Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015

Review and update of aftercare plan

9. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 45C (inserted by section 8 ):

“Review and update of aftercare plan

45D. (1) A person in respect of whom an aftercare plan is in operation, or a person who is authorised in writing to make a request on his or her behalf, may request the Child and Family Agency to review the operation of the plan where—

(a) there has been a significant change in the circumstances of the person to whom the plan relates since the preparation of, or last review of, that plan,

(b) the assistance being provided under that plan is not meeting a need of the person as identified in the assessment of need, or

(c) the person requires additional assistance—

(i) to that set out in that plan to meet the needs identified in the assessment of need, or

(ii) to meet any additional need which has arisen since that assessment of need was carried out.

(2) Where the person referred to in subsection (1) satisfies the Child and Family Agency that paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1) applies in respect of a request under that subsection, the Agency shall carry out a review of the operation of the aftercare plan within 3 months of receipt of a request made under that subsection.

(3) In carrying out a review under subsection (2), the Child and Family Agency shall consult with any public body which provides, or any person who provides on behalf of the public body, a service—

(a) referred to in the aftercare plan and identified by the Agency as being relevant to the review, or

(b) which is part of the additional assistance referred to in subsection (1)(c) and is additional to any service identified in the aftercare plan.

(4) In carrying out a review under subsection (2), the Child and Family Agency may consult with any person, not being a public body which provides a service—

(a) referred to in the aftercare plan and identified by the Agency as being relevant to the review, or

(b) which is part of the additional assistance referred to in subsection (1)(c) and is additional to any service identified in the aftercare plan.

(5) The Child and Family Agency shall, in reviewing an aftercare plan under subsection (2), take all reasonable steps to consult, with the consent of the person to whom the plan relates, with any person who the Agency considers may be of assistance to the Agency in reviewing that plan.

(6) The Child and Family Agency may update an aftercare plan following a review under subsection (2).

(7) The Child and Family Agency shall, in updating an aftercare plan under subsection (6), have due regard to the resources available to the Agency to implement any updated plan.

(8) In this section—

‘public body’ has the same meaning as it has in section 45B;

‘service’ has the same meaning as it has in section 45B save that for the purposes of this section the reference to ‘any need of a person identified in the assessment of need carried out in respect of that person’ shall be taken to include any additional need of that person identified in a request under subsection (1)(c)(ii).”.