Name, email and telephone of director for children’s services or similar
Jo Olsson – Chief Officer for Children’s Services, jo.olsson@devon.gov.uk, 01392 383000 – ask for Jo Olsson
Is there a transformation manager or personalisation lead or similar role? If yes please provide name(s), email(s) and telephone number(s).
The Project Manager for the SEND Improvement Programme is Kellie Knott – kellie.knott@devon.gov.uk, 01392 383000 – ask for Kellie Knott
There is also a SEND Improvement Board which is chaired by Dawn Stabb, Head of Education and Learning, dawn.stabb@devon.gov.uk, 01392 383000 – ask for Dawn Stabb
The SEND Improvement Programme brings together a range of priorities around improving the offer to children and young people with SEND and their families, of which personalisation is a key element.
What case management system do you use for children’s services?
CareFirst – Social Care
When is the contract for the case management system up for renewal?
The contract will run until – 2019 with expected 12 month rolling extension for maintenance, upgrade and on call services.
Name, email and telephone number of the manager responsible for Short Breaks provision
Matt Greenhalgh, Disabled Children’s Team Manager, matt.greenhalgh@devon.gov.uk, 01392 383000 –ask for Matt Greenhalgh
Annual spend on Short Breaks provision for 2016/17
The forecast net outturn for Short Breaks – including Community Based Care, Direct Payments and Residential Short Breaks – in 2016/17 is £8,968,290.
Please provide a link, or a copy of your current Short Breaks statement and eligibility criteria
Our Short Breaks statement can be found on the Short Breaks page on the local offer, along with information about how to access short breaks
Do you provide grants or direct payments for Short Breaks provision? If not, are there any plans to provide grants or direct payments in the future?
Wherever possible families will be offered a Direct Payment to source short breaks in their local community if that meets their needs and those of their child. Information about Devon’s approach to short breaks is available on the Local Offer . A high percentage of families currently take up the offer of a Direct Payment
Do you provide a framework of approved Short Breaks providers?
We have some contracted providers who will have quality assurance work carried out with them. There is also a list of providers who have signed up to our terms and conditions, which is distributed to Social Workers. However, we would always advise Social Workers to check for themselves that they are happy with the quality of the provision and that it will be able to cater for the needs of the specific children and young people they are working with.
Do parents/carers book Short Breaks provision via the council
Wherever possible families are encouraged to access Short Breaks in their local community using a Direct Payment. If families do not want to use Direct Payments, or if they want to use Short Breaks that are available via a commissioned contract – e.g. for most overnight short breaks – then they would need to be referred in, usually via a Social Worker. However, even if they are referred in to a service by a Social Worker it is normal for families to then liaise with the provider about how they will use their individual allocation, e.g. what days they will have their Short Breaks on.
If not do you use an external organisation to provide this?
Please see answer above
Please provide details on where I can obtain a copy of your latest review and/or consultation of Short Breaks policy and provision
- Information about Short Breaks policy can be found on the Local Offer web page.
- Information about consultation with parent carers, which has included consultation about Short Breaks policy and provision can be found on the Devon Parent Carer Voice website
- Information about how we have acted on feedback can be found on the Local Offer website
Are your Local Offer pages/site developed in-house or externally?
They are developed in-house, but in consultation with the Local Offer Reference Group, which includes parent carers. This group is currently reviewing the pages to make them more accessible and user friendly.
If externally please confirm the supplier, the value of this contract and when it is due for renewal
Not applicable
If internally, are there any plans for this to be developed by an external supplier?
No.