COMMISSIONING CHILDREN’S SERVICES

Presentation for Children First Corporate Parenting Conference March 2005

OUTLINE

• What do you want?
• What’s happening now?
• Achieving your objectives
• Key messages

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

• Better outcomes
• Cost effective solutions and services
• Predict what will happen in the future
• Improved management of demand
• More influence on the market
• Making the shift towards early intervention and prevention
• More resources on more children and young people rather than a lot ££££ on a few

KEEP UPSTEAM

AVOID RAPIDS

AVOID LOG JAMS

AVOID VICIOUS SPIRAL

Numbers of CLA & CPR rise Expenditure increases No time for early intervention No time for care planning Numbers and expenditure continue to rise

CHILDREN LOOKED AFTER PER 10,000 UNDER 18s 31.03.04

CHILDREN IN NEED PER 10,000 UNDER 18s 31.12.03

EXPENDITURE ON CHILDREN'S SERVICES 2003/4 £ per child

2003/4 EXPENDITURE ON CHILDREN'S SERVICES % spend on CLA

HOW CAN YOU ACHIEVE IT?

• A commissioning strategy
• More than procurement and purchasing
• Holistic – not only CLA placements
• “If you always do what you’ve always done you will always get what you’ve always got."

DEFINITION (Adapted from Department of Health 1995)

STRATEGIC COMMISSIONING
A process of assessing needs and current services and developing a strategy to make best use of the resources available in order to achieve improved outcomes for children and young people.

COMMISSIONING MODEL (adapted from model developed with Dorset County Council)

EXAMPLE OF COMMISSIONING PRIORITIES

• RESOURCING ASSESSMENT AND CASE MANAGEMENT TEAMS
• RANGE OF SUPPORT SERVICES
• CLA PROCUREMENT

RESOURCING ASSESSMENT AND CASE MANAGEMENT TEAMS

Consider skills mix within teams
Enough staffing resources:

• A prompt and high quality initial response
• Allocate cases
• Ensure statutory requirements are met
• Good quality case work which makes a difference

RANGE OF SUPPORT SERVICES

CLA PROCUREMENT

• Improving procurement systems
• The work on CLA procurement will incorporate the Placement Strategy
• The work will focus on in-house and independent sector foster care and residential services

KEY MESSAGES

• Keep upstream
• Be holistic
• Develop a commissioning strategy which incorporates procurement and purchasing plans
• Have one strategy which includes placement and family support strategies
• Focus commissioning strategy on shaping services and use of resources to improve outcomes

AND REMEMBER

• “If you always do what you’ve always done you will always get what you’ve always got."

Click here to download Developing a Children's Services Commissioning Strategy