MULTI AGENCY WORKING

Multi Agency Working

Multi-Agency Working

Introduction

Multi-agency working is the term used to describe the process of bringing together practitioners from different professions and sectors in order to furnish an integrated approach that will offer support for families, young people and children. Multi-agency working in reality is the approach to ensure that young people and children who require supplementary support in context of any issue will be provided with appropriate professionals to offer the support they seek (Allnock, Akhurst, Tunstill and NESS Research Team, 2006). However, the term is very generic in nature and can take various forms in local context, for instance:

In a team around a specific family or child (TAF/TAC)

As a board or group or panel catering the needs of individual families and children on the basis of an establishment or area

Where a team, panel or board offer their services as a single unit while working together, either virtual or co-located

Routine meeting across services, line once in a week or month.

Multi-agency working could entail any person who either by the voluntary work, job, skills or expertise comes in contact with families and their young people and children. In this nature of working, people having diverse professional expertise like health, social work, Early years, education, youth justices, police and youth work, are likely to be included in the panel (Lyne, Allen and Satherly, 2001).

The multi-agency working composition varies on the basis of case nature, because every case is some way or the other is different from others. Moreover, the support families, young people and children seek may also vary on the basis of their preferences and attitudes. In multi-agency working it is important that every person on the team or panel should have unique or distinct set of specialized skills in order to provide best possible support to the affected individuals, children and families (Window, Anderson and Vostanis, 2004).

Methods of Analysis

As stated earlier, every case differs from others, thus the method of analysis will also be determined on the basis of the case. For instance, if a child is being repeatedly abused by their parents regardless of the reason, panel may either decide to provide counseling to the families and child, while in a different case panel may recommend to send the child to a foster home in order to ensure the safety of the child (Watson, Townsley and Abbot, 2002). Simply, every case is being analyzed in accordance with the surrounding factors after that recommendations are made.

Benefits of Multi-Agency Working

As indicated above that the main beneficiary of the multi-agency working is families, young people and children who are in need of support. However, the main benefit of the multi-agency working is that it offers custom solutions after analyzing the situation, specifically for the case. In this context, the main benefits of multi-agency working include (Fox and Butler, 2004):

Early diagnosis and intervention

Quick and easy access to expertise or services

Enhanced educational achievement and increasing educational engagement

Improved and adequate support for families, particularly parents

Addressing the needs of families, ...