Hammersmith & Fulham CAFS A leaflet for referrers about the Child, Adolescent and Family Service.
What work does the Child, Adolescent and Family Service (CAFS) do? We offer: Face-to-face assessment and treatment of children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties up to their 18th birthday. Advice and consultation work with other agencies working with children and young people (eg schools, Social Services, child health and the voluntary sector). We work at the Glenthorne Road and Richford Gate services, as well as in schools, clinics and other outreach locations. We aim to work in a way that joins up all the people involved in a child or young person s care. What CAFS services are available in the borough? There are several different services for which a child or young person may be eligible. Age cut-off is the same for all services and is the 18th birthday. Leaflets for all services are available on 020 8483 1977/79 or 07792 782 924. The Primary Mental Health Service offers face-toface work, training and consultation to frontline
practitioners in health, education, social services and the voluntary sector. For more information, call 020 8483 1979. CAFS within the Youth Offending Service is available to young people already receiving a service from the YOS. For more information, call 020 8753 6200. CAFS within the Fostering Service and Looked After Children Service is available to all Hammersmith and Fulham carers and children in care. For more information, call 020 8753 2325. CAFS within the Young People s Service is available to unaccompanied asylum seekers and young people leaving care known to the YPS. For more information, call 020 7348 3370. The Richford Gate Psychology Service is designed for children or young people with difficulties amenable
to time-limited interventions, delivered by a single practitioner. Children or young people with multiple risk factors should be referred to the Glenthorne Road Service. For more information, call 020 8237 2002. To be eligible for the Glenthorne Road Service, children and young people must meet particular threshold criteria. These include: Neurodevelopmental difficulties, eg ADHD, Aspergers, autism. Emotional and behavioural difficulties arising in the context of learning disability. Psychosis, ie losing touch with reality. Eating difficulties, eg anorexia nervosa. Emotional difficulties of significant magnitude and complexity, eg depression and self-harm, school refusal, obsessional compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Attachment difficulties, eg in looked-after children or in complex child protection or care proceedings cases. Behavioural issues which are creating major disruption to home and school/college, perhaps leading to police involvement. This may or may not be in the context of a learning disability. Significant emotional and behavioural difficulties in the context of bereavement and physical illness.
What do people mean when they talk about tiers? The tiered mental health model is a way of thinking about how services are organised in relation to the complexity of the situation. Service users may be attending services at several different levels at the same time. The Glenthorne Road Service, with its large multidisciplinary team, is at tier 3. Primary Mental Health Workers, Richford Gate, and YOS workers, who work in small community-based teams, are at tier 2. GPs and other single health and local authority workers are at tier 1. Ways we work We offer assessment and a range of treatments, such as individual therapy (psychotherapy or cognitive behavioural therapy), family therapy, psychiatric assessment and medication. All our work is aimed at improving the emotional health and wellbeing of the child or young person. How do I refer? Referral forms are available from Glenthorne Road on 020 8483 1977 / 1979 or 07792 782 924. Forms can be mailed or faxed to us.
Who can refer to CAFS? Those who work in: Health, eg GPs, school nurses, paediatricians. Social care, eg social workers, ASSIST workers. Education, eg educational psychologists, SENCos. Youth justice, eg police, YOT workers. Youth work, eg Connexions PAs. Provided you send a covering letter clearly stating the specific request for CAFS, you can use a Common Assessment Framework (CAF) form to refer children and young people in place of the CAFS referral forms. If you are particularly worried about a child or young person, ring us as well, and mark your referral URGENT. Remember, however, that we are not an emergency service. Emergencies must go to Chelsea and Westminster paediatric A&E department - telephone 020 8746 8600 / 8601.
Should I refer or not? We have a duty worker available every day between 9am and 5pm. If you are unsure about whether a case should be referred to Glenthorne Road or elsewhere, ring and ask us. What if I don t think the family will go to CAFS? We are quite happy to provide telephone advice or face-to-face consultation about difficult cases. Just mark your referral in the child or young person s name and make clear you want a consultation to think about how to move things forward.
Child, Adolescent and Family Service 48 Glenthorne Road Hammersmith W6 0LS Tel: 020 8483 1979 Mobile: 07792 782 924 Web: www.wlmht.nhs.uk/hfcafs