Young Carers and Family Group Conferencing:

1. Young Carers and Family Group Conferencing: • Learning about using this approach to deliver sustainable outcomes for young carersRob Harrison: Children’s Service Manager (Barnardo’s Bolton Service) • Naomi Clewett: Barnardo’s Research and Policy Assistant

2. Key values for young carers service • 1st: Clear definition required as to what a young carer is and clear use of language around the impact of this. This leads to an absolute focus on reducing this impact and the need for change. • Young carers are children and young people first and should be able to access the same opportunities as their peers. • Parents should be supported to be parents and just because a parent has an illness or disability, it doesn’t mean that they cannot be a good parent and are not entitled to support to be the best parent they can be. • All agencies are involved in supporting young carers and many agencies have a duty to support them. Services and commissioners need to be clear on how they see the role of a specialist young carers service.

3. Key values for FGC services All families are capable of making safe plans for the care of their own children and have the right to have the opportunity to do so, given clear information as to the nature and extent of professional concerns Clear view around the evidence base for change and the role of the professional in facilitating change (issues for New Zealand in the 1980s) Services need to be culturally competent and relevant to families (origin of FGC) Strong families will want to sustain their own solutions and will not want to depend on services. Specialist services need therefore to work to reduce the need for their intervention in people’s lives.

4. A message from New Zealand (Shannon Pakura 2005) • If the child at the centre of the intervention you are responsible for was the most important person in your life—your son, your daughter, your nephew or niece, your best friend’s child, or your mokopuna—you would want, as a minimum, for that child to remain connected with those whom they know and love, and that their sense of belonging would never be compromised. We can intervene in families’ lives but we do not control that family’s life—that is not our job and can never be our job. • I have a three-year old grandson. He is the love of my life. He is a handsome wee man, he has sandy hair, and a Maori nose. He is naughty, he has been known to throw the odd tantrum, and there is no denying he is very spoilt. My plea to you as a fellow professional is: • Should my Caleb ever come to your attention, should you ever have a professional role to play with him, should you be a social worker, or a lawyer or a co-ordinator or a judge—this is what you must do: • • You must find his Nana; • • You must find his aunts and uncles, cousins and • friends; • • You must find his hapu, iwi—even if he does not know • them, they will know him; • • You must make sure he is surrounded by those who • love him and are connected to him; • • You must not send him to strangers without our consent • and involvement. • • You must move heaven and earth to protect him, • remembering he is mine not yours.

5. A message from New Zealand (Shannon Pakura 2005) • This is your job. This is the professional role. This is the role of the state!!! • My people communicate our values through oral narratives and proverbs. I want to conclude with the proverb that spans tribal and hapu boundaries in New Zealand: • Mehemea ka patai mai koe he aha • te mea tino nui, ka whakahoki ahau, • he tangata! he tangata! he tangata! • You ask me what is the most • important thing in all the world • I will answer you. • It is people! It is people! It is people!

6. To reduce the level and impact of caring for young carers Our Remit With the right information and resources families will make good and safe decisions for their children. To work with young carers and their families with the aim of maximising our impact and reaching those who need support The FGC Ethos and Values Multi-agency approach, working within communities and families. Families have the right to define their own problems and find solutions to their difficulties. Independent and neutral. Advocacy is central. How does the FGC model fit with young carers services?

7. What is the role of the state and professionals? • Facilitation v “intervention” • Why children are carers – working with the idea that young people should not be young carers as opposed to supporting them in this capacity • Using strict criteria around eligibility so we work where change needs to occur and not with young people growing up with level 1 issues (ie: ones not requiring a targeted or multiagency response) • Use of an evidence based approach to enable change and empower families to own their plan • Evidencing change and outcomes and “support” coming from within families firstly, and then from mainstream providers • If social work is about change, we need to use the best available approach to manage scarce resources to achieve the greatest change where it is most needed

8. Focus of Local Provision for Young Carers • Views of parents – Disabled Parents network view around parental and family responsibility • Discourse analysis around “young carers”, media imagery and language of heroism as opposed to safeguarding • Clear focus on role of families, mainstream providers & the targeted young carers service • Issues around “investment” – young carers may not want their caring role to reduce if they feel they may lose activity-based services • All services need to be challenged around inclusivity rather than young carers accessing separatist provision • Services cannot problematise parents because of their condition, or young people’s experience of childhoods • If we argue caring affects young people negatively, we should not offer support to sustain them in this role, but targeted services need to evidence how we change this and reduce their level of caring • Links to Every Child Matters and the local Framework For Action – taking the lead at level 2, using change and evidence based model. • What we do if assessed as being at level 3

9. Framework for Action “Windscreen wiper” model:

10. Bolton Service story • Linked young carers service at level 2 of the Framework • Focus of contract for Bolton and view around the local framework for what a young carers service should achieve • Promotion of FGC as an evidence based approach to influence nationally • Publication of resource pack and year-long research into sustainability • 75 FGCs delivered since Sept 2008 and 111 young carers worked with in 2009-2010 (some at level 3) • Additional mental health contract and innovation fund work, and new safeguarding FGC service in Bolton • Naomi: Can we include the quote from Sarah here?

