A multi-million pound investment being considered by Swansea Council aims to transform support for some of the most vulnerable young people in the city’s communities.
A report being presented to a Cabinet meeting this week shows how an extra £5.6m could be invested in child and family services which would aim to secure lasting improvements in the way vulnerable children are looked after.
Every Council in England and Wales has seen a rise in the number of young people being referred to social services for support in the wake of the Baby P case. The investment is part of Swansea’s response to that as well as its Child and Family Services improvement agenda.
The investment would aim to ensure the service will become more sustainable in the future. It will also mean that young people will be given appropriate support as quickly as possible which could lead to a reduction in the need for some of them to go into care.
The report to Cabinet also says that by investing the money now it will also aim to recruit permanent social workers to replace more expensive agency staff and increase total staff numbers.
Nick Tregoning, Cabinet Member for Social Services, said: “Protecting vulnerable children is a top priority for Swansea Council. What this investment of extra staff and resources would mean is that more children will get more help more quickly.
“It would put in place a system which will mean social workers will be able to intervene appropriately to support families at risk of breaking-up. When it’s the right move to make and it’s done quickly it will mean that, over time, fewer children will need to come into the care system and those cared for will be dealt with effectively.
“But it should also mean we will be better able to control costs in the future by, for example, reducing the number of children needing Council care and the number of agency staff we employ as well as providing an improved service to families.”
The system being proposed includes creating an emergency response team of social workers as well as developing half a dozen small Child and Family teams to cover the city where currently the area is managed by two larger teams.
Cllr Tregoning said: “The idea is to ensure the service is responsive enough to meet whatever immediate needs might present themselves – such as the increasing demand following Baby P – as well as to be flexible enough to be sustainable over the coming years.”
The proposals are part of the Council’s action plan to improve Child and Family Services following serious concerns raised by the CSSIW last year.
