GETTING IN ON THE ACT Sue Leonard PAVS Chief Officer 23 rd March

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Thanks also to … Institute of Public Care (Oxford Brookes University) Social Services Improvement Agency Welsh Government websites! 3

Aim To provide an overview of the Act Participants will: Know about the history of the Act Be aware of the Parts and features of the Act Be aware of the Principles of the Act Be aware of the National Outcomes Framework Begin to identify changes to practice Know where to find out more! Aims and Outcomes 4

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act received Royal Assent and became law on 1 May 2014 The Act will be implemented in April 2016 The Development of the Act 5

In 2011 the Law Commission proposed that the many confusing and conflicting social care statutes be repealed and be replaced by a single Act They recommended that over 40 statutes be repealed or amended The Commission’s recommendation was for a single, clear, modern statute and code of practice that would pave the way for a coherent social care system The Development of the Act 6

The Act makes wide-ranging reforms to Social Services in Wales It gives effect to the policy set out in the Welsh Government’s White Paper, Sustainable Social Services for Wales: A Framework for Action Strategy for Social Services (2007), Fulfilled Lives, Supportive Communities The Development of the Act 7

OUTCOMES General Functions Assessing the needs of individuals Meeting Needs Charging and Financial Assessment Safeguarding Social Services Functions Co-operation and Partnership Complaints, representations and advocacy services Miscellaneous and General Introduction Parts Looked after and accommodated children Principles Voice & control Prevention & early intervention Well-being Co-production Multi agency People Adults Children Carers 8

Meaning of adult, child, carer and disabled Adult – means a person who is aged 18 or over Child – means a person who is aged under 18 Carer – means a person who provides or intends to provide care for an adult or disabled child A person is disabled if the person has a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 Part 1 - Introduction 9

Overarching duties – General duty to promote the well-being of people in need and carers Well-being outcomes – To be defined by Welsh ministers by a statement of outcomes and a code Local arrangements – Emphasis on preventative services and promoting co-production Part 2 - General Functions 10

The underlying approach of this part of the Act is for adults and children to be assessed for care and support and for carers to be assessed for support The aim is to simplify the assessment process Where appropriate, assessments for a carer and a cared for person can be combined Part 3 – Assessing the Needs of Individuals 11

Responding to identified needs The Act will set out an eligibility framework creating an enforceable right for the individual A care and support plan must identify the personal outcomes and set out the best way to achieve them There will be a continuation of direct payments plus extended availability to other forms of care and support Part 4 – Meeting Needs 12

Safeguarding children, a duty to report is introduced for relevant partners Safeguarding adults, a duty on relevant partners to report if a person may be at risk Adult Protection and Support Order – gives power of entry New structures for Safeguarding Boards Part 7 – Safeguarding 13

Part 10 of the Act has 3 chapters Chapter 1 – Complaints and representations Chapter 2 – Complaints about private social care and palliative care Chapter 3 – Advocacy services Part 10 – Complaints, Representation and Advocacy Services 14

People The Act requires a culture change from the way in which services have often been provided, to an approach based an equal relationship between practitioners and people who need care and/or support. There is also a requirement to work co-productively with groups and communities, to foster direct engagement through new or existing networks or forums with service users, or groups representing service users (e.g. citizen panels). 15

People 16 Enables people to take control and make well- informed choices Vital component of prevention Helps people’s full participation

Well-being 17 Responsibility for well-being must be shared with people who need care and/or support. Supporting people, families and communities helps reduce the need for formal care and support A person exercising functions under this Act must seek to promote the holistic well-being of people who need care and support and carers, not be limited just to their own specialist interest

Prevention 18 Intensive Preventative More well-being support Better access to information, advice & community resources Increased level of early intervention/prevention services Less need for intensive managed support

National Outcomes Framework To describe the important well-being outcomes that people should expect in order to lead fulfilled lives To set national direction for all services working in partnership with people to understand what matters to them and to build on people’s strengths and abilities to enable them to maintain independence with support To provide greater transparency on whether care and support services are improving well-being outcomes 19

Health Independent Sector Voluntary Sector Others e.g. Community Services, Support Groups, Housing, Benefits, Leisure Impact on Partner Organisations 20

Professionals will ask ‘what sort of life I would like and what needs to change to make this happen’ Preventative services are available to help me avoid managed services I will be able to watch over my own decisions, I will take responsibility and share the risk Success would be achievement of what matters most to me and is measured over time Impact for individuals 21

Impact on 3rd Sector Managing expectations and helping to deliver a culture change Supporting people to have voice and control and for this to be a positive experience Engaging people to co-produce and co-deliver services – helping to manage change Creating and strengthening social enterprises to deliver citizen-directed services Collaborating to deliver innovative prevention/early intervention services and alternative service delivery models 22

Additional Resources Care Council for Wales Learning Hub ( Social Services Improvement Agency Interactive Guide to the Implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act ( 14)