Why?
24% of Wandsworth care leavers (about 85 young people) felt they had a long term health issue and there were concerns existing services were not meeting their needs.
What?
+ LB Wandsworth recognized a range of services were needed to support their care leavers who had additional mental health/ emotional health needs. A team manager coordinates these different services.
+ When a young person is referred to the leaving care service a decision about how best to meet their needs through the range of services available.
+ Transition social worker- They will be allocated to work alongside the PA to complete the Care Act assessment and support the young person to access services – (See case study).
+ Specialist Personal Advisor- They have a background in mental health and bring a therapeutic approach to their work with up to 15 young people who are experiencing acute difficulties – (See case study).
+ Commissioned counselling services. Two 0.5 fte counsellors support care leavers. One offers a more traditional style of counselling. The other offers an ‘out reach’ style – working with young people in custody or those involved in gang related activity.
+ Talk Wandsworth – Part of the NHS- Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) and used by a number of young people who value the confidential nature of the service
Impact
Offering this range of services gives the leaving care service oversight of the support being offered, avoids drift and delays and ensures young people’s needs are met in a way they feel is supportive.
