Supporting families with no recourse to public funds: social care duties and best practice

Overview

An in-depth course to develop your knowledge and skills to effectively implement social care duties and best practice when assessing and meeting the needs of children living within families that have no recourse to public funds who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or have insufficient income to meet their basic needs. 

Course Objectives

• To understand how immigration status affects entitlement to services
• To be able to establish when accommodation and/or financial support can be provided to a family with no recourse to public funds under section 17 of the Children Act 1989
• To identify an appropriate pathway off support, including when and how to undertake a human rights assessment
• To be able to apply best practice when working with families that have no recourse to public funds  

What you’ll learn

• Who has ‘no recourse to public funds’ and what this means
• When a family can access childcare, free school meals, and NHS healthcare
• When section 17 of the Children Act 1989 will be engaged to provide accommodation and financial support to a family with no recourse to public funds 
• What to consider when assessing needs of a child within a family that has no recourse to public funds
• How to effectively meet a child’s needs through the provision of accommodation and financial support
• When schedule 3 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 places a bar on the provision of local authority support and how to determine - through a human rights assessment - whether support can be provided or withheld
• When Home Office support can be accessed by families seeking asylum
• How to identify an appropriate pathway off support and help a family to achieve this 

Who it's for 

This in-depth course is essential for social workers responsible for assessing and meeting the needs of children within families that have no recourse to public funds, and for other practitioners who need a sound understanding of the relevant legislation or want to improve practice. 

No prior knowledge is required. This course is suitable for practitioners new to this area of work or who want to refresh their knowledge.  

This course covers the social care and health legislation that applies in England. If you work in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland, we can deliver a course that specifically covers the devolved legislation. Please get in touch to register your interest or enquire about commissioning a course.  

How the course is delivered

This full-day course is delivered over MS Teams across three 1.5 hour sessions: 9.30-11am, 11.30am-1pm and 2-3.30pm.  

The course is delivered using a combination of trainer presentation, case studies, and group discussion. Participants will need access to their own device and are encouraged to contribute via the chat or speaker functions.