Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

No apologies from the Panel had been received, however the Council's Corporate Equality and Diversity Manager would have liked to attend but was on annual leave.

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, in writing or by email indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 15 March 2017). Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email address below.

None.

Previously circulated

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 21 November 2016 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

In attendance for this overview of the service and support provided to help adults with learning disabilities access employment, were:

Worcestershire County Council

Elaine Carolan, Interim Strategic Commissioner

Sally-Ann Parker, Employment Partnerships Officer

Bethany Pettifer, Employment Partnerships Support Worker and Peter Sugg, Commissioning Manager

Service users and representatives

Speak Easy N.O.W – Sandra Hill, Chief Officer

'Having a Job' service user and member of the Learning Disability Partnership Sub Group – Louise Blunn

'Having a Job' service user and Expert member - Franco Laidlaw

Employment provider – Bob Timmins, Newland Hurst Care Home

Healthwatch Worcestershire – Chairman, Peter Pinfield

The Employment Partnerships Officer gave a presentation to provide information about the service, its purpose, outcome measures and the current position, and examples of case studies.  The Interim Strategic Commissioner explained that this was a small team of two staff members (the Employment Partnerships Officer and Support Worker), although it was hoped the team could be expanded. There was a great enthusiasm for creating a new service, and employment opportunities, following a redesign in March 2016. As part of the presentation, the service users present, Louise Blunn and Franco Laidlaw, would be invited to feed back their experiences of employment support and having a job.

'Having a Job' was one of the six big aims of the Worcestershire Learning Disability Partnership Board (WLDPB).  The aim was for "People with a learning disability will have access to an enhanced employment pathway alongside other members of the public who are defined as being furthest from the labour market in Worcestershire". The WLDPB met regularly and discussed and issues and barriers to employment.

There could be a lack of understanding about what a learning disability was, and the following definitions were therefore helpful:

·         a learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities

·         a learning disability is often confused with learning difficulties such as dyslexia and mental health problems

·         people with a learning disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complicated information and interact with other people. 

Louise Blunn, service user and member of the Learning Disability Partnership Sub Group gave feedback on her experiences. There was not enough support for people with learning disabilities to get a job. The Supported Employment Service was helping people to find work and she had heard positive stories from people about job searches and support received; they often needed support in all areas of getting a job and this could take a long time. If a person with learning disabilities did get a job, they needed support to keep it and to help them deal with any problems in the workplace.  Employers were not happy to take on people with learning disabilities and worried they would not do the work, which meant they were not given a chance to prove themselves. Job centres did not have information written in an easy read format and letters from the Department for Word and Pensions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 246.

In attendance for this item were:

Worcestershire County Council:

Richard Keble, Assistant Director of Adult Services

Kerry McCrossan, Operations and Integration Manager

The Assistant Director gave a presentation, which provided an overview of the Council's switch to a strengths-based approach to social work with adults, based on the 'Three Conversation' model. Essentially the new approach would move away from social workers going in and asking questions about the problems, to asking someone 'what can you do?' and using a person's strengths to build on, in providing support.

The Panel was shown two slides which had been used to explain the new approach to staff involved, which put forward what social workers should be doing, based on the British Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (2012):-

·         Promote social change, problem solving in human relationships and empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being

·         Address the multiple, complex transactions between people and their environments

·         Enable all people to develop their full potential, promote and enhance independence and enrich their lives

The second slide depicted the current system nationally, which unintentionally had become focused on processes, referrals, cost reductions and aversion to risks. Staff immediately identified with these points.

The Three Conversations approach would replace the status quo operating model in social care, with one based on assets and strengths, and collaboration. It was a new way of working, not an additional one. Experiences from other local authorities, their service users and staff, provided compelling evidence that it worked, improved well-being, and could significantly improve staff satisfaction and productivity. It also worked in integrated environments to improve both health and well-being, as well as consuming less resources.

The Three Conversations involved in the new straight-forward approach were:

·         Listen and connect – really understand what matters, connect to resources and support

·         Work intensively with people in crisis – look at what needs to change urgently for the person to regain control, put into a plan, stick like glue to help make the most important things happen

·         Build a good life – what resources, connections and support will enable the person to live that chosen life? How do they need to be organised?

The numbers of conversation 3 would significantly reduce as staff mastered conversations 1 and 2.

Staff would need to know people's communities and neighbourhoods to be able to work in this way, and learn a new way of recording work, with no hand-offs, no referrals, no triage or waiting lists – and lots more accountability and seeing things through to the finish.

This represented a significant cultural and behavioural change for all staff, but one which was completely in line with core values, principles and reasons for being in social care jobs.

The evidence base and lessons from elsewhere

The new approach was very much based on reflective practice; the approach worked with all people and represented the most effective financial sustainability strategy, since the evidence showed a significant reduction in contacts that become ongoing packages of care.  There was potential  ...  view the full minutes text for item 247.