Next week, Cabinet members will discuss the proposal of a new ‘Edge of Care’ service which aims to provide targeted support to families whose children are at risk of entering care.
At the meeting, members will be asked to approve the development of the service, including a temporary one-off investment of up to £1.16 million over the next 18 months to embed and evaluate the service.
The proposals follow an increasing demand for children’s care placements. The aim of this service will focus upon supporting teenagers experiencing family breakdown, complex behavioural issues, domestic abuse or substance abuse. Staff will work with families to provide flexible support to improve outcomes for young people when going into care is not in their best interests.
Alongside offering robust prevention against some young people entering care, the outlined proposals will also reduce the costs to the council.
Like many local authorities across England, the demand for children’s care placements is increasing and leading to unsustainable financial pressures. The temporary investment into the proposed new service will:
- safely lower the number of children aged 12 to 16 who enter care
- lower the number of children in unregistered placements
- implement preventative measures to reduce family breakdowns
- provide long-term reduction in costs due to fewer children entering care, and more children being able to live in cost-effective and caring fostering placements.
Cllr Trevor Cave, Cabinet Spokesperson for Children’s Services, said: “Whenever we can, we want to support families to stay together to make positive long-term changes and provide the stability that young people need to grow and thrive.
“The proposed development of this service provides us with a brilliant opportunity to meet the best interests of each child’s needs and more positive outcomes for young people across our communities.
“It also allows us to use our financial resources more strategically so that we can continue to support children across Barnsley to aspire and achieve.”