Decision details

York has well established early help arrangements for children, young people and families. These are based on the early identification of emerging needs/vulnerabilities and addressing these needs in order to achieve better outcomes for families and reduce the need for high cost interventions at a later point.

Purpose of Report: This paper is proposing a new operating model for prevention and early intervention which is more effective and efficient than current arrangements. The proposed operating model is based on remodelling existing universal and preventative services for children, young people families into multi-agency hubs. The location and composition of these hubs will be based on areas identified and will work together to provide city wide early help arrangements for families across the authority.

As well as delivering a new set of early help arrangements the model will be flexible and sustainable against the changing resource base of the council and partners and assist in achieving efficiencies for the council into 2019/20.

Members will be asked to approve a new place-based operating model for prevention and early intervention services which amalgamate current services at a universal and prevention level for those aged pre-birth to 19 years (up to 25). The implementation of this model will achieve the agreed level of savings required from the services within scope.

In order to allow the Community Stadium recommendations to be considered at the 24 March Council meeting the March Executive meeting has been brought forward from Thursday 31 Marchto Thursday 17 March.

Resolved:  That Executive agree to:

a.        endorse the implementation of new place-based prevention and early intervention services within Local Area Teams;

b.        a public consultation and further paper on the delivery of the children’s centres as part of the new operating mode;

c.        receive a further paper addressing finalised proposals on revising the city wide and city centre youth offer as part of the new operating model.

Reason:     This will allow the council to take forward work to remodel early help arrangements and achieve the associated savings targets.