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CHAPTER 1 Summary, evaluation and recommendations
Summary
East Lothian children's services and adult social care delivered good outcomes for many people who used services. East Lothian's performance on the educational attainment of looked after children and some of their outcomes for adults with learning disabilities were amongst the best in Scotland. Adult social care had a made a commendable effort to improve the numbers of separate carers assessments they did. Overall, people who used services reported they had had a good experience using social work services.
We found a number of examples of good practice. The children's services integration team supported children and families. Vulnerable families got support at an early stage to deal with their problems.
We thought the child and adolescent mental health service was a good example of effective interagency working. This service supported children who had mental health problems and their families.
We found the workforce was committed and motivated. Children's services and adult social care needed to develop a clear concise vision that all of their staff could own. There had been significant issues with corporate leadership and support for social work and social care in East Lothian. We found there were signs that the position was improving. An example of this was the drive and commitment demonstrated by the newly elected administration.
Children's services was ahead of adult social care on performance management. Adult social care acknowledged it needed to catch up.
Children's services and adult social care needed to write a joint commissioning strategy. Adult social care and its NHS partners were working with the Scottish Government's joint improvement team to develop a commissioning strategy for older people.
Seven of our 19 recommendations are in the key processes section. There were a number of areas for improvement such as:
- Application of the eligibility criteria for children's services and adult social care needed to be reviewed
- Deployment of staff and establishment for adult social care social workers needed to be reviewed so that the service could meet the terms of the national care home contract
- When children were in need of protection, children's services and substance misuse services needed to communicate together and share information effectively
- East Lothian's adult protection procedure needed to be used appropriately.
- Evaluation
Areas for evaluation
1. Key outcomes for people who use social work services | Good |
2. Impact on people who use social work services and other stakeholders | Good |
3. Impact on staff | Good |
4. Impact on the community | Good |
5. Delivery of key processes | Adequate |
6. Policy and service development, planning and performance management | Good |
7. Management and support of staff | Adequate |
8. Resources and capacity building | Adequate |
9. Leadership | Adequate |
10. Capacity for improvement | Good |
Recommendations
KEY OUTCOMES
Recommendation 1
Children's services and adult social care should systematically measure outcomes for service users and carers.
IMPACT ON PEOPLE WHO USE SERVICES
No recommendation
IMPACT ON STAFF
No recommendation
IMPACT ON COMMUNITY
No recommendation
DELIVERY OF KEY PROCESSES
Recommendation 2
Education and children's services and adult social care should review the application of the eligibility criteria for their services.
Recommendation 3
Children's services and adult social care should make sure that people who are assessed as below the threshold for social work intervention get some help to get appropriate alternative services.
Recommendation 4
All looked after and accommodated children should have a named allocated social worker.
Recommendation 5
The council should comply with the reviewing requirements of the national care home contract.
Recommendation 6
Children's services should make sure that foster carers are not exposed to unacceptable risks. Risk assessments should be done where appropriate.
Recommendation 7
In child protection and child care cases children's services and their partners should make sure substance misuse workers and children's services workers work together and communicate properly. Children's services staff should always get an assessment from a suitably qualified worker about the level of the parents' drug misuse. These assessments should be updated as appropriate.
Recommendation 8
Adult social care and their partners should stop having formal "professional discussion meetings" as an alternative to an adult protection case conference. An initial adult protection case conference should be held under the adult protection procedure.
POLICY AND SERVICE DEVELOPMENT PLANNING AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Recommendation 9
Adult social care should make sure that its complaints handling system is properly resourced. Complaints should be dealt with as quickly as possible. Systems should be put in place so that data about complaints can be reported accurately.
MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT OF STAFF
Recommendation 10
The council should review the numbers of staff and managers in children's services and adult social care. The review should include how they are deployed.
Recommendation 11
Children's services and adult social care should develop a formal staff appraisal system. They should work with the corporate human resource section to do this.
RESOURCES AND CAPACITY BUILDING
Recommendation 12
The council should make sure that service plans are clearly linked to and supported by available resources as identified in detailed financial plans.
Recommendation 13
The council should improve finance related reports to members. This should include provision of year-end forecasts, improved variance explanations and clarity on future actions required to address variances.
Recommendation 14
The council should address the lack of discussion of revenue budgetary performance at senior management meetings in children's services. It is essential that managers know about the financial issues in their services. Finance officers should attend senior management team meetings.
Recommendation 15
The council should make sure that elected members get regular financial information about joint council/ NHS services. Appropriate officers should also consider such data at their joint meetings.
Recommendation 16
Joint commissioning strategies for children's services and for adult social care services should be written. They should have agreed and costed action plans for medium to long term implementation.
LEADERSHIP
Recommendation 17
The council should develop a short statement and sets out the overarching vision, values and aims for social work in the council. It should consult with service users and carers and other stakeholders before the statement is agreed.
Recommendation 18
The council should agree a clear remit for the chief social work officer ( CSWO). This remit should set out the CSWO's role as the professional leader for social work in the council. It should say what the statutory responsibilities of the CSWO are and how the CSWO will exercise these responsibilities in adult social care and children's services.
CAPACITY FOR IMPROVEMENT
No recommendation
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