| Dudley (2) - multi-disciplinary support
for disabled children |
Summary of Context
Dudley is a medium sized Metropolitan Borough in the West Midlands.
From the 1990s children's and adults' services were configured with
a purchaser/provider split. Services developed as business units.
Although the purchaser and provider services are now integrated, the
business unit approach enabled significant innovative developments.
There are good working relationships with health providers and health
staff have been seconded to a multi-disciplinary team for disabled
children. |
Good Practice
There are a range of home support and respite services. The integrated
team has a nurse adviser who is skilled in managing challenging behaviour
and advises on alternatives to physical interventions and there is
also a trained sick children's nurse. There is a team of community
support workers who provide one-to-one direct work with children,
particularly those with challenging behaviour, and there are home
support workers for very disabled children who need extra care and
support at home. The multi-disciplinary team is committed to providing
continuity with all children having a named worker who undertakes
reviews and sees the child through to transition to leaving care and/or
adult services.
There is a well developed parents' group who have been supported by
the authority to run drama and sports workshops at weekends, a good
use of advocacy services to ensure that disabled children and their
families are involved and consulted and a well developed sharing care
family-based respite service. |
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Benefits
- There is little use of out-of-authority placements for disabled
children, either full-time or for residential respite. The authority
records low levels of looked after children under an agreed series
of short-term placements (5.7 per cent of all looked after children
compared with an average of 17 per cent in 2001/2) - a considerable
saving to the authority.
- Information on disabled children is well managed with 366 children
on the disability register, enabling long-term planning for disabled
children to take place. Information for disabled children and
their families is also readily available.
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| Contact: Sue Roxburgh |
Tel: 01384 815813 |