Missing Children Support Worker

Purpose

• To undertake timely return home interviews (RHI) to children and young people.


• To build relationships with children and young people potentially over a period of time as appropriate to the child.


• To provide information, advice and advocate on behalf of children and young people.
  
  This is in order to support their protection from further missing episodes, abuse and exploitation; and to ensure their voice is heard within decision-making processes.


• To use information gained to reduce and/or prevent future missing episodes; identify and disrupt wider exploitation; and identify possible persons of interest and locations of concern.


• To support the coordination of Birmingham's response to Missing children, acting as a central point for information collation and sharing as well as for expertise and information.


• To raise awareness regarding Missing issues and to the links to wider exploitation.


• To support the organisation, Birmingham Safeguarding Children Partnership and West Midlands Police in achieving a consistent and effective multi-agency safeguarding response to Missing children

Responsibilities

• To make an offer of a RHI to children allocated to you within a timely manner in a way that is appropriate to the child or young person.


• To provide RHIs to children who have returned, to explore their reasons for going missing; explore the risks; share information about services available to help them; and to consider alternatives to going missing in the future


• The RHI service will be provided to all Birmingham children who have gone missing from home or from care.
  
  This may involve travel outside of Birmingham if a child's placement is outside of the city.
  
  The service may involve RHIs to children placed by other local authorities within Birmingham.


• A flexible approach is necessary to ensure that RHIs are conducted with children and young people at a time that will maximise their engagement.


• To complete a RHI report for allocated workers to provide them with information with a view to identifying any areas of concern, reducing further missing episodes and to refer into CASS any children not allocated for whom there are safeguarding concerns.


• To produce and maintain written records, statistics / data sets and reports as required.


• To work alongside the co-located Exploitation Hub and other professionals, to identify and discuss missing, still missing and found / returned children; and contribute to planning discussions around children who have frequent missing episodes.
  
  This may include attending strategy discussion and disruption planning meetings.


• To make recommendations as to what work is needed; and if unallocated consider whether any referrals could be made following the RHI to prevent escalation to statutory services.


• To act as point of contact for the workforce on missing children and the links to wider exploitation and provide specialist advice to a range of agencies


• To contribute to meetings (individual child's or general ones) and strategies regarding the missing themes or the individual plans for children so that children are safeguarded, and services are developed.


• To take responsibility for own ongoing professional development in this area.


• To explore best practice / national research to inform local responses to missing children


• To build and establish partnership links with local and wider community organisations to enhance both disruption and diversion for children and young people


• To undertake any other duties that can reasonably be required.

Required

• Experience of working with children and/or young people.


• Must have Enhanced DBS.


• Demonstrates a basic knowledge of social work practice.


• Ability to work professionally with people experiencing challenging personal circumstances


• You will also have strong administration and IT skills


• Key effective communication and positive relationship skills are essential, as well as clear, concise record keeping, in a timely, accurate manner, applying your time management and organisational skills.


• The ability to work effectively with colleagues and other agencies; solve problems, negotiate and make decisions are also a necessity to be able to support the social work team.

If interested, please submit CV and call Varsha on 02036913890 between 9am to 5pm (Mon to Fri)