Multi-Agency Pregnancy Liaison and Assessment Group (MAPLAG): Roles and Responsibilities of Children's Social Care

1. Purpose

MAPLAG ensures a co-ordinated multi-agency response to high risk victims of domestic abuse.

It is imperative given the link between domestic abuse and safeguarding that Children's Social Care Social Work Teams:

• Have an awareness of the MAPLAG process;
• Make appropriate referrals to MAPLAG;
• Have a designated officer attending MAPLAG;
• Co-ordinate information for and from MAPLAG which ensures children are safeguarded.

2. Children's Social Care: Roles and Responsibilities

There should be a designated officer who is responsible for the attendance of Children's Social Care at MAPLAG and ensures that information flows through the organisations to and from the MAPLAG in order that children whose parents are substance misusing in pregnancy are safeguarded. Currently the designated officer is a Locality Team Manager.

The MAPLAG flowchart (Appendix 1: MAPLAG Pathway Flowchart) demonstrates how information should be responded to when referrals to high risk victims of domestic abuse are to be considered at MAPLAG.

The Business Support Officer has a key role to check all databases for historic information which will be presented at the MAPLAG by the designated officer.

The Designated Officer will support  the decision making on any cases which have been referred to MAPLAG where there are children involved which are not currently open to Children's Social Care. It may be that a Child and Family Single Assessment will be required prior to MAPLAG or a decision taken to visit for the outcome of the case presentation at MAPLAG. In these instances a contact/referral should be made to the Children's Assessment Team (CAT) by the keyworker for the family or the designated officer (currently a Locality Team Manager).

Appendices

Click here to view Appendix 1: MAPLAG Pathway Flowchart

Click here to view Appendix 2: MAPLAG Meeting Report