GSCPF are pleased to circulate a commissioned piece of research and report written by Graham McPhie on SDS Budgets for Children, Young People & Families - An exploration of issues involved in the development and provision of personalised supports to children and young people

Download Document: SDS Budgets for Children, Young People & Families

The aim of the piece was to explore and report on the thinking of a diverse group of stakeholders regarding their views about SDS and personalisation.

We hope you find this informative and thought provoking.  We would hope to take forward work streams in relation to ideas that have been generated as a result of this report.

Members of Glasgow Social Care Providers Forum voted overwhelmingly
by 46 votes to 2, to change the organisation’s name and its role, at a special
general meeting on Wednesday March 16.

GSCPF will become the Social Care Ideas Factory with an official launch in
April 2011, when it will concentrate on helping drive social change and social
care transformation.

Director Charlie Barker said: “I am absolutely delighted that our members
have embraced this radical change, and given their overwhelming support to
our change of name and our new role.

“We are committed to becoming the leading lights in social change to ensure
that people who require supports get what they need and want to live
their ‘best lives’.

“But we can’t do it alone because successful change will depend on
participation of a wide range of people

“We plan to expand our membership from solely Glasgow’s social care
provider organisations to everyone who has a stake in how care will be
delivered in the future.

Membership of the Social Care Ideas Factory will be open to:

1. Individuals who require supports, carers, allies, supporters
2. Health, Housing, Education & Social Care Providers
3. Peer networks, advocacy, umbrella organisations and citizen
   movements
4. Individuals-professionals, sole traders, workforce
5. Corporate companies, Public sector, Government, Local Authorities,
   Unions
6. Suppliers, Industries & Trades people.

Charlie Barker added: “The practice model of the Social Care Ideas Factory
will be to encourage and involve members to work together to ‘craft innovative
responses’ to the spectrum of reshaping, transformation of social care as we
know it.

“The Ideas Factory will also support members with the theory, policy, system,
process and practice of Personalisation and Self Directed Support.

“Our current funders Glasgow City Council Social Work (Service
Modernisation and Children & Families teams), the Council’s Education
Services and the Scottish Government have fully endorsed this change of
model and approach”.

From 1 April 2011 a new public body will begin operating in Scotland: Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland.  This body has been created by the Public Service Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.

Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland, or SCSWIS for short, will be an independent organisation with its own Board responsible for its governance. It will be funded by the registration and continuation fees it charges and by Scottish Government. It will operate independently to scrutinise and improve care, social work and child protection services for the benefit of the people who use them.

At SCSWIS, we will work to improve care, social work and child protection in a number of ways. We will:

• provide public assurance and protection of vulnerable individuals and act as a catalyst for improvement
• ensure our scrutiny and improvement activity is informed by a systematic analysis of risk and targeted where it is needed most
• provide information on quality of care so that people who use and choose services and their carers and those responsible for commissioning services can make informed choices
• inspect against the regulations associated with the new Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, the National Care Standards and other agreed national benchmarks
• organise our scrutiny and improvement activity, including inspections, around risk; targeting poorly performing services
• make more use of unannounced inspection
• implement national centralised registration and complaints functions
• develop our workforce to be more skilled at identifying and analysing risk
• develop new validation processes for self-evaluation
• coordinate joint planning of scrutiny and improvement activity and multi-disciplinary inspections with HIS and other scrutiny bodies.

For the latest information on changeover and how the new body will work, visit www.scswis.com or get in touch with the Care Commission www.carecommission.com Tel: 0845 603 0890 enquiries@carecommission.com

How to get in touch with SCSWIS from 1 April
Website www.scswis.com
Email enquiries@scswis.com
Telephone 0845 600 9527

Download the Fieldwork Daily Briefing Sheet for SWIA Scrutiny Sessions, Provider Group meeting, 16th March 2011.

ALL people with learning disabilities should have their vision tested as
part of their community care assessment, says the Royal Institute of
Blind People Scotland in a manifesto launched on February 18th for the
2011 Holyrood elections in May.

