SSRG annual workshop

1
Costing Childrens Services Availability of
Child Level Data

• Samantha Culley
• Centre for Child and Family Research,
• Loughborough University

2
Costs and outcomes programme

• Applied research to inform policy and practice
• Ongoing since 2000
• Two elements
• Ongoing research programme
• Ongoing development of a tool for practice

3
CCFR Costs and outcomes programme

• Initial study on costs and consequences of
  placements for looked after children
• ?
• Methodology for calculating costs incurred to
  social services of care episodes
• ?
• Development, pilot and production of a Cost
  Calculator for Childrens Services computer
  application

4
The Cost Calculator Methodology

• Calculates costs from the bottom up
• Calculates individual costs based on the actual
  care history of each child
• Combines fee/allowance costs with the costs of
  social work support.
• Relates costs to childrens needs
• Uses longitudinal data to track costs incurred
  throughout care pathways of children
• Presents results for any child, group of children
  or type of placement by any time period
• Analyses costs by outcomes, thus promoting the
  Every Child Matters agenda

5
Key messages from initial study

• Costs vary according to childrens needs
• Children with more complex needs will require
  more time spent
• Costs vary according to placements
• but do more expensive placements provide a
  better service?

6
The Cost Calculator

• What goes in
• Unit costs of social care staff time based on 8
  case management processes
• Real data, based on SSDA 903 returns, on child
  placements and care pathways
• Placements and service types
• Activities and events undertaken to support the
  child
• Child need categories

1. Decide child needs to be looked after 2. Care
planning 3. Maintaining the placement 4. Leaving
care/ return home
5. Find a subsequent placement 6. Review 7. Legal
processes 8. Transition to leaving care services
7
Studies on Child Level Data
Two complementary studies undertaken by CCFR

• The Costs and Outcomes of Child Welfare
  Interventions Mapping Children in Need Services
• Scoping exercise as part of the extension of the
  Cost Calculator Methodology for all Children in
  Need
• 15 local authorities asked to identify the
  prevalence and nature of services accessed by
  Children in Need in their authority
• Developing Definitions of Local Authority
  Services and Guidance for the New Children in
  Need Census
• Commissioned by Department of Children Schools
  and Families
• Scoping the availability of child level data from
  local authorities to inform the development of
  the replacement CiN Census 2009/10

8
Key IssuesDefinition of a Child in Need

• Changes in policy has led to greater emphasis on
  integrated provision and preventative services
  for Children
• Blurring of boundaries between vulnerable
  children and Children in Need
• Other forms of provision such as SureStart
  Childrens Centres and services for Children with
  Special Educational needs
• Many children accessing services may not be open
  cases on Social Care Information Systems
• Blurring of boundaries could result in an
  underestimation of Children in Need

9
Key IssuesAccess to Services Common Assessment
Framework

• Integrated working and focus on preventative
  services has increased the routes through which
  services may be accessed
• Common Assessment Framework, rather than ICS
  Assessments may be undertaken
• Children receiving services through CAF may not
  appear on Social Care MIS
• Few authorities reported that they are recording
  CAFs in MIS.
• Some recording in separate databases
• Consequently, little information regarding the
  numbers, outcomes and the needs of children
  receiving CAF

10
Key IssuesIntegration

• Increased focus on integrated services means that
  children may be receiving support from a range of
  agencies
• Data on a single child may be stored on a number
  of different systems and databases
• Problematic nature of building up a picture of
  multiple and complex needs for single children
• None of the participating authorities had
  integrated systems
• Cost Calculator can import data from various
  sources to use in cost calculations
• The amount of work to cross-reference data should
  not be underestimated

11
Key IssuesIntegration Integrating data sets

• Matching identities - different identifying
  numbers for different databases
• UPN will now be required for the CiN Census which
  will help to cross-reference social care and
  educations
• Most authorities this is undertaken manually
• Other services such as Connexions or CAMHS?

12
Key IssuesIntegration Confidentiality and Data
Sharing

• Data Sharing is still a highly sensitive area
• Particularly so for sensitive services such as
  acute therapeutic services, or sexual health
  services
• Data sharing between Social Care and independent
  sector
• Data sharing arrangements can be made through
  Service Level Agreements

13
Key IssuesChild level data held on Social Care
information Systems

• Social Care Systems as primary source of data on
  Children in need
• Hold data on key activities associated with
  supporting the Child
• Problematic areas include
• The recording of service deliveries
• Use of free text
• Inconsistent service descriptions
• Recording of visits
• Recording of indirect activities, such as
  liaising with other professionals

14
Costing Childrens Services for Children in
Need Next steps

• Mapping sought to identify core services, those
  services that were
• Most frequently cited across participating
  authorities
• and reported to take up the largest proportion of
  the Childrens services budget
• Case Management Teams identified as core service
• Currently undertaking the development of the core
  processes for Children in Need and Child
  Protection
• Processes will identify time spent on both direct
  and indirect activity
• Activity times identified through focus groups
  and event records

15
Costing Childrens Services for Children in
Need Next steps

• Unit costs for Core Additional Services to be
  included
• Four research sites to explore how data for
  Children in Need can be collected and utilised
• Working closely with the CiN Census development
  team to reduce the data collection burden on
  local authorities
• Development of the Cost Calculator to include
  health and mental health and education costs.

16
Contact Details

• Sam Culley
• S.Culley_at_lboro.ac.uk