Lead directors to be appointed in Wales

Welsh councils, local health boards and NHS trusts must appoint a
lead director responsible for co-ordinating children’s
services.

Each body will also need a lead senior manager responsible for
implementing child protection procedures under new
requirements.

The measures are included in the National Service Framework for
Children, Young People and Maternity Services in Wales, which also
stipulates child protection training for relevant local authority
officers and members.

And all social services departments must have a named child
protection co-ordinator to monitor the living arrangements of those
on the child protection register.

The framework, which sets out service standards for all health and
social care services for the next 10 years, includes more than 200
key actions for local authorities, health boards and other agencies
that provide services to children until they are 18.

Of these, 84 have been flagged as key measures to be delivered
within six months.

The framework includes specific standards for the care of children
with mental health problems or a disability and those with special
circumstances, such as those in foster care or in the youth justice
system.

It also states that looked-after children should have an education
plan within 20 days of going into care and that every disabled
child with complex needs has a hand-held health record.

The Welsh framework has been published a year after an equivalent
document was released in England.

NSF from
www.wales.gov.uk