There are approximately 120,000 Scots with a learning disability, says
the charity, and as many as three-quarters might also have sight loss.

But for thousands this may go undiagnosed because they can’t communicate the problem. Meanwhile, carers and professionals can put diminished capabilities and challenging behaviour down to the disability.

John Legg, director of RNIB Scotland, said several conditions - such as Down’s Syndrome and cerebral palsy - are particularly likely to cause eye problems. “But given half of those with a learning disability may also have difficulty reading the alphabet the traditional eye-chart may not be an appropriate testing method for them,” he warned.

The prevalence of sight problems increases dramatically with the severity of the learning disability and with age. One report found this client-group generally experience eye problems ten years earlier than the general population.

Eye tests can also detect the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease, which
people with a learning disability are more likely to develop before the
age of 30. Confirming the condition is present early on can have a
major impact on the success of treatment.

“Increased detection of sight loss will result in improved and more
efficient intervention strategies to help the individual,” says the
charity’s manifesto.

Over fifty exhibitors including traditional care providers, a lifestyle coach, a yoga coach, a dance troupe for the disabled and a major commercial bowling alley company were among fifty exhibitors at Glasgow’s first-ever Lifestyle Show for people with learning and other disabilities who now fund their care through their own budgets.

Charlie Barker, Director of Glasgow Social Care Providers Forum who organised the Art of Living Lifestyle Show in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Wednesday February 23 said: “It was great to welcome such a wide range of exhibitors including commercial organisations, and professions from outwith the sector who are waking up to the fact that SDS budget holders represent a
growing market they can’t afford to ignore”.

Dave McGowan Assistant Manager of AMF Bowling at the Quay in Glasgow whose stall included a mobile bowling lane, said: “We’ve had a lot of interest from budget holders and other service users many of whom tried their hand at bowling.

“We’re delighted at the opportunity to raise awareness that our 23 lane centre at the Quay is completely disabled friendly with special rates to make it even more accessible”.

Sue Hurel who runs Dru Yoga classes in and around Glasgow was another exhibitor at the show. Sue, who ran several sessions during the day, said: “I’ve met loads of people including some on SDS who were looking for activities that would interest them.

“Dru Yoga is particularly good for people with all sorts of disabilities because it is very gentle and focuses on what people can do rather than what they can’t, and how exercises can be tailored to meet their abilities to give them the maximum benefit.

“The Show has been well worth while, and very enjoyable.”

Life Coach Sue McGillivray said: “We have been busy all day talking to everyone from service providers, service users, budget holders, their supporters and carers and social workers.

“It has been a very enjoyable day, and very enlightening.

“Some of the budget holders are interested in life coaching as something they might put in their portfolio, and a provider organisation has asked me to run a stress management course for some of the women in their care”.

Ruth Massie a support worker with Share Scotland brought Sara Deitch to take part in the displays by Indepen-Dance, the dance company for people with disabilities.

Ruth said: “I think this is great event because it shows a lot of the positive things that are happening when all we tend to hear about are the cuts.”

Michael Freedman who is supported in his own accommodation in Thornliebank by the Richmond Fellowship was a visitor at the show.

He said: “I have been very impressed.

“The bowling which I tried, and Indepen-Dance which I watched were real eye openers, and I found the life coach really interesting.”

Charlie Barker added: “The feedback from everyone involved was: ‘we need more of this sort of event’, and that’s a demand we will be trying to satisfy, particularly when we become the Social Care Ideas Factory in April.”

Glasgow City Council Social Work Department has published a raft of
documents on its website providing detailed guidance on Personalisation and
Self Directed Support for providers and service users.

The documents are available on the Council’s Social Care Services
Personalisation paperwork webpage at:

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Care_Support/Personalisation/sdspaperwork

Among the guidance is a summary of what personal budget holders can
and cannot spend their money on.

