Initailly started in partnership with our neighbouring Local Authorities this servcie is located in Arnprior, Stirlingshire, at the House of Newburn (a small converted farmhouse). This service is designed to meet the needs of young people who require an immediate crisis care response. Ballikinrain has a long history of providing residential care and education to boys between the ages of 8-16.
The service provides up to 4 places for children who have experienced placement breakdown or breakdown within their family and
community and require to be accommodated by the local authority. The focus of the service is to provide a short term residential placement that will meet the care and educational needs of young people, aged between 8 and 16 years, who are deemed to be the most vulnerable and at risk within the communities. Initially the service will be provided to males with provision for girls being developed at a later point. The aim of the service is to meet the needs of these young people within their local communities or as close to as possible. Young people will be cared for within the house and will, where possible, be taken to their education placement be it a school or alternative education resource provided by their responsible local authority.
Where it is not possible to take a child to their existing education provision, education support will be provided within House of Newburn unit by teaching staff from Ballikinrain School.
The experience of many Local Authorities in respect of crisis care has been that children are often placed far from their home communities, eg in the south of Scotland or north of England. Contact with social work staff and family's is difficult and education support is extremely limited. The cost of these placements is financially very expensive and the Crisis Care Service will provide a local service at considerably reduced costs.
Whilst this service will not meet all the needs of all councils in relation to crisis care it is a first step in developing a partnership model of this nature.
Ballikinrain 'Include me in' service has a history of residential childcare provision and care developing more
community based servcies. This has been is a new and exciting partnership and has now been in operation since April 2008.
The service is an example of good partnership working which has been commented on favourably. The service has been evaluated by the Scottish Institute of Residential Childcare, along with the partners involved in this service. The care, education and management of children and young people who are in crisis within their family and
community represents particular challenges for local authorities and children's services. There is a strong commitment to developing and managing this service in a way that impacts positively upon the needs of young people and their communities.
