Initial Assessment - Same Day Referral Unit
This resource can admit young people on the same day that an enquiry is made, subject to appropriate referral information being received and the basic matching process being completed.
The resource is a valuable first stop for young people between the ages of 8 and 16 years in need of a quality, short-term, residential placement lasting for a maximum of 3 months. It gives us the opportunity to assess the suitability of these children and young people for admission on a planned basis to one of our medium to long-stay resources or foster placement.
If however, after the initial assessment, our resources prove to be inappropriate to the care of the individual concerned, the unit will propose a care plan and offer recommendations of the type of resource which would be better suited to their requirements.
In order to facilitate a quality assessment process a senior member of staff is allocated to each shift and the staffing ratio of the house always reflects one member of staff on duty for every young person.
As young people can be admitted to the unit without a previous Clifford House external assessment, the staff team place a greater emphasis on the importance of the residents’ daily living routine, providing constant and consistent supervision to reduce the risk of young people causing harm to others or themselves, or of absconding.