Accessible information/early help

At least the proposal for a named person for every child in Scotland helps to focus the mind on this data gathering/data sharing scam. In some ways it must be more difficult for those down south and elsewhere to see the dangers in their own authorities` drive toward systems for change.

According to Phil Neal who speaks for those down south and elsewhere the "team around a child" approach has brought  more services together.  Social care, schools, health and the police – and the early help agenda is changing the way problems experienced by vulnerable families are being tackled by professionals.  Of course, what he does not say is that the `team around a child` approach is sanctioned by Phil Neal, managing director of Capita One, because Capita One has the IT solutions for the data sharing required by this approach. The conception of the `team around the child` approach he speaks about and Capita One`s contribution is a nice public/private partnership being set up under the radar. The shared language between social services and the IT solutions is a give-away.
 
See http://www.capita-one.co.uk/blog/your-thoughts-technology-and-social-care-captured-art

 "Capita One say that they can reflect on the fact that  "94% of children’s services staff who responded to a recent survey by (them) said that their authorities are investing in early intervention programmes to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children, young people and families."

"But the results also reveal that challenges remain for authorities in rolling out successful initiatives. When questioned about the work being done around the government’s troubled families initiative, over half (58%) of respondents reported difficulties in identifying the families they need to be targeting. "

Think about that for a moment.

They have trouble IDENTIFYING the families.

In other words this is an enterprise that hunts for certain families - who are not asking for services. The authorities will need to go through a lot of data to find them.

The survey was conducted at the Capita One Annual Conference 2014, which was attended by 107 children’s services staff from across the UK.

Commenting on the survey results, Phil Neal, managing director of Capita One, said: "It’s interesting to see how many local authorities are actively implementing early intervention strategies in children’s services. However, as the figures show, there are barriers that still need to be overcome to ensure teams are successful in turning around the lives of the most vulnerable in society."

"A goldmine of information is gathered by authorities and other agencies that can be used to identify the children and families who need help. But in some areas staff report that confusion can exist over when and how this information should be shared. Removing barriers to efficient and effective data sharing is not only critical to ensuring early help is delivered to those who need it most, it is also central to ensuring services make a difference."

Phil Neal concludes: "The results suggest that more work needs to be done to ensure key information on children and families is easily accessible to the teams they are in contact with. As more and more authorities focus on delivering early help, this will become increasingly essential to ensuring that schemes achieve better outcomes for all those living in the most challenging circumstances."

That`s if they can find them !

http://www.capita-one.co.uk/news/survey-reveals-94-children-s-services-staff-are-prioritising-early-intervention-barriers-remain