Framework for Information and Advice (and Advocacy) Strategy

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Contents

1Introduction and Context

2Information and Advice (and Advocacy): Needs Analysis

3Current Position

4Developing and Delivering Information and Advice (and Advocacy) Services over the next three to five years

5Commissioning and Resourcing the Strategy

Appendix 1: Example of a table for identifying needs relating to different groups of people

Appendix 2: Draft National/ Local Spine – initial scoping

Appendix 3: Notes about products and service information

Appendix 4: Good practice examples for IAA strategy

1Introduction and Context

Here you may wish to include:

  • General council introductory statements, vision, values, or priorities to fit in with local style and precedent
  • Statements about how Information and Advice (and Advocacy) link to the rest of the Transforming Adult Social Care work of the Council and it’s partners
  • How this is influenced by and in its turn will influence other relevant key local strategies – for example, corporate customer service and contact work; corporate information and advice, community development/social capacity building strategies, housing and benefits etc - and any key references from or for those strategies that are desired
  • Where it fits with other requirements for information and advice, for example in relation to LINKs
  • How the strategy has been produced and who has been involved
  • The definitions of Information and advice (and advocacy). Those used in the “Transforming Adult Social Care: Access to Information, Advice and Advocacy appearon page 12, http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/9580624
  • This framework strategy is built on three key dimensions as set out in the report “Transforming Adult Social Care: Access to Information, Advice and Advocacy”on pages 38 – 42 of the reportand you may wish to include some explanation of this. The dimensions are:

i)Managing the information:

This relates to information content, deciding what it is you want to have information on, what it will say and how you will catalogue and store it. Thisprompts consideration of databases, links to and between information, how it might be structured and who owns and quality assures it.

ii)Enhancing awareness and knowledge of where to find to find information and advice (and advocacy):

This relates to how the question “how do people know what information and advice (and advocacy) is available and how to get hold of it?” is addressed. It needs to cover the awareness and knowledge in a range of different groups, including customer service staff, care managers, statutory and voluntary partners, community groups and organisations and the public.

iii)Delivery mechanisms:

These are the means through which information and advice (and advocacy) are made available or delivered to the above groups when they are needed. They are likely to include a range of types of services and to be provided by a range of different organisations. They may include websites, call centres, one stop shops, Centres for Independent Living, care managers, CABx, (advocacy groups) and possibly libraries, community information and advice centres, health centres or workers and outreach services.

Diagrammatically this can be represented as:

2Information and Advice (and Advocacy): Needs Analysis

Here you may wish to include either reference to needs that have already been identified or how you are going to go about identifying needs (and demand) relating to Information and Advice (and Advocacy)[1] in your population. This activity will involve identifying the needs of the whole population, not just the proportion of the population that is currently in contact with the council. Your Joint Strategic Needs Analysis may include some reference to aspects of need but is unlikely to have addressed it comprehensively.

You should consider the needs of a wide range of groups including older people, disabled people, (including mental health service users, people with a learning disability and people with sensory impairments), substance misusers, vulnerable adults, carers and young carers
You should also consider the range of cultural needs or expectations that services will need to address (e.g. gender, ethnic background etc)

This may include people’s needs distinguished through the following characteristics:

  • Older people, disabled people, mentally ill people, substance misusers, carers, young carers, people with sensory impairments and other vulnerable adults
  • Specific language and communication needs of a range of people with sensory impairments and people without capacity. Your analysis should consider requirements for information presented in alternative formats (e.g. Braille, Easy Read, DVD, BSL etc)
  • The specific cultural needs and patterns of interactions of different communities including Black and Minority Ethnic, gender, faith, age or disability based and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered communities that will inform the best way to deliver Information and Advice (and Advocacy)
  • The needs of people who are both eligible for council funding and those who will have to fund services themselves
  • Needs linked to benefits, health, housing, employment, leisure, education, finance and other information and adviceincluding community information and advice (and advocacy)
  • The needs of both people who live in the LA area and needs for information and advice for families or friends who live elsewhere

It may be helpful to think about setting this out in a table or other formats such as maps. An example suggested by one of the authorities involved in the development of this framework is set out at Appendix 1.

