Plan and agreement

When the family has made their plan, the referrer and the co-ordinator meet with the family to discuss and agree the plan including resources.

It is the referrer’s responsibility to agree the plan of action and it is important that this happens on the day of the conference. It should be presumed that the plan must be agreed unless it puts the adult at risk of significant harm. Any reasons for not accepting the plan must be made clear immediately and the family should be given the opportunity to respond to the concerns and change or add to the plan.

It is important to ensure that the adults involved have a clear understanding of what is decided and that their views are understood.

Resources are discussed and agreed with the agency concerned, and it is important that, at this point, timescales and names of those responsible for any tasks are clarified. Contingency plans, monitoring arrangements and how to review the plan also need to be agreed.

The co-ordinator should distribute the plan to family members involved and to the social worker and other information givers/relevant professionals.