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Information sharing and assessment

Change for Children is a new approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19.

The Government's aim is for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need to:

• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being.

This means that the organisations involved with providing services to children - from hospitals and schools, to police and voluntary groups - will be teaming up in new ways, sharing information and working together, to protect children and young people from harm and help them achieve what they want in life. Children and young people will have far more say about issues that affect them as individuals and collectively.

Calderdale's Multi-Agency and Assessment Service

Calderdale's Multi-Agency and Assessment Service (CMAS) is a multi-agency team that will work with all agencies to offer Support to practitioners with the common processes:

• The Common Assessment Framework (CAF)
• The role of the Lead Professional
• The Team around the Child Meetings (TAC’s)
• Keep a central log of all CAF’s being carried out by  practitioners
• Offer information on practitioners involved with a child or  young person
• Offer information and support completing a CAF with a child,  young person
• Offer information and support on delivering and managing the  plan to support the child and young person and their family
• Attend initial Team around the Child meetings to support practitioners new to  the process
• Sign post to appropriate services within the Borough and  beyond.

The vision for the service is to offer an integrated multi-agency service that will support children, young people and their families meeting their aspirations.

CMAS will offer practitioners a single point of contact to support them in identifying the right services at the right time from the right agencies, through multi-agency assessing, planning and review.

CMAS will not be carrying out assessments but supporting practitioners across agencies carrying out assessments.

Practitioners who identify children and young people who may have additional needs will be supported through the Common Assessment Framework, lead professional and the team around the child meetings. These processes are to ensure the most appropriate packages of support are agreed, delivered and reviewed to support children, young people and their families at the earliest opportunity.

Contact the CMAS Team

• Name:
• Calderdale Multi-agency Assessment Service
• Address:
• Northgate House
  Halifax
  HX1 1UN
• E-mail:
• cmas@calderdale.gov.uk
• Telephone:
• 01422 353279.

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