Children's social care - the Integrated Children's System (ICS)
ICS is a system that is being developed across England and Wales. It is designed to help social care managers and practitioners working with children to improve the outcomes for children in need and their families.Responding to new legislation
In response to the Children Act 2004, we implemented structural changes to children's social services. Education and social care services have now been brought together into one department.
Providing services to children and families
Children's social care services provide a range of care and support to children and their families, services are provided to children assessed as being in need, which includes children with disabilities and children who may be suffering 'significant harm'.
We provide and arrange care for children who require looking after, this includes fostering and residential care as well as adoption.
The background to ICS
All services working with children are responsible for ensuring they receive the support they need, at a time when they can effectively address these needs.
Agencies can be brought together to provide integrated assessments of need and services.
ICS recognises that all providers of services for children and families benefit from a common approach to assessment, planning, providing services and reviewing the progress of services.
How ICS works
ICS provides a framework which builds on previous developments and provides a single approach to undertaking the key processes involved in providing services. These are:
- Assessment
- planning
- intervention
review.
These processes are informed by services developing a clear understanding of the individual child's development needs, and their parents' capacities to respond to these needs in the context of their family and community.
Key features of ICS:
- A common language to understand and describe the developmental needs of children
- effective gathering and recording of information to assist in deciding how services can be best provided
- an effective basis to review the progress of the child
common assessment tools to enable agencies to work together alongside families.
Electronic Record Keeping
ICS requires all local authorities to develop computer based electronic social care files. Derbyshire County Council has used a system called Frameworki since January 2005 and this has almost completely replaced paper files. Assessment information, individual plans and all relevant documentation relating to the work we do with each child referred to us, are systematically and securely stored in accordance with data protection laws and ICS requirements.
Benefits to children and families
ICS implementation is ongoing but users of our services and those provided by partner agencies will have already noticed some differences in how we work.
Information provided to children and families is now clearer and easier to understand, with a clear focus on the required outcomes of services.
ContactPoint
The document in the related documents section refers to the ContactPoint database - please note that the Government closed this down on 6 August 2010.
Related documents
The following document is in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download the PDF software for free from the Adobe website (opens in a new window)