1. Introduction

It is essential that workers in adult social care and partner agencies who are working with an adult who has care and support needs consider, and include, the needs of all family members when carrying out assessments and developing plans.

There are four steps to the Whole-Family Approach:

  • Step one: Think family;
  • Step two: Get the whole picture;
  • Step three: Make a plan that works for everyone;
  • Step four: Check it is working for the whole family.

This chapter is taken from The Care Act and Whole-Family Approaches (Local Government Association et al) and provides guidance about using the Whole-Family Approach in daily practice.

2. Step 1: Think Family – Early Intervention and Prevention

Under the Care Act 2014, a whole system, whole council, whole-family approach which organises services and support around the adult and their family must be taken. It also means that everyone must think about the impact of the care needs of the adult on their family, including any children they have.

The principle of wellbeing is at the heart of this approach (see Promoting Wellbeing chapter). A vital part of an adult’s wellbeing is the situation they live in, who they live with and their family relationships. It is important to achieve a balance between their wellbeing and that of any family or friends  caring for them.

A whole-family approach to promoting wellbeing and preventing need for care and support may include helping the adult and their family to think about what changes may happen in the future, and to plan for these; for example when the adult needs more care or if a carer becomes unwell (see Prevention, Reduction and Delay in the Development of Need chapter).

The needs of young carers, for example a teenager who has to look after their disabled mother, are included in both the Care Act 2014 and in the Children and Families Act 2014. This is to make sure the council takes a whole-family approach to assessing and supporting the adult and the young carer and delivers support in a coordinated, organised way. (See Young Carers chapter, Children’s Social Care procedures and Annex A of The Care Act and Whole-Family Approaches (Local Government Association et al).

In a council that thinks family:

  • There is leadership and commitment across the council to a whole-family approach with protocols in place across a wide range of local partnerships to enable services to be coordinated.
  • A Workforce Change Programme ensures the skills and referral arrangements are in place so that service protocols are operating ‘on the ground’.
  • Family-related questions are embedded in processes at first contact and subsequently, such as:
    • Who else lives in your house?
    • Who helps with your support and who else is important in your life?
    • Is there anyone that you provide support or care for?
    • Is there a child in the family (including stepchildren, children of partners or extended family)
    • Does any parent need support in their parenting role?
  • There is an active approach to establishing if there are any significant potential changes in families’ lives and working with them to plan for these.
  • Families and carers are an integral part of the design delivery and evaluation of services and support. (LGA p. 3)

Step Two: Get the Whole Picture – Whole Family Assessment

Getting the whole picture means seeing each person as an individual, as well as recognising the part they play in their family and community. Everyone has something to contribute to addressing the adult’s needs. The Whole-Family Approach builds on everyone’s strengths and develops their resilience. It also promotes working together with carers as partners, as well as the adult and other members of the family and friends where appropriate.

Understanding the needs of the whole family and getting them to think about the outcomes they want to achieve individually, as well as a family is vital. It means the worker can then provide the right guidance, information and services.

Assessment is an important part of the process for everyone (see Assessment and Self-Assessment chapter). During the assessment, the worker can give guidance and information to help the family understand the situation, their needs and strengths. This can help to reduce or delay any increase in the adult’s needs and make sure that they have support when they need it. The aim of assessment is to get a full picture of the person and their needs and goals, so any carers must be consulted. Carers are recognised in the Care Act, in the same way as those they care for.

In a council that gets the whole picture:

  • There is a joint protocol in place between children and adult services that makes clear where responsibilities lie and how services work.
  • Information on the assessments and care and support plans that family members are receiving from other organisations is routinely identified. Where possible and appropriate, assessments are coordinated or combined.
  • Proportionate assessments are undertaken in a way that is most appropriate to each family.
  • People providing care and support are identified and involved in the assessment to provide their expertise and knowledge and views of what works and what does not.
  • Risks to carers of sustaining their caring role are always considered.
  • Carers’ willingness to continue caring is always established
  • Carers are always provided with an assessment on the appearance of need. Carers’ eligibility for support in their own right is always considered.
  • In all instances, even when a person can achieve an outcome independently, consideration is given to any impact on others and whether they might be adversely impacting on the health or safety of others, particularly family members and children.
  • At assessment, all of a person’s eligible needs are identified regardless of whether they are being met by any carer.
  • When looking at eligible needs, consideration of the ability to maintain family or other significant relationships, including with any children, and the impact on the adult’s wellbeing of these not being maintained is always considered. This applies to both the person in need of care and support and their carer.
  • When a child may be a young carer, consideration is always given as to whether to undertake a young carer’s needs assessment under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.

