5.1.3 Transition Panel - Membership and Terms of Reference

1.	Panel membership will consist of: Assistant Head of Adult Social Care (Learning Disabilities) - Chair Assistant Head of Adult Social Care (Older People, PD & SI) Service Manager Learning Disabilities Team Managers, Learning Disabilities (3 LDT managers) Service Manager, Physical Disabilities Service Manager, Mental Health Service Manager, Children's Disability Team Service Manager, Looked After Children's Team Service Manager, Children and Mental Health Services Designated Panel members may delegate attendance to a representative, in which case the representative has authority to contribute to decisions taken by the Panel, and the designated Panel member retains the responsibility to act on decisions taken by the Panel in their absence. Panel members are encouraged to invite relevant colleagues to attend from time to time if they have knowledge of particular cases to aid decision-making.
2.	Meetings will be held twice a year - in April/May and October/November - to agree allocation of children in transition who do not easily fit one client group but who are significantly vulnerable and are likely to meet Fair Access to Care Services criteria (FACS). Allocation will be made to the 'nearest fit' Adult Service Team - PD/LD/MH. The aim of the meetings is to allocate individuals to teams at an early stage to avoid disagreements at the point of assessment or when a service is required by a young person.
3.	The meetings will not discuss children in transition who have already been accepted as potential future adult clients by client group teams.
4.	When a service user is allocated to a team, the expectation is that that team will assess needs against FACS criteria (not against their team eligibility criteria, as it is recognised that this group, by definition, are not expected to meet team criteria), and arrange and monitor any services provided. At present, the decision to allocate a case at Transitions Panel also involves budget responsibility for care packages. However, discussions are planned to explore separating budget responsibility for packages from responsibility for managing a case, so that funding responsibility for the entire group is shared on an overall proportionate basis across client groups.
5.	All children who are likely to have FACS eligible needs at 18 will need to have their needs assessed against the adult Fair Access to Care Services criteria. In some cases although they have needs that are met by Children's Services they may not qualify under FACS as adults. Where a young person is found not to have needs which meet FACS criteria, the Adult and/or Leaving Care Team will offer signposting to possible sources of advice and assistance.
6.	Children's Services (Children with Disabilities, Children Looked After) will provide lists and information on children from around age 16 that they consider likely to require services beyond 18 years but who are unlikely to meet adult team criteria. The Panel Chair will collate these lists one month before each Panel meets.
7.	This information will be circulated to all members of the Panel at least two weeks before the date of the next meeting. Panel members are expected to use this to collate any relevant information from colleagues to update on progress or assist decision-making at the meeting.
8.	The spreadsheet of cases being followed up will also be circulated for update three months after each meeting to ensure appropriate actions are in hand. It is the responsibility of Service Managers in Adult and Children's Teams to ensure that up to date information is fed back promptly to the Panel Chair.
9.	Minutes of meetings will be circulated to Service Managers and attendees within 2 weeks of each meeting. Service Managers who are invited to the meeting will retain responsibility for ensuring that actions for their Team, which are agreed at Panel, are communicated to team members and followed up. If the Service Manager is unable to attend, they are expected to provide a substitute. If there is no representation from a team, allocation to that team may still take place and the Service Manager will retain responsibility for ensuring that the actions allocated are carried through.
10.	In some circumstances the Children's Team social worker may be well placed to carry out a community care assessment to pass to the Adult Team and this should be facilitated. This would apply where the assessment is taking place after the child turns 17, and the children's worker has appropriate skills and experience.
11.	Where urgent decisions need to be taken between meetings about which team is best placed to manage a case, Service Managers are expected to discuss and agree between themselves which Team is 'best fit' and to inform the Chair of the Panel on action taken.
12.	In some cases, joint work between teams, or an advisory role for one team, may be required, and this should be supported where appropriate, but avoiding unnecessary duplication, in line with the Whole Family Working Policy.
13.	The principles of 'Best Fit' should also be applied to allocation of cases of adults who have eligible needs, do not fit team criteria, and are referred as adults (not at transition). Allocation should be determined through discussion between service managers. In exceptional circumstances the Transitions Panel may be an appropriate forum to discuss allocation.

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