Mencap NOW Project

Investment for Change Funding

Project Name: Developing The Mencap ‘NOW’ Model in West & East Cornwall

Project Start Date: 01/04/07
Project End Date: 31/03/08

1.Introduction

This development project proposal has arisen because of the need to develop alternative models of support & provision that meets the needs of individuals with a learning disability. The proposal also provides an opportunity to reduce the number of out of county educational residential placements, and to better control costs for the key funding partners.

Currently 27 people (learners) aged between 16 and 24 are funded in an out of county placement by the Adult Social Care & Health costing approximately £981,000:00. All of these young people have a learning, physical or dual sensory impairment or a combination of these impairments. Cornwall Adult Social Care is contributing funding where the learner requires a high level of personal / social care. The annual costs of placements funded in 2006 for the whole of Cornwall was £2,591 504 and £981 220 for out of county provision. In West Cornwall the total cost was £1,177 956 and £496 467 for out of county provision.

West Cornwall Children’s and Adult Services are also funding the respite, support and transport costs for a number of these people during the school holidays.

The focus of the development project is on the need to develop sustainable alternative models of support through a time limited development project to increase local opportunities for learners in either mainstream colleges or specialist provision or a combination of the two. It is anticipated that, over the period of the project, these alternatives can be delivered within a reduced, cross partnership, cost envelope. It is envisaged that this would compliment the work already underway or planned by the existing key stakeholders including current provision.

2. Background

Intelligence from Mencap’s current services in Cornwall and their partners suggests that there is little specialist provision for people with a learning disability. Adults social care have stated:

Cornwall County Council Adult Social Care Department has been involved with supporting the development of the 'Mencap Now' model of provision since it was first proposed at the Learning Disability Partnership Board LDPB)nearly two years ago. As you will be aware, since the White Paper 'Valuing People' 2001 called for a radical shift in the way services for people with learning disabilities were provided. Some crucial recommendations were that services must be person centred, individual and local. Since the 'Mencap Now' model is totally suited to delivering this type of service, Adult Social Care has been fully engaged as a key partner. National Mencap and Adult Care through myself and the Adult Social Care Commissioning Manager were the two agencies that initially drove the proposal forward to the point where Mencap has
enlisted a number of partners who are signed up to the project. Adult Social Care continues to be a key player and will work in partnership to ensure that the Mencap Now model is not only delivered in the Penwith area of Cornwall, but across the county with the other colleges and
further education providers. Adult Social Care has also signed up to the In control/Individaulised
budgets process, as part of our initial pilots we would hope to identify people involved with transitions and the Mencap Now project to further assist with the individual and personalised services at a local level. Scott Hall Mar 07

West Cornwall currently has limited opportunities for young people who require support to meet their learning & social care needs in a holistic way, which leads to progression. This can be attributed to a number of factors including limited local specialist educational provision, co-ordinated information & planning across all partners during transition and the geographical nature of West Cornwall.

In recognition of these issues work has already been undertaken to develop a more collaborative approach to transitions planning and co-ordination. All involved are keen for a singular approach to supporting the diverse learning & living support needs of young disabled people leaving school in West Cornwall.

· Connexions transition planning process and protocols
· Childrens services
· Adult Social Care
· Specialist Schools [Nancealverne School]
· FE Colleges [Penwith College]
· Cornwall Works
· Link to Learning
· People First

The LSC is also reviewing its activity and processes following the findings and recommendations illustrated in ‘Inclusion through Excellence’. This has resulted in an increased interest by the regional LSC to develop local mainstream & specialist provision plus explore a more flexible approach to the allocation of its funding. The Now project will help to address the four key priorities of the Learning and Skills Council South west regional commissioning Plan:

1. Raise the quality and improve the choice of learning opportunities for all young people to equip them with the skills for employment, further or higher education learning and for wider social and community engagement.
2. Raise the skills of the nation, giving employers and individuals the skills they need to improve productivity, employability and social cohesion.
3. Raise the performance of a world class system that is responsive, provides choice and is valued and recognised for excellence
4. raise our contribution to the economic development locally and regionally through Partnership working.

What Cornwall Now will achieve through its process will be to meet the demands of the individual and the local community, delivering the provision that each individual wants and needs to progress, this can be achieved through the broad range of partners we have and their expertise.

