a social worker is allocated they will usually act as the lead professionals and coordinate services.

Cysur (Mid and West Wales Regional Safeguarding Children Board)

ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Statutory Children’s Services will decide on their response based on the information supplied in the referral

If appropriate they will undertake a proportionate assessment of a child’s care and support needs and complete a Care and Support Plan. Following this the case may:

  • be closed
  • stepped down to preventative support
  • be actioned

Useful Contacts & Links for reporting concerns about a child

Exit strategy
Statutory Children’s Services will work with the child and their family to reduce the risk to a child in need of care and support and ultimately a move out of statutory intervention as described in Targeted Support.

EXAMPLE KEY AGENCIES

Key agencies that may provide support at this level: 

SPECIALIST CHILDREN’S SERVICES

DRUG AND ALCOHOL SUPPORT

MENTAL HEALTH

  • CAMHS (child adolescent mental health service)
  • Silver Cloud Wales (mental health & wellbeing programmes)
  • Meic (advocacy, information and advice helpline for children in Wales)
  • Chat Health (online chat service for young people)
  • Amathyst

VOLUNTARY & COMMUNITY SERVICES
(See Level 1 & 2)

CRIME

protective Support

FEATURES

Level 5 needs

Only a small fraction of children will fall within this band. These children will be those who are highly vulnerable or experiencing the greatest level of adversity.

Child Protection
Children experiencing significant harm that requires statutory intervention such as child protection or legal intervention. These children may also need to be accommodated (taken into care) by the statutory Children’s Services either on a voluntary basis or by way of Court Order

Definition
Section 47 of the 1989 Children Act. Child or young person. Where a child is at risk of significant harm. Through neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse

ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Agencies should make a verbal referral to the Central Duty Team and accompany this with written referral form:
www.cysur.wales/contacts-and-useful-links/reporting-concerns-child

Statutory Children’s Services
will decide on their response based on the verbal information as repeated in the written referral form. In the case of suspected abuse they will follow the Working Together procedures as laid out in the All Wales Procedures. On the basis of a Children and Family Assessment a decision will be made whether to hold a conference.

EXAMPLE KEY AGENCIES

Key agencies that may provide support at this level:

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