Care Leavers Project Update Kent Housing Options Group 3 March 2016

16-25 Accommodation Programme 1. Transforming the Care Leavers Pathway (0-25 Unified Programme) 2. Development and Implementation of an Accommodation and Support Services commissioning plan for 16-25 Children in Care, Care Leavers and vulnerable young people. 3. Maximising opportunities for Care Leavers to secure Borough /District Social housing - The 16/17 year old protocol Work Streams

0-25 Programme External Spend Reaching the right families Effective intervention Reaching and effectively working with young people and families, linking to both open access and specialist services Service Delivery (EH) Open Access Early Help SCS In Care Use of Children’s Centres Service Delivery (SCS) Effective and timely intervention with young people and families at tier 3 and 4 Edge of Becoming Looked After Fostering The best settings for children and young people in care to thrive and become independent Residential Care Leavers Adoption

Care Leavers Promoting Independence Using the most appropriate support to promote independence for Care Leavers and Looked After Children Promoting independence Fostering Placement Supported Accommodation Independent Accommodation Time through Care System Current care leavers have highly variable paths to an independent life, with some being well prepared to move into their own accommodation, and others not being supported appropriately. Increased structure in the care leaver pathway and preparation for independence will result in a smoother transition for all care leavers.

Problem definition Problem definition Data capture for over 500 care leavers showed there was a potential to significantly reduce the pathway length for young people in non-independent accommodation Opportunity to increase moves to independence by increasing accommodation availability, visibility of young person needs and their readiness for independent living Significant potential impact on reducing pathway length, by SMART action planning and short interval control between pathway planning process Two forms used to: Capture strengths and weaknesses of young people Capture areas where support is needed Focus on top 5 actions needed to support young person to independence Monitor reasons why progress is not being made Planning tools

Care Leaver Action Plan

Dashboard - Young people that could move on Problem definition Used to identify: - Young people that could move on - Young people that may be vulnerable / at risk of accommodation breakdown - Actions outstanding - Key issues preventing action being taken

Independence monitoring High Independence level Low Independence level Highest and lowest scoring young people are highlighted by type of accommodation Supported (On Site) 1 2 3 4 5 67372 - 98% Personal Adviser 1 76645 - 97% Personal Adviser 2 889495 - 94% Personal Adviser 3 20083 - 93% Personal Adviser 4 795364 - 88% Personal Adviser 5 Supported (Family) 1 2 3 4 5 805301 - 36% Senior PA 1 15288 - 39% Personal Adviser 6 20164 - 44% Senior PA 2 41837 - 52% 225707 - 54% Personal Adviser 7 Goal area Goal Date Is able to manage utilities sufficiently Start contributing to his utility bills 13/11/2015 Is motivated to manage finances appropriately Financial form to be completed with incoming/outgoings 01/12/2015 Can maintain and manage their tenancy ? To prioritise bills before anything else 03/01/2016 Is able to maintain a house (painting, decorating, gardening, basic repairs) To manage basic housework 04/02/2016 Can cook a healthy meal on a budget To learn to cook healthy meals and budget Levels of independence are monitored Specific action are set for each young person to help them make progress Young people that are identified that are ready to move on, or, that may be in need of extra support due to low independence scores

Project outputs Outputs An action plan tool that highlights core needs of young person Data gathered on key goals required for independence; barriers to progress; use of PA time Accommodation definitions robustly used across county for accurate reporting KPI / metric in development Case allocation tool developed Softer outcomes: Staff development and awareness of reflection and scrutiny of cases Awareness of action planning & goal setting

Next steps

Pathway Plan Development Sandbox Action Plans Next steps Pathway Plan Development Use best of Pathway Project learning to support practice improvement Opportunity to input learning into PwP development

Case progression Addresses drift Work to date Addresses drift Enables staff to solve problems collaboratively Supports training and development of new staff