Council and democracy

Director's Annual Report 2007 - social care for children and young people

This is the second Annual Report by the Director of Children, Schools and Families on the range and quality of services which are provided to support vulnerable children, children in need and looked after children living in Hertfordshire.

The report sets out how children, young people and their families can access services, the range of services available and how we seek to provide a response which is appropriate to the individual needs of the child.

Child protection and the wellbeing of all children are key responsibilities for social care services. The report therefore looks in depth at services and issues related to the ‘staying safe’ outcome of the Every Child Matters agenda.

The report shows the breadth of services that are available. The case studies throughout illustrate the complexities and difficulties of some of the issues facing children. Many of the issues need to be addressed with a range of support that is delivered in partnership with other statutory and voluntary organisations. In Hertfordshire we have successfully set up the Hertfordshire Children's Trust Partnership and the Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board to take forward these partnerships.