For Providers the advice includes the following:

The Individual Budget remains Local Authority Funding even when
it is sitting in an individual’s bank account or with a service provider.
If the funding is paid directly to the individual, they must comply
with the Self Directed Support – Individual Budget Interim Financial
Procedures for Service Users. It is important for organisations to
familiarise themselves with the above procedures in order to be able
to support service users to comply with them.

Where an individual’s IB is held and managed by a provider, the
provider will require to account for the funding to the local authority.
The process for this is still in development.

The following principles should be borne in mind throughout. The
budget should be linked clearly to the outcomes agreed as a priority
for the individual requiring support.
An outcome is the objective or end result that the individual is aiming
to achieve. The outcomes, the means by which the individual is
attempting to achieve them and the cost of the support needed to
achieve them, are recorded in the individuals outcome based support
plan.

The SEQ highlights the areas that are eligible for social care funding
and the IB should be used to meet outcomes in these areas. There
can be several outcomes met by engaging in any one activity.

It is also important to note that the IB should not be used for
expenditure that other sources of income (such as welfare benefits)
normally pay for.

For service users the guidance on how the money can be spent
includes the following:

Your Individual Budget must be spent on meeting the outcomes
agreed in your support plan, and you are responsible for using these
funds wisely.

Your support plan will identify:-

• How your money will be spent.
• What the arrangements are for monitoring the money.
• How the money will be managed taking into account any risks
  which might exist.

If you are unsure about any aspect of this you should speak to your
care manager or support organisation.

What you can’t spend the money on

Your Individual Budget is Local Authority funding paid directly to you
to meet the social care outcomes agreed in your support plan.
There are therefore some areas which you cannot use your Individual
Budget for:

• Anything which is against the law, including employment law
• Gambling
• Financial investments
• Healthcare needs that should be met from the NHS
• Paying for things that other sources of income should cover
  - alcohol, tobacco, grocery shopping, clothes, personal entertainment
  (for example the purchase of your own concert ticket or sporting
  event ticket), paying for you to go on holiday (unless this is to provide
  respite for a carer), rent, mortgage payments, utility bills, home
  improvement, repairs and maintenance costs.
• You cannot normally employ your husband, wife or partner, or
  close relatives or their partner or husband or wife

If you are unsure about any aspect of this you should check with your
Care Manager or Support Organisation.

The full list of guidance documents available at:
http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Care_Support/Personalisation/sdspaperwork

• Guidance:

• Guidance for Providers
• Financial Guidance for service users
• FAQs

• Templates

• Self Evaluation Questionnaire Template (provider version)
• Financial Assessment Form
• My Support Plan Template

• And additional supporting documentation:

• What needs to be in a Support Plan
• Talking points leaflet

Further items will be added as they become available and the FAQs will
be updated for accessibility shortly.

Any queries regarding the page or contents please feel free to get in
touch with Lynn Paterson:

Lynn Paterson
, Service Modernisation
Social Work Services
Glasgow City Council 
Social Work Services,
Wheatley House, 25 Cochrane Street, Glasgow G1 1HL
Email Lynn Paterson

The Herald newspaper has revealed that two leading charities have announced substantial job losses and say a third is due to follow suit.

The paper reports that the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations informed employees on Friday that it is to make 23 of its 132 staff redundant.

Last week staff at Apex Scotland, a charity which works with ex-offenders, wrote to its employees (around 60 people) to warn them that between one-third and a half of their jobs were to go, as a direct result of Coalition cuts to Government employment programmes.

The paper also says that the Scottish Refugee Council is due to confirm that 44 of its 59 workers have been told they are at risk of redundancy as it seeks to shed 28% of its staff as a result of cuts to contracts it has with the UK Border Agency.

Citizens Advice Scotland is thought to be planning to announce a redundancy programme next week, after its sister organisation in England announced substantial job cuts.

About 45,000 voluntary organisations across Scotland employ more than 130,000 professionally paid staff.

SCVO is the national body for Scotland’s charities. Martin Sime, SCVO chief executive, said: “In these tough times making difficult decisions is something our members and the third sector as a whole are facing on a daily and weekly basis,” he said.