11. The “open door” • Clear focus at level 2 according to the local Framework for Action • Focus on what does need to change and reduction of the caring role, but also the “whole child” and whole family • Looking at access, equality of opportunity and routes into the service (5 day period in contract so no waiting list permitted) • 1. Self referral – outreach and promotion • 2. CAF (children’s service and schools/ Champions network) • 3. Making children’s social workers lives easier – joint working agreement • 4. Adult social work perspective – CAF and joint working agreement

12. Family Group Conferencing Key Elements: A family-centred decision-making process. The voice of the young person is central to the process and guides the adults’ decisions. Involves a wide network of friends, family and significant others. Encourages collaborative working by frontline statutory agencies and service providers. Adopts a strengths based perspective. In keeping with other legislative and policy initiatives (eg: Public Law Outline).

13. What is different about FGC? • Q. How do families feel when they attend a “Child Action Meeting”/ school meeting/ CP conference? • Child is always there and has a say – the voice of the child guides the adults in making decisions about them • All about transference ofpower – choice around services/ expertise in writing the plan/ venue/ specific requirements/ positioning • Cultural sensitivity – basis and origin of FGC • Extended family key to success

14. Differences between safeguarding and young carers FGCs. • Acts as a “best practice” Team Around the Child at level 2 for the above reasons, but there is no allocated Social Worker (level 3) • Independence of the coordinator from enforcement is the same, but the person coordinating FGC also completes CAF and the agenda with the family. Agenda, focus and “bottom line” is always held by the Social Worker in higher risk FGCs • Level of risk is lower – numbers of family members attending can be lower

15. The Process: Referral See above (“open door”) FGC is a solution focused model, therefore there should be clear goals set - what exactly do the child and their family hope to achieve by having an FGC? There must be a commitment from agencies to the FGC process. This means taking part in the preparation period, attending the conference and reviews, and providing resources where they have a duty to do so. Preparation The Project Worker is responsible for preparing the young person for their conference e.g. what it is they want to ask for and how they will word it. Use of the agenda – a tool for preparation and for contracting boundaries The young person identifies the people involved in their support network who they would like to be part of their conference. Mediation may be needed prior to the conference if some relationships have broken down. The co-ordinator has the power to exclude people, and represent their views in other ways (including agencies). The co-ordinator meets with all those who have agreed to be part of the conference and prepares them for it, using the agenda as a tool for this preparation

16. The Process The Conference - A) Information Sharing - This begins with the family questioning agencies to obtain clarification around what support is available. - The young person then shares their views. - B) Private family time - The co-ordinator and professionals leave, while the young person and their support network have some private time to create a plan. - C) Agreeing the Plan - Everyone needs to be happy to accept and support the plan and it must keep the child safe. Review - Review focuses on changes which have occurred and a reassessment of level of risk and outcomes

17. Research • Aim to investigate the use of FGC with young carers, outlining the benefits and challenges to services, and the considerations to be made • Method • Interviews • 4 members of staff from BSYC • 12 professionals from partner agencies that work with BSYC • Local authority commissioner of BSYC • 6 Barnardo’s FGC practitioners • 18 young people and their families that had taken part in an FGC with BSYC within the past 2 years • Questionnaires • 13 young carers completed empowerment questionnaires

18. Headline findings • Political and economic fit • Wider support networks • Children and young people felt empowered • FGCs empowerfamilies to take ownership of their own support, increase their confidence in dealing with universal, frontline services, and reduce dependency on specialist services. • FGC can strengthen partnership working around the family. • 6. It is important to work with families at the right level of need

19. It got things put in place, it got things moving, and it gave things a focus... it was focus around the family, the whole family dynamics really’ • Year 9 Learning and Welfare Leader • I think the young carers find it very beneficial, a lot of work goes into it and they feel it’s there for them and they’re in control of it • Senior Health Practitioner • I will admit its always a bit nerve racking … beforehand you’re always thinking about what’s going to be said and will I offend people and things like that… but I think it was really good, I felt really confident.. • Young Person, 19

20. Long term impact • Contingencies and sustainability • Barnardo’s research found that all 12 families we spoke to who had received an FGC more than six months ago, were still experiencing benefits: • Several young people told us that they’d ‘know where to turn to if things got worse’ • ‘There haven’t been anymore crisis points but if it did go back too far I think I’d know where to start from now’ • one young man had re-established regular contact with his mum as a direct result of the FGC • School involvement is particularly important

21. Because we don’t have time for breakfast in the morning they said we could have breakfast at school. And if we ever want someone to talk to we can go and talk to [teacher] he is a one to one teacher… if you don’t feel confident in your lesson you can ask him to sit in his lesson and do work there. Young person, 15 Even though the Barnardo’s meetings have stopped I still see one student regularly and make a point of seeing him even just to ask if he’s ok or checking that things are still in place. Head of Year 10

22. Cost- benefits • As this is a relatively cheap, short term intervention, the cost-benefits are apparent. • It just feels like the right model at the right time because we’re anticipating further cuts and we can’t sustain long term involvement with families in the same way because there’s not the budget • Children’s services commissioner, Bolton

23. What next? • We are continuing to collect data from questionnaires measuring amount and impact of caring • We would like to look at effectiveness and cost effectiveness – this is ongoing

24. What this model needs to succeed • Backing of partners - clear agreement locally on what the focus of the young carers service has to be • Staff – boundaries/ notions of “help” • A clear and agreed outcomes framework to demonstrate impact clearly • Policy and procedure need to be robust • Protocols – joint working with Social Services (Adult and Children’s) • Partnerships with many other agencies at strategic level • Need good range of mainstream/ community provision • Barriers: • Managing expectations of other agencies and families (motivation) • Funding – can be centred on activities – how local agreement on the priorities for young carers helps this

25. Thank you for participating • Activity - Strengths and Potential Barriers in other areas • Any questions?