If you would like to request support for a child or young person then please read the below criteria carefully, we are only commissioned to work with children and young people who meet our criteria.
The Somerset Phoenix Project is a recovery service, not a crisis service. We will provide support related to childhood sexual abuse and will prioritise cases which have involved physical contact.
Once you are happy you meet the critiera please download the most appropriate request for support form at the end.
Criteria
Children and young people must:
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be a resident in the Somerset County Council local authority area.
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be aged 1-18 at time of the request for support.
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had enough time to process their most recent disclosure – takes about 6 months (see note 1)
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be in a safe and stable place in their life to allow our therapeutic recovery work to have the maximum impact. (see note 2)
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no longer be experiencing sexual abuse or the possibility of this through ongoing exploitation
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not be subject to current child protection work (CP). We will work with those on a CIN plan.
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not be already receiving another specialist support service. However, we will look to offer consultation to the lead professional supporting the child/young person.
If re-opening a case we have worked with before there must be a gap of 1 year between our support ending and us considering a new request.
Professionals making the request
The professional making the request for support will be sent a list of dates to book a slot to discuss the case further before we take it to triage.
All requests for support will be the start of partnership work with the professional requesting support. This will require the case to remain open during this partnership work. Research shows how important it is for professionals to work together and although it is possible for Phoenix support to be part of a ‘step down’ plan this needs to be agreed via a team around the child/family meeting.
Requests from staff at social care if the child is a looked after child (LAC) need to have been discussed with the Emotional Health and Well-being Team prior to submitting the form. We will contact your organisations nominated strategic link to our team.
We will liaise with specialist CSE (Child Sexual Exploitation) services to agree whether it is appropriate for Phoenix to support a child or young person affected by CSE.
Incomplete ‘request for support’ forms will be returned.
Parents requesting support for their Child or Young Person
If for whatever reason there are no current professionals supporting your child you can ask for support on thier behalf by filling in the parent/carer support request form.
Children and Young People requesting support for yourself
If for whatever reason there are no current professionals in your life, you can ask for support by filling in the self-referral support request form.
Notes:
1 - All the statutory agencies must have completed their assessment e.g. police and social care. If they haven’t we won’t be able to take the case while the family is dealing with them. We will work with a child if there is an ongoing investigation but ABE interviews need to have been done (or decided not to be done) and social care needs to have completed their assessment and either allocated a worker or closed. 6 months lets a small amount of time to pass to allow the child/YP to get back in control of their journey. Trauma makes everyone speed up and what a child/YP needs most is for the situation to slow down. If you feel the child is safe and stable after 3 months of disclosure please contact us to see if we will accept a request before the 6 months acceptance criteria.
2 - When we are thinking about working with a child/YP we are looking for as much stability as possible. This means a stable living environment where there is no risk of eviction, no domestic abuse between family members, some control over substances or working alongside SDAS, no longer experiencing sexual abuse or any other forms of abuse, they are not vulnerable to CSE or engaging in county lines and there isn't any sexually reactive/harmful behaviour that needs addressing first. Lastly, we are looking if the child/YP has an emotionally available adult around them to support them through their recovery journey and be there for them after their sessions.
