Caseload Allocation Policy

1. Principals

The London Borough of Merton endorses an approach to caseload management that has been outlined and endorsed by the Assistant Director's Group in London. We have incorporated the principles behind this approach into our caseload policy for social work professionals within the borough. Local Authorities have committed to develop effective workload management systems and caseload allocation policies by adhering to the Employer's Standards.

At the heart of a safe and effective Children's Social Care system is adequate numbers of social workers, skilled up to do the job and motivated to do it well. Most LAs are experiencing difficulties recruiting and retaining social workers, and it has been clear for some time that, the overwhelming reason why social workers leave tends to be unmanageable caseloads and lack of management support. The converse is equally true; where social workers have reasonable caseloads and access to high quality, regular supervision, not only do they stay, but also the work they do is of higher quality. We have therefore focused on the issues of caseload and management as the cornerstone of a good service.

2. Caseloads

1. First Response - The front door services have developed in a variety of different ways over the last 2 years. Although there is a Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) in many areas, it looks very different in different areas. It is an administrative, signposting body in some areas, in others it carries out Assessments and even some interventions. The staffing profile, too, varies enormously with social workers working alongside health visitors, police officers, technical staff, administrators and sundry other professionals. Caseloads in the First Response Team should be 10-12 cases and no more than 26 children.
2. Children in Need -Caseloads in Central Social Work Teams and Children with Disabilities Team are expected to be in the range of 18-20 children. The numbers will vary depending on the numbers of families involved - one family of 6 children is likely to generate less work than 6 families of one child. The most intensive pieces of work are likely to be cases going through Care Proceedings.
3. Children in Care - Caseloads for social workers working exclusively with Children in Care are expected to be in the range of 12-15 children. Sibling groups in the same placement are likely to generate less work, unsettled children whose frequently disrupt and children placed over 20 miles away are likely to generate more.
4. Leaving Care (14 + Team) - Work is likely to be more intensive for the 16/17 age group. We consider caseloads of under 18s should be in the region of 13-16 and those of over 18s would be expected to be 20-25. If social workers in the 14+ Team are allocated both children in care and care experienced adults the caseload is expected to be no more than 10 children in care and 10 care leavers.
5. Supervising Social Workers - Caseloads are expected to be in the region of 15-20 fostering households per SSW.
6. Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) - Regulatory arrangements require IROs to have caseloads of 50 to 70 cases.
7. Youth Justice and Tackling Exploitation workers – due to the high-risk nature of young people allocated in these teams and frequency of statutory sessions in youth justice, the caseload should be between 10 – 12 young people.

3. Management Span

1. Workers - We consider that, for front line managers, one manager should provide supervision for ideally 5 whole time equivalent front line workers and not more than 6. We consider that this is the maximum compatible with effective supervision and a reasonable knowledge of workers' caseloads. The numbers are based on teams with average levels of skills and experience. Teams with higher numbers of ASYE workers for example, will need more management input;
2. Cases - It follows from this that a front line manager should have oversight of between 50 - 100 cases depending on the nature of the work undertaken by the team.