Battle between CAMHS and SS. How do I make sure ds isn't collateral damage?

[NoHaudinMaWheest]

Ds 17 has complex needs AS, severe OCD and dyslexia are the main ones.

He has been under CAMHS since he was 9 and has had a social worker since he was discharged from a long hospital stay when he was 14.

For the last year he has had support workers coming in 4 evenings a week to help implement the work he has been doing on his OCD with CAMHS psychologist. The workers were employed by SS but working under the direction of CAMHS. At the end of last year it was clear that this strategy had gone as far as it could and he is now waiting another inpatient admission. CAMHS wanted the support to remain to maintain the progress he had made until the admission but SS refused further funding.

The support workers had raised some pretty petty concerns about my parenting with the SW and after a lot of hassle it was agreed that most of them were irrelevant but she suggested that I do some parenting work with the support worker. I agreed mainly to get them off my back. However after one session it was clear that the strategy she was using was not designed for families where there are disabilities and that the worker had no idea how to adapt things (it was also extremely patronising). I said that I no longer wished to engage with it and this was accepted.

Although the SW got on her high horse about the parenting she is actually efficient and good at pushing for things so I was happy for her to continue as ds's key worker especially as she was taking the lead role in his transition to adult services which will happen in September.

That's the background.

Just after Christmas I had a call from the SW saying that SS has decided to close ds's case. At a subsequent meeting she said that this was because SS have changed their referral criteria and ds doesn't fit the new ones and so it is out of her hands. She said that his CAMHS key worker would take on the keyworking role and could access whatever was needed. She said that this had been agreed between herself, the CAMHS worker and their respective bosses.

However I spoke to this person (primary mental health worker) today and she said that she was only a keyworker within CAMHS and anything else is outwith her remit. She seemed confused herself as to what was happening. She has been involved with us for 10 years and I know that she is an not very efficient caring carrot so I would not want her in the keyworking role at this critical time anyway.

The situation came up in a discussion with Dd's psychologist who suggested that there was a lot of politics going on. I don't care about their politics but I do want to make sure that ds has the best possible outcome in moving to adult services.

Any advice or insight warmly received.

(and sorry about the essay)

Not a lot i can say to help, NHMW, but it's quite shameful that politics is getting in the way of the care of a vulnerable young person, like this.

I think some strongly worded letters are required. No idea to whom, though. Do you have a half decent MP who can tell the relevant parties to pull their fingers out?

From CAB website
The local authority must publish information about the services it provides for children in need and their families. This must be made available to the people who might benefit from the services. In addition to the above services, the local authority, or, in Northern Ireland, a local Health and Social Services Trust, has a duty to provide services it considers appropriate for the following children: disabled children
children who might otherwise be made subject to care proceedings
children who are likely to be involved in crime.
In England, from 1 April 2011, local authorities must provide breaks from caring (respite care) for the parents of disabled children.

So, if the CAB are right the law includes 4 duties (there's no wriggling out of a must). 'New criteria' could potentially affect the third, if they've re-defined 'services they consider appropriate' to exclude provision of any actual services to any actual child. But they have to justify it, they aren't allowed to have a blanket policy blindly applied without any reference to the cases affected. But 1, 2 and 4 would still apply anyway.

MP is pretty useless when it comes to council services. You can cc them, but you really want your local councillor to chase this up, and/or the one responsible for children and families.

The funding wrangles are meant to be sorted out by a multi-agency panel (yes, I know, but this is usually a real panel) with representatives of health, education and social care. Usually called something like the tripartite panel, complex needs assessment panel etc

As far as I can make out SS have moved the goal posts so that Ds is no longer disabled enough for their services although obviously he hasn't changed at all. (And the parenting issues which were such a cause for concern that they couldn't be taken off the agenda in November are suddenly irrelevant in January although nothing has changed .)

I've looked on CC website but can't find anything to indicate what ss criteria are or how I might find out.

Haudin

If you do manage to find out how it works please let me know

We've had similar. DS discharged from hosp to care of cons psych who met him once and said comminuity mental health worker would be primary contact, but CMHW handed ASD support to the LA, who have since told me that they're not involved and that I need to deal with A4E.

TBH I have niether the enregy nor the inclination to find out - I have better things to do with my time

I think you'll need to complain to your LAs Children and Young People's Services Dept.

All this bloody confusion is so unnecessary - mads me

Yes I think I need to do that Wet.
They are supposed to be a joined up service and have new shiny standards since they were privatised.