Disability Family Intervention Worker

PURPOSE OF POST:

To work within the Short Breaks Hub. To provide a wide range of support services for vulnerable disabled children and their families, including direct work with children, young people and adults.

To work closely with partner agencies and commissioned services to achieve positive outcomes for children, young people and their families.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Undertake regular direct work with children and families in the London Road Resource Centre the community, and at service user’s homes. Managing risk appropriately. Co-producing and co-delivering support services with partner agencies in a multi-agency format and based on a working agreement with the families. Develop interventions for families that need support with parenting skills, self-confidence, managing challenging behaviours and complex health care needs dealing with parental mental health, child development, etc. Develop expertise in an agreed area of support for families. Ensure the voice of the child is heard and acted upon.

Work directly with adults and children/young people who require skilled intervention to prevent deterioration in their personal or social well-being.

Contribute to and support the delivery of agreed targeted individual and group work programmes, for example; Parenting and early years support, play sessions, communication & behaviour workshops.

Managing risk and challenging behaviours from children. Assessing parenting capacity and identify deficiencies in parenting. Empowering parents to recognise where they can build and strengthen their relationships with their children and to build on parenting skills. Organise and support the delivery of parenting programmes.

Monitor and evaluate the extent to which both family’s resilience and the capacity to deliver improving levels of parental care and support are being strengthened. Undertake carers assessments and mental capacity assessments within agreed timescale

Ensure the health and safety of young people and staff, including the protection of children and young people, in line with Council’s Safeguarding Policy.

Support managers within the Short Breaks Hub in the delivery of operational objectives, plans and targets and take the lead on shift when required. Identify new community based resources, influence and support local agencies with continued co-production and service delivery. Develop strong links with local and regional stakeholders.

Context:

Children’s, Families and Education Services is an area of rapid change and the service is required to respond to new government initiatives, which require multi agency implementation. The policy drive from central and local government is for close working with other agencies and better outcomes for all vulnerable children and families.

As a service, the Short Break Hub’s philosophy and values are based on the premise that we will provide a high quality, safe and appropriately resourced service, which offers a short beak facility for children and young people aged between 0-18 with a residential component (this includes an emergency placement), clubs, day care and intensive support to children and young people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour.

The Short Breaks Hub is an integral part of the support services available to families, it will provide planned short term breaks to children and young people with learning and physical disabilities between the ages of 0 years and 18 years, and will work as part of an integrated multi-disciplinary team dedicated to meeting the needs of the children and young people, while providing a much needed break for carers of children with learning and physical disabilities and challenging behaviours.

The residential provision provides planned and emergency care and support to children and their families, it’s focus is on assessment of young people’s needs, identifying these areas of need and concern, developing skills, behaviour management and supporting & guiding parents & carers through this process. Placements are time limited and agreed as part of the plan for the child or young person.

The Short Breaks Hub aims to provide a service that assists the children and young people to reach their full potential in a safe and stimulating environment and/or in the community or in the child’s own home. We will provide a supporting role alongside other professional agencies where there are matters of child protection.

As an integral part of Short Breaks Services for children and young people, the Short Breaks Hub strives to meet the needs of children with disabilities and their families by offering a flexible, safe and supportive service comprising of day-care, clubs, outreach and short-term periods of accommodation.

Every effort will be made to ensure that the child’s views and feelings are sought and taken into consideration when planning short breaks/intensive/outreach support packages.