Decision Report 202005533

Summary

C, an advocate, submitted a complaint on behalf of B, parent of A. C complained that A and their family had not received sufficient, timely or ongoing support from the social work department of the partnership. In the year prior to the referral to the intensive family support service (IFSS), A exhibited behaviours which B considered should have qualified them for intensive intervention at that time, however, input from the IFSS was not agreed to until a year later. B considered that A's escalating behaviours could have been avoided if intensive support had been provided sooner. Having complained to the partnership, and being dissatisfied with their response, C brought the complaint to our office.

We took independent advice from a social work adviser. We found that it was reasonable that other supports were tried prior to A being referred to IFSS. We found that the response and involvement of specific agencies was reasonable, with regular and frequent contact and involvement in assisting A and the family to manage A's behaviour. While there were issues with record-keeping, we found that, overall, the support provided by the partnership in the period prior to referral to IFSS was reasonable. Therefore, we did not uphold the complaint.