Assessments of an adult identify any potential child in need who does not have any caring responsibilities. (LGA p. 4)

Where an assessment does identify a potential child in need, the worker should contact their line manager to discuss the situation and a referral should be made to children’s services as appropriate (see Hull Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures).

4. Step Three: Make a Plan that Works for Everyone – Developing the Care and Support Plan

When councils and other agencies adopt a whole-family approach to developing a care and support plan this can help to achieve the best outcomes for the whole family. Sometimes, however, a plan can unintentionally affect other members of the family, particularly carers. This is something which must be considered when plans are reviewed.

A whole-family approach can also make better use of resources. Sometimes plans are needed for more than one member of the family and from different organisations, for example the Care Programme Approach if mental health services are involved. Plans should not be developed in isolation from one another but should be developed together. If everyone involved agrees, including the practitioners, plans for different family members can be combined to form a single plan in which there may be parts for individual family members as well as the family as a whole. This can be particularly important in making sure that everyone’s wellbeing is being considered and it can also be helpful in addressing any areas of conflict that arise and agreeing a way forward so that everyone achieves what they need, as far as possible.

In a council that makes plans that work for everyone:

  • Support planning takes into account the wellbeing of all the family and the impact of any services and support on other family members. This includes identifying and responding to situations such as mutual caring, and carers living at a distance or outside of the local authority area.
  • Support planning always involves carers, and consideration is given to the involvement of other family members.
  • Support planning considers how carers can be supported to look after their own health and have a life alongside caring.
  • Plans include consideration of support to ensure a carer is able to fulfil any parenting role.
  • Consideration is given to how a person’s circle of support can be developed, where this might benefit them.
  • Where the local authority is going to meet the needs of multiple people in the same family, consideration is given to producing a combined plan with a joint personal budget (where this is appropriate and all involved agree).
  • Plans from different organisations for any family members are identified and consideration given as to whether these can be aligned, coordinated or integrated into a single plan (where all involved agree).
  • Where plans are integrated, a lead organisation is identified to undertake monitoring and assurance. It must be clear when the plan will be reviewed and by whom. (LGA p. 5)

5. Step Four: Check it is Working for the Whole Family – Review of Plans

This is the review of the care and support plan stage, and any other plans that have been included.

As with assessment and care planning, wherever possible a whole-family approach to review should be taken. It should concentrate on the results that are being achieved by the adult and their family (known as an outcome focused review). Workers should consider giving others permission to conduct the review; this could be the person themselves, a carer or someone else.

Workers need to oversee the process and sign off all reviews. Sometimes a ‘light touch’ approach can be helpful in the early stages, which might include a telephone call or asking the adult or another family member to carry out a self-review to check that things are working as intended. Whatever approach is used, it should always include consider any impact of the care and support plan on other family members.

Where the review identifies things that have changed, the care and support plan may need to be updated to include these. Again the adult, their carer and anyone else they want included should be involved. The whole-family approach should make sure that everyone’s needs and wellbeing are considered (including any children) and that there are no consequences for anyone that had not been seen in advance and that everyone agrees with the plan.

In a council that knows its approach is working for the whole family:

  • The impact of the plan and results being achieved are reviewed in relation to both the individual and the whole family. This includes consideration of any unintended consequences for other members of the family.
  • Consideration is given to any changes that can be made to maximise the benefit to the whole family.
  • Carers’ (including young carers’) needs are routinely reviewed and the support they are willing and able to provide, as well as the outcomes they want to achieve, is re-established.
  • Any anticipated changes in the family that may impact on needs and support are identified and considered in any revised plan.

The plan is checked to see that it is providing adequate support to ensure children are not expected to offer inappropriate or excessive levels of care. (LGA p. 6)

6. Tools to use with the Whole-Family Approach

Annex C of The Care Act and Whole-Family Approaches (Local Government Association et al) includes some practical tools for working with families which can be adapted and developed for local use. These include:

  • questions to consider including in conversations at initial contact, assessment and care planning stages;
  • whole-family care planning discussion questions;
  • a genogram;
  • how to identifying support networks;
  • my emergency crisis plan.

Annex D also provides a checklist of key practice point.

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