We will use accredited frameworks to help us support the individual learning, to help them achieve a higher level of independence, community inclusion and sustainable employment.

In the East of England Region there is already an agreement between LSC and Mencap to use ‘Improving Choices’ funding to support people in a specific supported housing scheme, linked with education provision and employment supports. This has supported 5 people with a Learning Disability to return successfully from range out of county placements, with person centred learning and living support plans to move on to more permanent living and lifelong learning arrangements. This arrangement has also led to the further development of tailor made, local provision being developed to provide alternative options for a further 8 people who were at risk of going to an out of county specialist placement in September 2008. The saving to the LSC over a three year period is anticipated to be about £240k in relation to these 8 people alongside improved outcomes and achievements

3. Project Summary

The proposal is to undertake a time limited development project to demonstrate that the delivery of accessible local provision and models of support can enhance the learning opportunities for people in East & West Cornwall, reduce the numbers of people requesting out of county educational residential placements, and deliver cost savings for partners.

The project will also demonstrate improved outcomes for individuals through effective approaches to short and long term planning, individualised provision to meet a person’s learning and social care needs, and the opportunity for people to access local progression services within their own community. ‘Enablement, continuity and co-ordination of the services they choose, resulting in their own increased control and empowerment through improved communication, sharing of information and including the individual in planning that is centred on their own needs’ as outlined in ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled people’

The project principle is to improve employability and skills in the local area, and contribute to economic growth and social inclusion, as outlined in the LSC Paper ‘Learning for Living & Work’ The project can make the Government target ‘by 2025, disabled people living in Britain should have full opportunities and choices to improve their quality of life and will be respected and included as equal members of society’ a realistic possibility for Cornwall to achieve.

The project compliments the vision & objectives outlined by the Local Area Agreements ‘A strong sustainable community for one and all’ providing the opportunity for key stakeholders to invest directly in the development of provision and resources to meet these objectives. The project will support the four key priorities of the LSC Commissioning Plan for 2007/08.

The target group’s awareness to project activity will be raised through presentations made to, and appropriate marketing materials given to appropriate agencies as identified in partnership with the Mencap housing support team based in Cornwall. This information will be made available to organisations such as Day Centres, Schools, Carers groups, Colleges, Social Workers, care homes, Connexions, Jobcentre Plus offices and DEA / Personal Advisor teams. In some cases we may ask previously supported clients with a learning disability from other regions to talk to groups in local day centres, schools or colleges to help alleviate concerns people have around taking those first steps into work. This provides an innovative approach to marketing new referrals. When promoting the project to these groups, case studies in delivering this type of support will be discussed.

Mencap have been part of the development of the Transitions Protocols for Cornwall, in conjunction with the City & Guilds Personal Progression skills for life, and the Personal Progression skills for work Qualifications, will form the frame work for the whole process.

The project will be promoted throughout community venues including health centres, Day Centres, adult and community learning venues, Schools, libraries, community centres and others.

The project will gather evidence throughout delivery, on beneficiaries' project outcomes/destinations, progression and tracking of leavers to help inform funding bodies

*please see appendix 1

4. Project Objectives

1. Agree and demonstrate the effectiveness of joint funding over the period of the project (2 years?), based on the principle of ring fencing Partners’ current levels of expenditure, with an agreed savings target for the Partnership over the period of the development project.
2. Identify and develop local specialist models of education, supported work experience/ employment and social care support where an individual is currently unable to access a mainstream college or learning facility in West Cornwall. Figure 1 illustrates the models, which can be developed to support people to stay in Essex.
3. Initiatives already exist within East & West Cornwall, some of which already receive funding to develop alternative models of support. The project should aim to benefit from these initiatives by including them in its project planning and delivery.
4. Establish links with the East & West Cornwall ‘In Control’ project for the development of a future self assessment and resource allocation system for the partnership.

