Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children & Young People (UASC) - Kent and Medway

In the past 5 years there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of applications for asylum made by Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children and Young People (UASC). Within Kent and Medway, there is a cohort of UASC who need emotional wellbeing and mental health support and therapy, that cannot currently access all aspects of the help they need at the time they need it. There are gaps in the range of services provided for emotional wellbeing and mental health support and therapy for this very vulnerable group of young people in Kent and Medway. This new service would be part of a stepped range of services across Kent and Medway and will complement and enhance existing services rather than replace them. There will be clear step-up and transition arrangements with the specialist mental health services, Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service (CYPMHS), Medway Young People’s Wellbeing Service (MYPWS) and Adult Mental health Service (AMHS). The aim of the proposed service will be to provide a timely, effective, evidence-based range of support, therapeutic interventions and psychoeducational support. This will be delivered within group, individual and activity-based formats and web based resources in order to deliver emotional wellbeing support and lower level psychological interventions to UASC aged under 21 years old at the point of their referral. The decision as to which intervention is provided and how this is provided (for example: virtual or face-to-face) will be based on the outcome of a clinical assessment and the needs of the child/ young person. The required outcomes of service are as follows: • Achieving the activity targets and timeframes both set in the service specification and developed and agreed in partnership with the provider • Enhancing the quality of life and improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of the UASC, creatively utilising evidence-based interventions (support and therapy) delivered by suitably qualified and supervised professionals • Interventions will be delivered in a safe environment and protecting the young people from avoidable harm • Reporting will use agreed outcome measures to evidence the efficacy of the service via a regular cycle of review, monitoring and evaluation • Raising the level of awareness of the needs of UASC and providing evidence-based training for professionals working with UASC to raise awareness, standards and good practice • Ensuring the voice of the service user is used in the development of the service, including linking to the Service for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (SUASC) Apprentice posts, to enhance participation and improve outcomes.