‘Maps and charts in planning family support’: The development of children's services planning in Northern Ireland

Abstract

This article has been adapted from a paper that was presented to the Regional Conference ‘Think Global — Act Local’, held in the Adair Arms Hotel in Ballymena on 29 November 2002, in order to launch the Children's Services Plans for the four Health and Social Services Board areas in Northern Ireland, for the period 2002–2005. The paper considers how ‘cross-cutting’ Children's Services Planning has developed in Northern Ireland, and explores the emerging shift from historically based planning to planning based on needs assessment, driven by the emphasis on holistic understanding of children in Need. Core elements include the development of inter-agency databases to capture need and supply of services at a very local level (electoral ward); emerging work on outcome measurement; the consolidation of inter-agency and inter-sectoral planning forums; and the emergence of frameworks for involving service users, especially young people. The paper reflects on the application of the Hardiker (1991) Model in Northern Ireland, and goes on to describe how congruence across the Children and Young People's Committees has been achieved through commitment to four common, underpinning themes — Needs Led Planning and Resourcing, Equality and Human Rights, Promoting Social Inclusion, and an Integrated Approach to Family Support. The latter theme is particularly developed in this paper, suggesting that a number of conditions now exist that could drive family support led strategies in the domains of prevention/diversion (Hardiker Levels 1 and 2) and intensive support (Hardiker Levels 3 and 4). In conclusion, the paper argues for the consolidation of Children's Services Planning as a core local framework that can strengthen regional strategy, and identifies some of the key challenges for the future.