“The irony is that this comes at a time when all political parties are united in agreement that the third sector should play a greater and more central role in re-shaping Scotland’s future. Unfortunately, the sector’s capacity to deliver on this opportunity is being dangerously eroded by the disproportionate cuts we face in comparison to other sectors.”

Read the full report at:

http://www.heraldscotland.com:80/news/home-news/exclusive-charities-hit-by-job-losses-as-cuts-bite-1.1082686

Scottish Ministers have announced that the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007, commonly referred to as the PVG Scheme, will commence on Monday 28 February 2011.

This is important legislation that will change the way that Disclosures are processed in Scotland. It will have a major impact on how organisations process Disclosures for volunteers. Checking staff and volunteers is an important part of safe recruitment and the PVG Scheme will make it possible for employers to do a quick and simple check to verify that a person is not known to be unsuitable to work – paid or unpaid - with vulnerable groups.

The Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG Scheme) will:

The PVG Scheme will affect a wide and diverse range of organisations and groups across the statutory, voluntary and private sectors that provide services, activities and amenities for children and protected adults.

More information on the PVG Scheme can be accessed via: http://www.pvgschemescotland.org

FAQs can be accessed via:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Young-People/children-families/pvglegislation/FAQs

Guidance and training materials can be accessed via:

http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk/pvg_index.html

GSCPF’s groundbreaking Telecare event, Balancing Care, People and
Technology in 2011, at the Raddison Blu was a huge success, attracting 120
delegates and almost 20 exhibitors.

The keynote speaker was Dr Kevin Doughty, Deputy Director of the Centre for
Usable Home Technology at the University of York.

Dr Doughty talked the delegates through a vast range of assistive technology
devices, including top-of the-range powersuit-style exoskeletons which can
enable people to walk up stairs without a chairlift – and have price tags to
match their versatility – as well as an animated baby seal companion robot
which melts hearts wherever it goes.

At the other end of the price scale he detailed free aps for smart phones
including one which sounds an alarm if the person carrying it suffers an
epileptic fit…and uses GPS technology to pinpoint their position.

On the telemedicine front Dr Doughty highlighted a mirror which can diagnose
common ailments when you stand in front of it.

John Owens, Head of Service (Adult Services) Glasgow City Council who leads
in Telecare for the city spoke of progress in introducing assistive technology
on a number of fronts.

Among other developments he said the council intends to set up a Telecare
Partnership Board in March, and would be looking for input from GSCPF
members.

The event concluded with a Problem Solving Panel Chaired by Lynn Blair,
and featuring Dr Doughty, Anne Conlin, Development and Training Manager
Carers Scotland, Janette Hughes Project Manager Wellness and Health
Innovation and David Williams Assistant Director of Glasgow’s Social Care
Services.

GSCPF Director Charlie Barker said: “We were delighted with interest in this
event.

“The delegates got the best of both worlds – excellent speakers and
workshops on all aspects of assistive technology, and the chance to actually
try out some of the high tech devices we were discussing.

“The feedback from both the delegates and the exhibitors was extremely positive.
The companies who took stands were really pleased with the level of interest,
and the quality of the inquiries they received”.

Delegate Bernie Molloy, Services Manager, Respite Services with The Mungo
Foundation said: “There was almost too much to take in at one time.

“I particularly liked Deaf Connections’ Sign On Screen which lets deaf people
use an on-line video interpreting service to communicate in sign language
with hearing people who are using an ordinary phone.

“I was also impressed with a device called Just Checking which allows you to
monitor the movement of vulnerable people in their own homes to determine the
sort of support they need”.

One of the exhibitors Billy Graham of Chubb Community Care said: “It’s been
a fantastic event for us both in terms of raising our profile with such a relevant
group of people, and also in terms of orders.”

To view all the presentations, including Dr Doughty’s, please go to:
http://www.selfdirectedsupportideasfactory.co.uk/content/553/from-the-balancing-care-people-and-technology-in-2011-conference