- Foreword
- Introduction
- Immigration status and eligibility for public funds
- Public funds for immigration purposes
- Eligibility for other publicly funded services
- Social services’ support - introduction
- Social services’ support – referrals
- Social services’ support – exclusion
- Social services’ support – children within families
- Social services’ support – adults
- Unaccompanied children & young people leaving care
- Assessments when the exclusion applies
- Reviews and ending support
- Pathways out of destitution
- Social services’ support - NRPF service delivery
- EEA nationals and family members
- Asylum seekers
- Survivors of trafficking and modern slavery
- Useful information and other services
- Upcoming legislative changes
- Glossary
Social services’ support – referrals
Social workers are required to assess the needs of migrant children and adults in the same way that they would for any other child or adult requiring assistance. However, the local authority will additionally need to take steps to establish a person’s immigration status in order to decide what form of support can be provided, and to help inform any other actions that may need to be taken.
This chapter sets out the key information that the local authority will need to acquire as early as possible on receipt of a referral for support.
Later chapters set out the circumstances in which a person might be excluded from support and specific considerations to take account of when working with children, adults with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
Key points
- To ensure that practice is not discriminatory, local authorities will need to put in place processes to ensure that a consistent approach is taken when assessing eligibility and providing social services’ support to a family or person with no recourse to public funds (NRPF).
- When a person or family with NRPF is at risk of homelessness, it may be necessary to provide interim accommodation and financial support whilst a community care or GIRFEC assessment is being carried out.
- Social workers will need to be familiar with UK immigration documentation in order to identify a person’s immigration status and know how to verify this with the person’s legal representative or the Home Office, in line with data protection requirements.