In this section you may also wish to refer to evidence from wider studies that indicate more generally what people’s information and advice (and advocacy) needs are. The literature review in “Transforming Adult Social Care: Access to Information, Advice and Advocacy”, for example, sets out on page 13the problems that people experience and a set of recommendations to address them is included.

3Current Position

This section will set out what information and advice (and advocacy) is currently available (or in the planning stage), i.e. “what have we got now?”, “what works well?” and then,“where are the gaps?”

3.1History and background

This is an optional section if it is helpful for you to set out how services have evolved (this is likely to be as an adjunct to other strategies and services, at least until recently).

3.2How information is managed

It may help you to construct this section by answering the following questions:

  • How have you decided what information you have and how it is ordered and presented? Have you involved people who use information in those decisions? Is information linked to how people live their lives and key life events such as becoming older, bereavement, starting work or becoming unwell?
  • Who elicits, collates, updates and stores information and how?
  • What are the mechanisms that you have for the management of information (e.g. leaflet library, websites, databases, services systems (e.g. Shop4Care etc)
  • Are there links to national and other local data sources (for instance, DirectGov or Carers Direct, Age Concern etc) and if so how do these work? Do you customise/syndicate this information?
  • Have you thought separately about a) information about rights and entitlements (for instance the right to assessment) and information about how to go about getting services and support and b) in terms of services, products and support available in the LA area? How is the content managed for both (if, indeed, it is managed)?
  • Does the information include price, availability, quality, accessibility and people for whom services/products would be suitable? (an example of website analysis about this information is on page 27 of the Access to Information, Advice and Advocacy report.
  • Who “owns” which aspects of the information – the council, information providers, customers?
  • What standards are set for information? How is the quality assured? Is there a safeguarding process built in?

3.3How awareness of information and knowledge of what is available is managed

We know that there is far more information available than most people are aware of, so the following questions may help you to construct this section:

  • How do the public, staff, independent organisations know where to look for information on what people are entitled to and what is available and how do they, if relevant, keep their knowledge up to date?
  • Does any marketing/ awareness raising take place for the public in terms of where to look for Information and Advice (and Advocacy)?
  • Are there briefing mechanisms for customer services/first contact staff, care managers, community and independent organisations, outreach workers and others?

3.4Delivery mechanisms

Key questions for this section are:

  • How are information and advice (and advocacy) delivered, by whom and for whom?
  • Examples of this might be through websites, call centres, contact centres, care management teams, CABx, One Stop Shops, health centres, community advice centres, CILs, outreach workers etc
  • Where and how is information and advice (and advocacy) delivered through user and/or carer led organisations and to whom?

3.5Analysis of current services to inform the future

You may wish to do some analysis of current services to inform planning and delivery for the future. This could take a range of forms including gap analysis or analysis of strengths and weaknesses. The following questions may help to inform this.

  • Do you know how effective the services are, either individually or collectively? Do people get what they want/need?
  • Do you know whether Information and Advice (and Advocacy) is accessible and meaningful to your communities?
  • Who provides different services and how effective and efficient are they?
  • Do you know how much failure is in the system?(e.g. ineffective signposting resulting in people becoming lost to the system or making poor decisions etc)
  • How much is currently spent on information and advice (and advocacy) corporately and departmentally? How is this spent?
  • Who is well and less well served?
  • How are isolated, housebound or excluded and vulnerable individuals reached?
  • How is the quality of information and advice (and advocacy) assured?

It may be helpful to map out information and advice (and advocacy)services by either or both of client groups and by locality. An example is given on page 31 on the “Access to Information, Advice and Advocacy” report.A couple of the road testing authorities were also interested in geographical mapping that set out the “catchment area” of services and overlap with neighbouring authorities.

You may wish to set out the views of your customers/the residents of your local authority area of current and future services.

You may also wish to set out some cost benefit or other analysis of your future options, or how you intend to do this as part of your strategy.

4Developing and Delivering Information and Advice (and Advocacy) Services over the next three to five[2] years

4.1Statement of strategic intent

This section gives you the opportunity to set out your vision and “where you want to get to” statements about the importance of Information and Advice (and Advocacy) as universal services and how this differs from the current position, and how they will function both as preventative services and as an intrinsic part of ongoing services and support. This may be helpfully set within high level council strategy, including possibly a “Total Place” approach.

4.2Context of Information and Advice (and Advocacy) in the wider Transformation of Adult Social Care

This section gives you the opportunity to set out how Information and Advice (and Advocacy) fits with other transformation in the local authority and with partners.

