'Multi Agency Teams' (MATS) are being established throughout the Island as part of an approach to help improve the lives of children and young people.
Representatives from social services, health, education, the police and voluntary sector are joining forces in order to achieve a number of common goals.
The MATs, which came into being at the start of April, are based in the five neighbourhood policing areas (Douglas, Eastern, Western, Southern and Northern) and each include professional practitioners who have an interest in the future of children’s services.
Those individuals will be tasked with helping youngsters in their local communities to attain the five outcomes highlighted in the Chief Minister’s Strategy for Children and Young People 2005-2010: staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and prospering.
Team members will address common themes affecting children and young people, such as bullying, and to identify those at risk of not achieving one of the government’s five key outcomes. They will also work with children, their families, and carers, to find solutions to local problems. It is expected that the five regional teams will encounter different challenges, from under-age drinking to lack of recreational facilities.
The MATs are not a substitute for existing arrangements and will not take on cases that should be referred to a specialist agency. Instead, they will complement mainstream services by providing early interventions, additional support, advice and practical assistance.
The introduction of the MATs represents an important step towards the closer integration of children’s services across three Government departments – Education, Home Affairs and Health and Social Security. Education Minister Anne Craine said ‘The principal function of the Multi Agency Teams is to work in partnership with local communities to help children and young people reach their full potential, and to identify, at the earliest possible stage, any individuals who may be at risk of missing out in one of the five priority outcomes.
‘Parents and carers are best placed to bring up children and we have no intention of interfering with that but we believe that establishing these teams will help to support families with issues that may be affecting their quality of life.’
The Children’s Services Partnership, which is responsible for the day-to-day delivery of services, has been tasked with implementing the new approach. Chief Constable Mike Langdon, who chairs the CSP, said ‘MAT members will become an integral part of the community. They will be learning more about local needs and working to prove to the Island’s children and young people that they can make a genuine difference.
‘In addition to making a positive impact in the short term, we also hope to see real benefits in the future. Providing a localised focus on the issues affecting our young people should help to reduce the need for specialist interventions later on in their lives.’
