Making the Best Use of the Front Door No Wrong Door Conference 23 rd October 2012

Case study A colleague who works in your setting did a home visit this morning, following a request for help from Ms Knox. Ms Knox has 3 children: Elyena, aged 14; Jak, aged 8, and Nicky, aged 2. Your colleague has come back to work worried about the state of the house. It is described as “cluttered”, “mucky” and “smelly”. Your colleague “wouldn’t leave a dog there, never mind a 2 year old!”

In groups... What do you advise your colleague to do? What further information do you think is needed?

Outcomes Potentially judgemental approach may damage worker’s relationship with the family. Insufficient, untested information may lead to ineffective or unnecessary work. There is likely to be a delay in addressing this family’s needs as workers will need more information and consent from family before proceeding. Worker may feel frustrated by Advice Team asking them to go back to the family.

The Daily Meeting... Considers information that has been brought to the Advice Team in the last 24 hours. Consists of advice workers, practice manager, duty social worker and partners from health, YOT, police, Integrated Youth Support & Integrated Family Support Makes recommendations for next steps.

Outcomes Worker’s professional credibility is reinforced with Mum, who finds her/him co-operative, helpful and understanding. Worker gets swifter response from Advice Team, so feels better supported. The family’s needs are now better understood, so the action plan is more likely to be effective. Work is shared between a number of appropriate agencies. Your colleague is not isolated.