5. Outcomes

The principle Outcomes that will accrue from the delivery of this project will be:

1. Increased access to learning opportunities that are local to the ‘learner’s’ community and promote inclusive learning arrangements such as mainstream colleges. Therefore raising the quality and improving the choice of learning opportunities, equip individuals with the skills for employment, or to progress on further through education and will give individuals wider social and community engagement.
2. Efficient models of support that meet the educational, supported work experience/employment and social care needs of the person and the needs of the funding criteria of each partner in a holistic and inclusive way.
3. Reduction in the overall budget expenditure by the Partners. In Essex they have been able to demonstrate a reduction of contributions from stakeholders of up to 50% over a four year period.
4. An agreed number of people have their education, employment and social care needs met in West Cornwall rather than outside of the County.
5. Agreed models of support that deliver person centred and cost effective approaches to the assessment process, individualised planning and service design for young people during the transition to adulthood where they were at risk of going to an out of county placement.

6. Initial Cost Benefit Analysis

West Cornwall and the Learning & Skills Council have already started to address some of the issues identified within this development project through the introduction of improved data collection and the creation of local provision. Although these developments are underway it remains difficult to use historical trend data to predict with any real accuracy the level of savings and efficiencies that could be made by implementing this project.

More work needs to be done to understand and illustrate the budgetary benefits and risks for each of the partners. This will be an early goal of the project. However, given the overall cost benefit to the Partnership, agreement will need to be sought around the principle of ringfencing Partners’ current levels of expenditure to support the initial development stages of this project.

7. Outline Project Timetable

The project approach is outlined below.

1. Identify Funding to carry out research and identify funding for this proposal (April 2007)
2. Partners to agree this development project proposal and length of time of the Project (By March 2007).
3. Project Group established with membership from the key stakeholders. (by April 2007)
4. Detailed Project Initiation Document and Project Plan developed, including identified delivery partners and more detailed cost benefit analysis. Agreement by key stakeholders (by April 2007).
5. Project Implementation timetable agreed.
6. Project Review and implementation of long term models of support as per the agreed project plan (linked to Project time table)

Every Quarter

· 3 x Monthly Project review meetings / monthly quality monitoring.
· To determine project performance against profiled outputs/outcomes, allowing for early intervention & remedial action e.g. lack of referrals, addressed by increased referral marketing activity.
· Quarterly meeting with The Partnership re profiles performance and Quality

Appendix 1

Ideology, Methodology & Outcomes

Ideology. The Now project is rooted in the principles of person centred approaches and therefore the type of provision and support a person receives is based on what makes sense to them, from their perspective. In essence, the project is about developing tailor made provision for the individual not making a person fit in to an existing service or provision. In summary, the Now Project ideology is:

For the individual

· A service that starts with the person, their aspirations and holistic needs.
· Rooted in the principles of inclusion, interdependence, citizenship and community.
· Focused on progression to reduce a person’s dependency on paid support and maximise their involvement & contribution to the wider community
· Based on providing the right support at the right time in a person’s life to help them create a sustainable lifestyle of their choice.
· Time limited with a clear focus that the transitional support provided reduces and stops when a person’s long term and sustainable supports and resources are in place.

For funding bodies

· A service with integrity, person centred and promotes self determination and choice.
· A service that is flexible, transparent, pro-active, creative, Innovative & timebound.
· A service that welcomes the opportunity to work within the principles of joint funding from a number of funding bodies. I.e. Local Authority, LSC, ILF etc
· A service that embraces the principles of individualised budgets and/or individualised service funds.
· A service that uses the funding around an individual efficiently and effectively, focusing on progression to reduce this funding where appropriate.
Methodology. The Now Project uses a 5 stage; time limited process that has a clear start and finish. In summary the process is as follows:

Stage 1: Referral.

Individuals or third parties can be asked for support from the process and can either purchase stages 2 to 4 or single stages depending on the support they require.

Stage 2: Transitional Learning & Living Support Planning.

The individual is supported by an experienced and skilled support planner to design a support plan that identifies their learning and living support needs, their aspirations and wishes for the future. The Support Plan will also identify and describe the specific actions and activity that is required to achieve the person’s aspirations and wishes whilst also meeting their learning and living support needs. The person will be supported to get their learning and living support plan and the funding required to deliver it (where required) agreed in principle by the appropriate funding bodies.

Stage 3: Support & Resource development (Brokerage)

The individual is supported to secure the resources and supports required as agreed in the learning & living support plan. This may include housing options, learning support and the recruitment of a staff team/personal assistant. The Individual will be supported to secure the funding where required from the appropriate funding bodies.

