In January 2004, the Education Department and the Social Services Department joined together to form the Integrated Children's Service (ICS).
The ICS is now the means by which Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council seeks to meet a range of statutory responsibilities and duties for Children, young people and their families.
ICS promotes the best interests of the child and is committed to working in Partnership with customers and other Agencies.
Unlike educational and leisure provision, Children's Services does not provide a service to everybody of the right age who might like one. Its main task is to identify those children who are "in need" or "need of protection".
There lots of other agencies and groups in Merthyr Tydfil who help families who do not have such serious needs. Many children are helped by community based and voluntary sector organisations and some of these provide for specific cultural or religious groups. Children Services has to concentrate on the children with more serious needs and works closely with other people and with the children and families themselves in keeping children safe and protected.
What Do The Children's Services Do?
- Assess the needs of the children and families where there are concerns about a child’s welfare or where the family needs extra help. It also provides information to people about other services in the Borough, which help families.
- Looks after children who are not able to live with their parents.
- Supervises children who are on the Child Protection Register and works with their families to keep children safe.
- Provides a service to young people who have left care but who are still in need of support.
- Commissions and provides a range of services to children and their families who have been assessed as having a disability.
- Runs an adoption agency for people who want to adopt babies and children by assessing couples and single people from a range of backgrounds and matching them with suitable children.
- Recruit, assesses and supervises foster carers who help to take care of children and young people who are in care.
Please click here for information on how to make a referral.