TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment of children coming into care
T2 - Processes, pitfalls and partnerships
AU - Chambers, Megan F.
AU - Saunders, Alison M.
AU - New, Brendan D.
AU - Williams, Catherine L.
AU - Stachurska, Anna
PY - 2010/10
Y1 - 2010/10
N2 - Children in out-of-home care (OOHC) present with high levels of physical, developmental and emotional and behavioural difficulties, yet often fail to receive appropriate services. This article describes a joint health and welfare service specifically developed to provide comprehensive physical, developmental and mental health assessments to a cohort of children entering long-term care in one region of Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Paediatric, allied health, dental and psychosocial assessments were co-ordinated from a single referral from the child's welfare case manager. Follow-up appointments were held 6-12 months later to assess the outcomes of recommendations. Physical, mental health and developmental difficulties in the children are reported, the implications for service requirements are presented and process blocks described. There is a need for a specific co-ordinating service to overcome the inherent fragmentation of this group (related both to transience and change in the welfare sector, and levels of comorbidity and chronicity in health presentations). Health and Welfare services must operate together, with an awareness of the processes and resource constraints in each sector, if they are to deliver sustainable and reliable health care to this vulnerable group.
AB - Children in out-of-home care (OOHC) present with high levels of physical, developmental and emotional and behavioural difficulties, yet often fail to receive appropriate services. This article describes a joint health and welfare service specifically developed to provide comprehensive physical, developmental and mental health assessments to a cohort of children entering long-term care in one region of Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Paediatric, allied health, dental and psychosocial assessments were co-ordinated from a single referral from the child's welfare case manager. Follow-up appointments were held 6-12 months later to assess the outcomes of recommendations. Physical, mental health and developmental difficulties in the children are reported, the implications for service requirements are presented and process blocks described. There is a need for a specific co-ordinating service to overcome the inherent fragmentation of this group (related both to transience and change in the welfare sector, and levels of comorbidity and chronicity in health presentations). Health and Welfare services must operate together, with an awareness of the processes and resource constraints in each sector, if they are to deliver sustainable and reliable health care to this vulnerable group.
KW - assessment
KW - children in out-of-home care
KW - interagency collaboration
KW - mental health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77957709052&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1359104510375932
DO - 10.1177/1359104510375932
M3 - Article
C2 - 20923900
AN - SCOPUS:77957709052
VL - 15
SP - 511
EP - 527
JO - Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry
JF - Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry
SN - 1359-1045
IS - 4
ER -