MAARS

1. Overview

MAARS is an abbreviation for “Multi agency adults at risk System”. It was developed to manage adults who are at risk or vulnerable in Stockport.

It's aims are to:

provide a single pathway for partner agencies and colleagues to highlight adults at risk in the community who are coming into contact with services but not necessarily meeting the threshold for those services.
provide a multi-agency forum to collaborate and coordinate action across services, reduce duplication and to agree the best way to work with the person’s current needs to prevent crisis.
to better understand and reduce risk and attempt to proactively reduce demand on services through a more efficient and informed use of available resources

The need for this project was highlighted through:

findings of high profile Serious Case Reviews nationally and locally that identified adults at risk falling through apparent gaps in services. We were criticised for not having a clear pathway for concerns on the basis of risk
a large number of referrals to the Adult Social Care contact centre which weren’t meeting eligibility thresholds
increasing concerns about risks to vulnerable people in the community

to address the needs of individuals who are known to many agencies and not necessarily engaging effectively with them
individuals may have complex needs, could be self-neglect cases, or have been excluded from services, but may have ongoing support needs.
as each case is likely to be known to a range of services they can create high levels of demand
can help co-ordinate support to individuals from a range of services. Places emphasis on sharing risk and more effective joint working to create better outcomes and life chances

Referrals