Torfaen's Acting Chief Officer for Social Care and Housing Services, Keith Rutherford, has today delivered the first annual report to council from the Director of Social Services.
Torfaen is one of two Welsh councils piloting a reform in the way that social services are reviewed and inspected.
The new inspection system, introduced by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW), requires local authorities to have an annual improvement plan for social services and report on how it is being delivered in a public report. It replaces the previous Joint Review process, when a council's services were evaluated by external inspectors.
The theme throughout this first annual report is how Torfaen's social care services need to be planned and integrated with other services which affect people's lives, e.g. health and education. There is a lot of emphasis on working together across council departments, with neighbouring councils and with other organisations, like the NHS, police and with the voluntary sector.
Current services are evaluated by focusing on people's experiences of the services we provide or purchase on their behalf. An assessment is made on how well the council is doing and how things might look in future years.
The report, which is accompanied by an individual overview of each service area, also sets out the Chief Officer's priorities across children's services, adult services and support services.
Some of the priorities will take several years to realise and they include:
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Getting better at listening to service users and carers, to improve services
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Working with other councils to make better use of resources
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Working closely with schools and teachers to keep children and young people safe
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Increasing the pool of available foster carers
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Improving the way disabled young people are supported into adulthood (transition)
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Developing a strategy to meet the needs of people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
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Ensuring that all services we purchase are meeting priority needs and delivering value for money.
Councillor Brian Mawby, executive member for health, social care and well-being, said: "The chief officer's report concludes that Torfaen has generally safe systems in place to protect and support the most vulnerable people in our society. It also emphasizes our commitment to developing integrated support services, with health, education and others, and to focus our efforts to make a tangible improvement to the quality of people's lives."
The changes to how social care services are assessed have been introduced by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) who will:
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review and analyse evidence underpinning the annual report including evidence from other inspectorates and regulators
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individually inspect and produce a review plan for each council
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visit annually on an announced and unannounced basis
The new approach will be rolled out to other Welsh local authorities later in 2009.
A copy of the report can be obtained from Torfaen's Customer Care Centres on 01495 762200 or by visiting the Health & Social Care area of the website.
If you would like to comment on this report, please email the Chief Officer Designate at DOSC@torfaen.gov.uk