3.8 Transfer in Child Protection Conferences

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This is a high level procedure which is to be followed when a child/young person who is subject to a Child Protection Plan is moving permanently to Norfolk. Separate local procedures will be required by the specific teams on how to record the details on the various data systems.

AMENDMENT

A new form has been created for Other Local Authorities (OLAs) to use, to notify us that a child/young person from their authority who is subject to a Child Protection Plan is going to reside in Norfolk on a permanent basis and to request a Transfer-In Conference is convened, so that it is easier for the OLA to provide the necessary information in a timely manner and in a consistent format.

1. Information required from the OLA when notifying us of their request for a Transfer-In Conference

The transfer-in conference is to be held within 15 working days of written notification from the transferring authority and the following information must be provided at the point of transfer request:

• Written rationale of housing arrangements
• Current Child Protection Plan
• Previous Child Protection Conference Reports
• Any current assessment including risk assessments
• An evaluation of the implications of the move including increase/decrease level of risk
• Any identified special needs including health and education
• A chronology

The OLA completes a CP Transfer In form, or provide all the relevant information included in the form in an email and sends it to us via the cadsadmin@norfolk.gov.uk mailbox. The Children’s Advice and Duty Service (CADS) will pick up email to process the permanent transfer, but will also send the request to the Conference Convening Team via the cs.bsupport.bowthorpe@norfolk.gov.uk mailbox for them to action the request if the child/young person will be residing in Norfolk temporarily until after the outcomes from the Transfer In Conference are known. The Conference Convening Team will follow the procedure for Child Protection Temporary Transfer In from an OLA.

The CADS team need to action the request to proceed with the Permanent Transfer In. The clock only starts ticking once all the information and required documents are received by them.

2. Responsibility for the Child/Young Person’s plan whilst the transfer in process is under-way

It is the transferring authority’s responsibility to ensure the Child Protection Plan continues to be implemented until formal transfer has been agreed at the Transfer-In Conference. This includes core group activity and key worker responsibility. The transferring authority can negotiate with the Norfolk Family Assessment and Safeguarding Team Manager regarding any urgent assistance required to implement the Child Protection Plan.

3. The process to be followed once a notification of a request for a Transfer-In Conference is received from an OLA

• When CADS receive all the relevant information or a completed CP Transfer In form, for a proposed permanent move, with all the required documents, they are to check all the documents supplied for completeness and also that the family are permanently residing in Norfolk.
• A Transfer-In Conference will also only be booked if the CADS Team Manager is satisfied that the transfer is appropriate, and that the child’s legal status has been clarified (e.g. whether legal action has been recently taken or considered).
• If not all of the information and required documents are supplied, CADS will advise the OLA that the request will only be accepted, and the process started once all of the listed documents/information are received.
• Once satisfied that they have the necessary information to proceed, the Transfer-In Conference clock starts ticking. At this point, if the child is not already known to us and on the system, CADS set them up on the Liquidlogic (LCS). They then follow the CP Transfer In workflow, which is started by them raising a Contact in the system.
• Any documents received must be scanned and uploaded to the CP Transfer from OLA screen on the child’s record.
• The workflow must then be followed by all the relevant staff/teams as shown to process the request.
• The OLA transferring authority should provide a pre-meeting report, incorporating information provided by Norfolk Social Care, for the conference, which should be emailed to the Conference Convening Team 5 working days prior to the Transfer-In Conference date, bringing 12 copies of the report with them when they attend the Transfer-In Conference. The Conference Convening Team scan and upload the report on to the system and advise the Child Protection Administrator (CPA) that it has been received. The OLA may send in reports from other professionals working with the family and these need to be processed in the same way.
• Following the Transfer In Conference, once the outcomes and plan have been approved on LCS the CPA distributes the Plan and Chairs Report (ideally distribution of the plan and Chairs report is done at the same time within 24 hours of the conference, to the OLA, as well as all the other attendees. The timescales framework does allow up to 15 working days from conference for the Chairs report to be authorised/distributed).

NOTE: If the child/young person is temporarily residing in Norfolk prior to the Transfer-In Conference, then following the Transfer-In Conference, and when the CP Transfer In workflow is followed, the temporary flag will be removed from LCS and the new permanent flag put on. The CPA needs to advise the Conference Convening Team that the child/young person is no longer temporarily residing in Norfolk, so that they update the CP Temporary Transfer-In spreadsheet which they hold.

4. What happens after the Transfer In Conference

A transfer-in conference is comparable to an initial conference. However, it can agree to end a child protection plan if a full assessment has been made of the child and family’s new situation which concludes that the child is no longer suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. In this situation the CP Transfer In workflow will be followed with the outcome recorded by the CPA that the child is no longer subject to CP and the flag will be removed.

If the transfer-in conference concludes that a child protection plan is still required, the first review conference must be held within three months and subsequent reviews held every six months.

The child’s case is transferred to the Family Assessment and Safeguarding Team (FAST) to an allocated Social Worker. The resulting outline plan from the Transfer-In Conference will inform further work undertaken by FAST including any further assessment required. Core Group activity will commence within 10 working days of the Transfer-In Conference to develop the full Child Protection Plan and work on the identified actions.