| Derby - disabled children's respite |
Summary of Context
On becoming a Unitary Authority, Derby inherited some resources originally
intended to provide county services, including residential units for
disabled children. Some parents had been used to large amounts of
respite, which put pressure on adult resources as children grew up;
other parents had difficulty accessing sufficient respite. |
Good Practice
Over a period of time, a more coherent approach to residential respite
was developed with the number of days available allocated according
to need, with a maximum for everyone. This enabled sufficient reduction
in usage for the Authority to close one unit. Staff from this unit
developed a range of outreach services, including after-school and
play schemes. They also supported disabled children to access mainstream
provision. The scheme has also enabled more families to access both
residential and other respite provision. The maximum limit on days
is no longer needed as the remaining residential unit is able to meet
the demand based on needs assessment. |
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Benefits
- Reduced cost of residential provision with
the re-provision of a residential unit into other respite services.
- More families supported through flexible respite.
- Reduced demand for residential respite.
- More disabled children accessing mainstream
services.
- Less demand for residential respite for disabled
adults.
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| Contact: Keith Woodthorpe |
Tel: 01332 716 703
E-mail: keith.woodthorpe@derby.gov.uk
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