The CAMHS Psychological Assessment and Therapy Service for Looked After and Adopted Children (LAAC) in Bradford is a specialist multidisciplinary team providing targeted provision for children in local authority care, adopted children and children on Special Guardianship Orders. The team combines a psycho-developmental approach to clinical management with close liaison with other services. Interventions offered include CBT, dyadic developmental and child and adolescent psychotherapy, EMDR, family therapy, art and play therapy, and therapeutic parenting. They also provide indirect clinical work through advice and consultation.
The CAMHS Psychological Assessment and Therapy Service for Looked After and Adopted Children (LAAC) in Bradford is a specialist multidisciplinary team providing targeted provision for children in local authority care, adopted children and children on Special Guardianship Orders. The team combines a psycho-developmental approach to clinical management with close liaison with other services. Interventions offered include CBT, dyadic developmental and child and adolescent psychotherapy, EMDR, family therapy, art and play therapy, and therapeutic parenting. They also provide indirect clinical work through advice and consultation.
Access
All referrals are discussed at weekly allocation meetings and either recommended for the consultation clinic or accepted for assessment and allocated (or wait listed for) a key worker. Where further information is needed or an alternate service indicated, an assistant psychologist facilitates information gathering and access or signposting to the appropriate service.
Advice and consultation
The service provides indirect clinical work through a consultation model. This includes the development of a Consultation Clinic for professionals and carers of LAAC, children and young people with Special Guardianship Orders and care leavers. They offer 4-5 slots per week and offer an opportunity to think in depth about a child’s difficulties or to bring together the networks of care around a child to discuss needs and plans for home and school placements. Further indirect clinical work includes providing consultations and running small reflective practice groups for Children’s Home staff and monthly consultation sessions for social workers to screen and discuss cases.
Biopsychosocial assessment
Key workers co-ordinate the assessment with the support of the wider LAAC team. Children’s carers, social workers and teachers are integral to the assessment process, with assessments usually beginning with joint meetings. Specific assessments will then be completed by team members with the appropriate training. Findings and recommendations will then be collated in a detailed report. Minimum data set outcome measures are completed on assessment and repeated again at 6 month intervals.
Service development
The service was developed to improve early intervention, broaden and enrich the expertise on offer and to offer a higher quality of assessment and therapeutic work to those with the greatest needs. Plans for development largely took place within CAMHS but with important contributions throughout the process from managers from Bradford Children’s Social Care. This included regular joint implementation meetings. Ongoing joint working between the services continues to support service development and has led to funding being secured for further initiatives.
Workforce
CAMHS workers with existing expertise in working with LAAC have become part of the new team. Their work is ring-fenced and dedicated to this client group only. Recruitment was supported by a panel of young people from the area. It was also agreed that CAMHS therapeutic social workers funded by Children’s Social Care would also join the team. Support is also available to generic CAMHS workers through supervision and consultation from the specialist team.
Further details
Commissioning
Funding from within Core CAMHS and Future in Mind money
Providers
Bradford District Care Trust and Children’s Social care
Workforce (WTE)
2.3 clinical psychology (band 7 and 8a), 4.2Psychological Therapists (Offering Play, Art, DDP, CAT and Family Therapy) 1.9 social workers, 1 assistant psychologist (band 4) and 1 manager (band 7)
Population size
All ages – 534,279, under 18 – 141,188 (Office of National Statistics 2016 mid-year population estimates for Bradford), approximately 1000 looked after children, 500 adopted children and 500 with special guardianship orders.
Caseload
Over 6 months they undertook 58 consultations and received 59 referrals for assessment and therapy of which 27 were accepted
Prevention and resilience – universal and early intervention for at risk
Access and advice – consultation lines, triage and signposting
