Home-Start Central Lancashire
There for parents when they need us most,
because childhood can't wait
Assessment Process for referrals and waiting times
Referral Pathway
Home-Start Central Lancashire build and maintains relationships within their local communities and with agencies that we work with, who are most likely to make referrals, such as health visitors, etc. This helps referrers to understand the support we can deliver and minimises inappropriate referrals and misunderstandings amongst agencies.
Home-Start Central Lancashire provide information about how to refer here on our website, in our leaflets and in paper referral packs which can be obtained from our office by telephoning 01257 241636. We can also attend your setting to discuss making referrals to our service and what we can offer.
Information informs referrers (including self-referrers) how they can make a referral and what support we can offer families.
A professional referral should provide sufficient detail for Home-Start Central Lancashire to be able to contact a family and arrange an initial visit. Please include any open plans the family may have, e.g. Early Help Plan.
All referrals should be made alongside the family, including what support the family is hoping we can offer, and using the Home-Start referral form; however, sometimes a referral may be made over the telephone, particularly for self-referrals.
All referrals should include:
- Details of the Family, including the Dates of Birth of children and Parents
- Details of other agencies, or services the family are open to (Schools, Nurseries, Health visitors, etc.)
- The reason for referral
- Any identified risks, home conditions, or any pets in the home.
- Background information considered important, relevant, or useful.
- Any open plans the family may have (EHA, CIN, CPP)
- Details of the support being requested by the family.
Refusing a Referral
A referral may be refused if it does not fall into the remit of Home-Start Central Lancashire or where we have insufficient capacity or resources.
Completing a Referral
We are unable to process incomplete referrals. Please ensure to fully complete the referral, as we will have to return any incomplete referrals for the correct information
Communication with Referers
In the interest of child and family welfare, we will respond within 1 week of the referral to the referrer to inform them:
- The referral has been received.
- Whether the referral has been accepted or not.
- If there is a waiting list, and how long the family may be waiting for an initial visit.
- Once support is in place with the family, we will regularly update referrers following reviews of the family, allocation of a volunteer and at the end of support. If the referrer closes with the family, or does not want us to update them, we will contact another service (Schools, Nurseries, Health Visitors, etc.) to inform them of our support with the family
Waiting Lists
Home-Start Central Lancashire endeavours to keep waiting lists down so that families are contacted as soon as we are able. We are currently experiencing a waiting list of 10-12 weeks. Referrers and self-referral families are kept up to date of the waiting list as soon as the referral is received.
We have a Managing referrals policy in place that is tailored to our local area which demonstrates an efficient, responsive, and reliable service, bearing in mind any identified risks.
Consideration is given to:
- Family’s needs – the needs of the family may mean they are harder to match with a volunteer so they may have to wait for a suitable match or that their needs may be greater than that expected from a volunteer.
- Family’s expectations – Families will be provided with clear information about how long they may have to wait and what will happen if a suitable volunteer cannot be found.
- Vulnerable families – If there is a safeguarding or child protection issue, we will ensure, where possible, that families are not left without the support of any agency.
- The referrers expectations – The referrer/agency will be given clear information about the status of each family referred if requested and updated when there are any changes. Home-Start will ensure referrers are clear about when we are providing the family with support and when we are not.
Meeting our criteria
Before making a referral, please ensure the family you’re referring meet our criteria. Home-Start Central Lancashire will inform referrers when support has been put in place. The following gives an idea of which referrals / family circumstances are appropriate:
- Families who live in Chorley, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Preston.
- Families struggling with the effects of being/feeling isolated.
- Families with historic domestic abuse and/or are experiencing the effects of domestic abuse
- Families who have at least one child under the age of 11.
- Families who would benefit from a volunteer to help them interact and engage with their children.
- Families who need support to organise a system to cope with day-to-day life.
- Families struggling with their child/children’s behaviour.
- Families in need of support or encouragement to do practical tasks for themselves.
- Families who need support and encouragement to access other agencies or services.
- Families experiencing mental health issues such as post-natal depression and need help or encouragement to access or attend professional support services.
- Families struggling with substance misuse and are receiving support from the relevant agencies.
- Families who have twins, triplets, or multiple children under the age of 11.
- Families who have consented to being referred to us for family support.
Making a Referral
Please click on the link below for a Request For Service Form below, the form is in two versions, one is editable if you have MS Word, the other is PDF for printing.
