Integrated Residential Outreach Care
IROC is short for Integrated Residential Outreach Care. It is a specialist team that supports children and young people in care who require intensive support to address complex mental health needs.
Sometimes, even with help, we know that young people can still experience a mental health crisis, placement instability, or miss out on consistent support due to multiple moves. Without joined-up care, their long-term wellbeing can be impacted.
IROC was created to improve the mental health outcomes for children and young people and provide system support to caregivers - leading to placement stabilisation and a trauma-responsive approach as part of an integrated pathway of care.
IROC brings services such as health, social care, residential staff, and education together to ensure that everyone joins up to work as one coordinated team around the child or young person.
The team provides day-to-day trauma-informed and responsive care through specialist advice, guidance, training, support to professionals and direct therapy intervention. IROC work closely with young people’s wishes, ensuring they are actively involved in their care journey.
The service is provided for young people who are in local authority care or transitioning from an inpatient mental health hospital to a residential or foster placement.
Local multi-agency teams are in the process of being co-designed and developed with children and young people’s views. These newly developing teams will support children and their day-to-day care team directly, offering guidance and trauma-informed support.