Short Breaks Proposals

Short Breaks Proposals

In summary, Wakefield Council is proposing to:

• Use a Resource Allocation Model (RAS) to provide a personalised approach when meeting the assessed needs of children and families by providing residential specialist short breaks.
• Ask families accessing residential specialist short breaks to pay for costs related to transport and entrance fees/refreshments which families of children without disabilities would normally pay.

The proposals are likely to impact on some of our most vulnerable children and their families including children eligible for and receiving residential specialist short breaks at Star House and Wasdale.

For many families this will have a positive impact because they are not currently aware of and/ or receiving a specialist short break to meet their needs. For some families, the impact may not be positive because if the proposals are approved they may receive a different service to the one they are getting now.

There are approximately 1000 children in Wakefield district who may be eligible to receive a specialist short break whilst only 217 children accessed a specialist short break in 2015/16. We will not have enough provision (or be able to financially resource) a specialist short break for all eligible children if we continue to provide them the way do now.

Some Short Breaks services are available to everyone; we call these universal or targeted services. When children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities are assessed as needing support beyond targeted and universal services, they are eligible for a specialist short break.

On 11 November 2015, Wakefield Council consulted with parents, children and young people and other stakeholders in relation to proposed changes to non-residential Specialist Short Breaks Services for children and young people with SENDs. After this consultation proposals were presented to the Council’s Cabinet members. Cabinet approved the use of the RAS. Proposals for transport, fees and charges to be considered when the needs of children and families are assessed in line with the Fees, Charges and Transport Policy for children assessed under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 were also approved.

Resource Allocation

Wakefield Council approved an assessment pathway to ensure families who have children with disabilities receive a holistic assessment of their needs when they request it. Approval for a RAS was granted by the Council in December 2015. The development of the RAS to provide a tailored service for Wakefield was undertaken with FACE who provides the system and key stakeholders.

We are using the RAS to recommend the budget needed to meet a child and family’s needs when non-residential short breaks are requested. This uses the information from the assessment which a key worker has undertaken with the family.

The key worker discusses the recommendation with the family and use this to inform the child’s/family’s support plan This will help the child/family receive the services they need to meet their individual needs.

We are now consulting on using the RAS when residential short breaks are requested

Fees, Charges and Transport

Cabinet approved of a Fees, Charges and Transport Policy in January 2017. Under this policy when a non-residential short break is requested, a holistic assessment will determine the child and family’s level of need, and the assessed unmet need will inform the personal budget allocation in respect of fees and charges and transport. This element of the personal budget may not be available to families as a direct payment (cash budget). We are consulting on proposals to apply this policy when residential short break is requested.