Stage 4: Learning and Living Support Package

Where an individual chooses to use Mencap to provide their learning and living support package an individualised provision will be developed with them in the following three environments.

· Single tenancy or tenancy clusters (similar to ‘Key Ring’)
· Group tenancy (small group living accommodation with shared facilities)
· Living with parents/carers

This support will be time limited whilst the individual is supported to implement and update their learning and living support plan. The focus of this provision will be to enable the person to secure the resources and support they need for a long term, sustainable life style of their choice.

Stage 5: Progression

Once the person has secured the resources and support they need in stage 4 Mencap will reduce and stop the support it has been providing ensuring the person has the following in place:

· An up to date Learning and Living Support Plan.
· That the person’s finances are up to date including benefits, any specific funding requirements such as the direct payment, PAYE, mortgage etc.
· The person’s new staff team (PA’a) or agency support is in place and trained as appropriate.
· Appropriate contingency measures in place where things could go wrong.
Where the person has chosen to use Mencap as their long term support provider this will be developed and implemented as required.

Outcomes

· The individual has secured the support and resources they needed to manage the changes in their life and are now living a lifestyle of choice.
· The funding from all available sources has been maximised around each person leading to an effective and efficient use of individual funding sources now and in the future.

5. Partnership & Joint Working

The Now project is at it’s most successful where joint working arrangements are in place enabling the Now process to be delivered effectively. These partnerships are internal, external and at national, regional and local levels. In summary these partnerships are:

· Mencap: Utilising knowledge, experience and services across business units and other project areas.

· Learning and Skills Council (LSC): Excellent joint working arrangements are required at all levels to access funding and to influence regional strategies, mainstream providers and deliver the new LSC Strategy.

· Mainstream Education Providers: Local and regional joint working arrangements required to access LSC revenue and capital, and to deliver the classroom based learning provision as required to deliver learning and living support packages.

· Local Authorities: Excellent joint working arrangements are required at all levels to access funding on behalf of a person, to understand the key issues for each authority and plan ahead to ensure we are developing services that meet their modernisation agendas.

· Housing Associations: Local and possible regional joint working relationships required to develop individualised housing options and to plan strategically, for example for the development of shared ownership options.

· Providers: Developing working relationships with local providers to ensure each individual has a range of options as they develop their support plans.

· Consultants and brokers: Establishing links with experienced individuals and organisations that can enhance the project development, the implementation of the Now process and support the individual directly. This could be local supported employment agencies, the National Brokerage Network or individual brokers who specialise in particular areas such as Income support mortgages.

· Advocacy and other support agencies: Involving advocacy (paid or natural) at all points of the Now process is key principle of the NOW project alongside ensuring each individual has access to organisations such as the local centre for independent living (CIL), Direct Payment advice & Support, and other organisations that can help people manage their finances or personal assistants.

· Community: Each project site will have developed on-going community maps to help sign post individuals to the resources and services in their local communities. Building circles of support with individuals will be a key delivery component of the Now process helping each person to maximise the paid and unpaid support available to them in their community.

Mencap will build on the work being done nationally by Helen Sanderson Associates, to bring learning planning and living support planning together through a Learning and Living Support planning process, including criteria for getting the plan signed off by LSC. There is also an opportunity to further explore the funding methodology developed by Paradigm to support this process. This will enable an individual to have 1 support plan which is funded by the LSC and the Local Authority, and meets both their learning and social care / health needs.

Currently identified learners
Stage 2 – Learning & support planning
To work with up to 8 individuals, who have been identified by Penwith College, Nancalverne Specialist School, LA and Connexions, to develop a learning and support plan. This stage involves the learning and support plan being signed off by the LSC and Local Authority. This work to be carried out between April and August 2007.
Stage 3 – Brokerage.
Where an individual chooses Mencap to do this work, we will support them to identify and secure resources and options for individuals, between July and September 2007.
Stage 4 – Models of support / learning & support package.
The LSC funds the learning element of the learning and support plan from September 2007.

Learners identified for June 2008
Stage 2. Learning & support planning
To work with 8 individuals identified through the appropriate agencies who are leaving school / college in July 2008.
Stage 3 – Brokerage
To identify and secure resources and options for individuals between February and June 2008.
Stage 4 – Models of support / learning and support package
The LSC funds the learning element of the learning and support package for the individual from July 2008.