What this consultation is about
We're extending this consultation period for another 10 weeks from 22 April 2024 to 30 June 2024.
The questions are the same as the previous consultation, but with one or two slightly amended to provide greater clarity. If you've already completed the consultation, thank you and you don’t need to complete it again as your feedback is very valuable, and will be included in our final analysis.
If you haven’t completed it before, thank you for taking the time to do so, we look forward to hearing from you.
If you need any help with a specific section or need guidance on a particular aspect of this consultation, or if you'd like the consultation in a different format, please feel free to ask by emailing cs.residentialdisability@derbyshire.gov.uk.
We want your views about changes we're proposing to make to the Outback early help service and the short breaks service for children with disabilities at The Getaway building in Ilkeston.
We're facing financial pressures that are outside of our control and we're reviewing all our service areas.
We'll also be carrying out a full review and public consultation on the services we provide under the local offer to children with disabilities. This will take place in late spring / summer 2024.
Our cabinet decided that we would consult on proposed changes to the Outback and to the short breaks for children with disabilities at The Getaway in a report that was agreed on 1 February 2024.
Currently we offer a range of different services for short breaks for children with disabilities to meet their assessed needs. One of these services is The Getaway, a 4-bed overnight short break provision which is open 6 days per week. The proposed changes to the Getaway would mean the majority of the short breaks provision being provided elsewhere.
The Outback provides a mixture of specialist preventive and statutory services. They include:
- undertaking assessments for children, young people and families
- providing support services outside normal working hours
- working directly with children and young people
- providing parenting assessments, which are sometimes required by the courts for a particular family
- providing supervised family time
- supporting families in cases of neglect and child protection
- offering support to address conflict within families, improve family relationships and to improve school attendance
- connecting children, young people and their families to other community-based services that can help them
- providing targeted, holistic wraparound support to families to build resilience and reduce the risks of family breakdown and children entering full time residential care
- taking part in community work with young people
- domestic support for children with significant disabilities (in family homes)
- emergency and crisis support as and when required at short notice (support of both residential settings and crisis response with the social work team)
- providing support to parents with learning disabilities
- supporting families one to one in their homes
The proposed changes to Outback would focus more on statutory services aimed at preventing family breakdown and children coming into care. This would result in the supervised family time and parenting assessment being moved from the Outback to allocated social work teams.
If you'd like help with a specific section, or need guidance on a particular aspect of this paper, please feel free to ask.
Please let us know if you'd like to respond but are unable to do so in the specified timescale of the consultation and we'll do our utmost to ensure someone contacts you to make this possible.
Please email your questions or queries to cs.residentialdisability@derbyshire.gov.uk
Outback
We're considering 2 options for The Outback:
- changing the focus on more statutory services aimed at preventing family breakdown and children coming into care
- stop running this service and close the building
The Getaway
We're considering 3 options for the short breaks service at The Getaway:
- Stop providing short breaks at The Getaway. Parents of those using the service would be supported to look for alternatives. They include:
- stays with a foster family, which is called link care
- direct payment or personal budget to fund overnight care wherever the family choose
- overnight short breaks in other council buildings, including The Getaway or those run by private companies
- occasional or one-off activity breaks
- Reducing the number of short breaks available at The Getaway, by changing 3 of the 4 beds to provide full time, long term residential care for 3 children that we look after, and continuing to provide one bed in the home for short breaks for 6 nights a week. Parents of those children currently using The Getaway short break service would be offered support to find alternative respite care within the community.
- Not provide any services from the Getaway building.