Social Care & Health

Children & Families

Throughcare & Aftercare

The Children(Scotland) Act 1995 specifies duties of the Local Authority in regard to young people who are Looked After and Accommodated.

The Authority is required to provide advice and guidance to the child to prepare him or her for when they are no longer looked after by the Authority.

In addition where a young person has previously been accommodated at the time when they were of school leaving age the authority has a duty to provide advice, guidance and assistance if their welfare requires it until they reach age nineteen. After their nineteenth birthday up until they reach twenty-one the authority has a discretionary power to assist again if they are satisfied that their welfare requires it.

In East Ayrshire a team of three workers and a manager are the primary resource to enable the Council to discharge it's relevant duties in these regards.

The team undertake a variety of tasks in regard to meeting the young person's support needs. Advice can be given to young people to enable them to obtain their rights and entitlements from a variety of internal and external agencies. The team work with Housing and accommodation providers to ensure that the young person has accommodation of their own which is safe, affordable and which meets their needs. Work will be undertaken to enable the young person to achieve their potential in regards to education, training or employment. Whether from paid employment, training or educational allowances or indeed from welfare benefit entitlement the young person will be supported to achieve a maximised income which can enable them to make positive choices about their chosen lifestyle. Many young people are also supported to enable them to cope with issues such as loneliness, isolation or low self-esteem.

Underpinning the work is a process of Throughcare planning which generally commences at age fifteen and continues through a number reviews and relevant modifications to provide a structure for the time that it is needed. The plan addresses the young person's needs in regard to accommodation, education, employment or training and their emotional support needs. It will also address health issues including addictions and related issues, offending behaviour and the impact of the criminal justice system. It will seek to ensure that the young person can contribute to and feel part of family, neighborhood and community structures wherever this is possible and appropriate.

The Throughcare team is managed within the Children & Families Services Unit and is located within the Balmoral Road office.

Contact for further information.