Short Breaks Report Shows Strong Leadership Needed, England

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Rehabilitation / Physical Therapy
Article Date: 16 Apr 2009 - 5:00 PST

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A new report published by campaign group Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) finds that good practice on short breaks services for disabled children is emerging, but practice development is far from consistent.

EDCM is today calling for all Children's Trust Partnerships to take a leadership role in ensuring consistent delivery of the short breaks transformation programme introduced through 'Aiming High for Disabled Children' (AHDC) one year ago.

The interim report of a three-year short breaks tracking project following two short breaks pathfinder and two non-pathfinder authorities shows that while some good models of practice are beginning to emerge from short breaks pathfinder areas, there is still a long way to go before a consistent, sustainable service is established that works for all disabled children, particularly those with the most complex needs.

Parents groups involved in the project report that where services are working they are responsive to the needs of individual children, assessment processes are consistent and services offer a real choice for families. Key concerns raised are that information on short breaks services may not be reaching all families that need it, and that eligibility criteria are still leading to confusion, with some areas having inconsistent systems.

Parent groups in pathfinder authorities have reported improvements for those who know about services and are deemed eligible. They also report experiencing good opportunities to influence best practice provision. Parent groups in non- pathfinder areas are largely optimistic about the programme, but also report concerns about lack of flexibility, continuity of care, information and choice.

To ensure that years two and three of the AHDC short breaks programme delivers real change for disabled children and their families, EDCM is calling for:

1.Children's Trust Partnerships (including Directors of Children's Services and Chief Executives of PCTs) to demonstrate their commitment to families by taking a leadership role in meeting the Full Service Offer on short breaks by 2011, including ensuring this meets the needs of all disabled children, particularly those with the most complex needs.

2. Local authorities to review their eligibility criteria and the Department for Children, Schools and Families to provide a central steer from government by issuing guidance on the law governing eligibility criteria.

3. Local agencies ensure that good quality information on services for disabled children are available from a wide range of sources including specialist and universal setting such as mainstream schools, hospitals and family information services.

EDCM Board Member Brian Lamb comments:

"These initial findings tell us work to transform short breaks in local areas is moving in the right direction. But there is clearly a need for stonger and more strategic leadership in every area to ensure full delivery of the programme, as well as a focus on information provision and transparency in the way services are allocated - in line with the Core Offer for disabled children."

Source
Every Disabled Child Matters