You may wish to set it in the key building blocks of Putting People First delivery:

  • Getting the technical infrastructure right in relation to systems or databases for information, alongside resource allocation systems and other operating models
  • Broadening the market, both in terms of the delivery mechanisms for information and advice (and advocacy) and in terms of the supports and services that are available for people
  • Ensuring that there is sufficient interpersonal support for people in relation to explanation, advice and advocacy, that this links effectively with support to plan, choose, arrange and manage support and services, and that this is underpinned by a safeguarding approach that helps people to manage risks and benefits in their personal circumstances

Represented diagrammatically, this is as follows:

The following may help in thinking through how the different forms of interpersonal support might work:

You may also wish to include statements about how the authority’s safeguarding responsibilities run through the Information and Advice (and Advocacy) Strategy and how supporting people in this way will help to manage risks and benefits.

4.3Building on Evidence

This section gives you the opportunity to set out the evidence on which your strategy is based. You may want to use:

  • Your needs analysis ,
  • The recommendations that arose from the literature review that was set out in the “Transforming Adult Social Care: Access to Information, Advice and Advocacy” report on pages 13 – 16 (Your analysis of current services (3.5 of this framework)and cost benefit analysis for future requirements
  • Other evidence

A review of the information and advice needs of people not in contact with the council and funding their own services will be available on the IDeA, ADASS and TASC websites

There are many examples of a wide range of initiatives that have been developed across the country in relation to improving information and advice (and advocacy) and which may form components of local strategies. A short sample drawn from “Transforming Adult Social Care: Access to Information, Advice and Advocacy” appears as Appendix 4.

4.4How will information be managed?

This section should identify and help you plan the management of information.

It is suggested that you separate information content relating to entitlement, rights and how to go about getting services and support, from information content about services, supports and products themselves, as they usually require different management systems.

4.4.1Information about rights, entitlements and how to access services and supports

What will be your local core content in relation to information about rights, entitlement, how to get explanation, advice (and advocacy) and how to go about accessing services and support? How will you ensure that this core information is consistent across the range of sources and delivery mechanisms?

You should be aware that work is underway to build a national spine of information content. Much of this already exists in one form on DirectGov which already has links to local authority websites, and elsewhere, but not many people are aware of it. The authority needs to decide whether it will “franchise” or syndicate this information by customising and presenting it in its own livery, or whether it will make links to it. There is also some core information held on specialist national websites, such as those of Age Concern, Mencap and Counsel and Care that the LA may consider making links to. An example of the initial scoping and potential content of the national, local and specialist spine is attached as Appendix 2. Work will be underway on this in the coming months.

You may also wish to consider how you present and order that core information content on your website. It may help to refer to the analysis of LA and national websites which appears in the “Access to Information, Advice and Advocacy report on pages 26 – 29and in Appendix 4 of that report.

4.4.2Links to other key local information sources

How will you define what links there should be to the range of information e.g. benefits, housing, education, leisure, community safety, health, employment support, possible commercial and community information that people may need and then build them in?

As a local authority you do not have to create and write every piece of core information; the key will be to ensure that there are effective links between national and local information and that there are coherent links and messages across local government and independent sector sources of information.

4.4.3.Information about services, supports and related products

How will you manage information about products, supports and services and how they are managed[3]?

How have you (or will you) engage with people who will be using them in their development?

The “Access to Information, Advice and Advocacy” report recommended that service information should include reference to:

  • Accessibility (the geographical location or area covered)
  • Affordability – price
  • The type of service – who it is for/ who it won’t suit, the outcomes it sets out to achieve etc
  • Availability
  • Quality (star ratings/accreditation etc) and access to regulator information if appropriate and perhaps as a second stage, reviews from people who have used the service
  • How to access the service and booking arrangements

This can then form the information base that the range of delivery mechanisms source, including directly by the public, through contact centres, care management teams, one stop shops, health information shops, libraries, community advice centres, community outreach etc

Notes about this appear as Appendix 3

4.4.4What standards will you set for information? How will it be quality assured?

This section is for you to set out how you will set and build in quality standards and assurance for both information and the services and support that the information (and subsequent advice (and advocacy)) describe. The following notes may support you to think through some of this.