Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications for drug and alcohol treatment of radical policy changes being implemented by the government, particularly the proposed transition of responsibility for treatment from the National Treatment Agency to a new public health service from 2013.

It is argued that this is a critical moment in the development of substance misuse services in England, particularly given the impact of health service reform. Concerns are raised about the lack of reference to drug and alcohol treatment in key policy documents, such as the Department of Health's White Paper Healthy Lives, Healthy People. The removal of the “ring fence” from the pooled treatment budget may result in national disinvestment at a time when public spending cuts are likely to reduce local authority spending on drug and alcohol treatment. It will be challenging to deliver on the vision of recovery in the “Drug strategy 2010”.

The new public health structures and the commitment to recovery create new opportunities to improve services too – for example, the potential for joint working through Health and Wellbeing Boards. It is also positive that Healthy Lives, Healthy People stated that the NHS Constitution will apply to the public health service.

While these changes could provide a platform for improving outcomes, there is a genuine risk that substantial disinvestment in drug and alcohol services will be witnessed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine research evidence on collaboration between primary and adult social care in strategic, rather than operational, activities at two different time points, following large-scale changes within the health and social care environments; and discuss the prospects for the future.

This paper reports evidence from two substantial longitudinal studies (Dowling and Glendinning, 2003; Checkland et al., 2012) which followed the development of Primary Care Groups and Trusts (PCG/Ts) and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), respectively. Each used a combination of national surveys and local in-depth case studies to trace the early development of new structures and ways of working following major changes in the NHS and local government.

PCG/Ts had limited success in collaborating with adult social care partners. Health and Well-being Boards offer a new overarching organisational framework for collaborative strategic working between GP-led CCGs and adult social care services. Mandated joint strategic needs assessments also provide a shared framework within which commissioning decisions by both CCGs and social services are made. However, there remains evidence of long-standing barriers, particularly differences in geographic boundaries and in organisational and professional cultures.

Evidence from both studies is based on the early years of the respective new organisations; later evidence may have yielded a different picture.

This is the first paper reflecting on developments in strategic relations between primary and social care from researchers involved with two longitudinal investigations of the early development of PCG/Ts (1999-2002) and CCGs (2011-ongoing).

The purpose of this paper is to report on a part of a study examining the interrelationships between personalisation and safeguarding practice. Specifically the authors aimed to examine how safeguarding practice is affected by the roll out of personalisation in adult social care, particularly when the adult at risk has a personal budget or is considering this.

A sample of annual reports from Adult Safeguarding Boards in England was accessed for content analysis covering the period 2009-2011. One part of this sample of local authorities was selected at random; the other authorities selected had been early adopters of personalisation. The reports were analysed using a pro forma to collect salient information on personalisation that was cross-referenced to identify common themes and differences.

The authors found variable mentions of personalisation as part of the macro policy context reported in the annual reviews, some examples of system or process changes at mezzo level where opportunities to discuss the interface were emerging, and some small reports of training and case accounts relevant to personalisation. Overall these two policy priorities seemed to be more closely related than had been found in earlier research on the interface between adult safeguarding and personalisation.

There was wide variation in the annual reports in terms of detail, size and content, and reports for only one year were collected. Developments may have taken place but might not have been recorded in the annual reports so these should not be relied upon as complete accounts of organisational or practice developments.

Authors of Safeguarding Adults Board reports may benefit from learning that their reports may be read both immediately and potentially in the future. They may wish to ensure their comments on current matters will be intelligible to possible future readers and researchers.

There does not appear to have been any other previous study of Safeguarding Adult Boards’ annual reports. Documentary analysis at local level is under-developed in safeguarding studies.

The government's vision for children's services in England and Wales, Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003), and the subsequent Children Act 2004 are ground‐breaking in that they encourage local authorities to focus on child outcomes and demand the integration of previously separate services, such as social care and education. Previous articles in this series were by Herbert Laming (2006), whose inquiry helped pave the way for the 2004 legislation, and Tom Jeffery (2006), the Director‐General of the central government Directorate for Children, Young People and Families. In this article, John Coughlan, one of the new Directors of Children's Services, gives his perspective on implementing the new legislation at local authority level. What follows is an edited transcript of John Coughlan's comments.

The Government's vision for children's services in England and Wales, Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003), and the subsequent Children Act 2004 are ground‐breaking in that they encourage local authorities to focus on child outcomes and demand the integration of previously separate services, such as social care and education. Previous articles in this series were by Herbert Laming (2006), whose inquiry helped pave the way for the 2004 legislation, Tom Jeffery (2006), the Director‐General of the central government Directorate for Children, Young People and Families, and John Coughlan (2006), a Director of Children's Services in one local authority and president of the Association of Directors of Social Services.This article offers the perspective Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, a joint venture between Partnerships UK ‐ established by HM Treasury six years ago ‐ and the Department for Education and Skills ‐ the UK government's lead department on children's services. The remit of Partnerships for Schools is to rebuild or renew every secondary school in England over a 15‐year time period. Previously, Tim Byles was Chief Executive in Norfolk, a local authority with a population of 830,000 and a budget of £1.25 billion. In that job, Tim took a pivotal role not only in implementing the Children Act 2004, but also in working with central government to resolve problems that emerged as the bill passed through parliament. What follows is an edited transcript of Tim Byles's comments.

The government's vision for children's services in England and Wales, Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003), emerged from the debate following the report of the inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié (Laming, 2003). The Children Act 2004 enshrined this vision in legislation, outlining the new statutory duties and clarifying accountabilities for children's services. The Directorate for Children, Young People and Families, located within the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), is the central government body charged with overseeing the implementation of the Every Child Matters reforms.Tom Jeffery is the Director‐General of the Directorate. In this interview, he argues that having a common set of outcomes is helping to make services less patchy and more coherent, and discusses the practical mechanisms being used to encourage local innovation within national guidelines and multiagency working centred around schools. He also reflects on the role of research in these developments and the efforts being made to improve training and career development for children's services practitioners. What follows is an edited transcript of Tom Jeffery's comments.

Ireland has suddenly become a hub of activity around children's services ‐ at central and local government levels, involving the primary statutory and voluntary agencies, and engaging some of the more disadvantaged communities. Following a critical report when it appeared before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child over a decade ago, the Irish Government set up the National Children's Office and developed a National Children's Strategy. Current developments in children's services designed to address ongoing weaknesses in provision are taking place against the backdrop of the increasing wealth of the state and families and considerable organisational change in local services. The relatively new Office of the Minister for Children (OMC) was established to consolidate these ideas and move them forwards.This article offers the perspective of Sylda Langford, Director‐General of the OMC. She outlines relevant aspects of the broader context in Ireland before describing the origins and work of the OMC, the accompanying opportunities and obstacles to progress. She also reflects on life as a civil servant in a cross‐cutting Government department, the possible forthcoming referendum in Ireland on the relative rights of parents and children and the challenges presented by collaboration with philanthropy. What follows is an edited transcript of Sylda Langford's comments.

The purpose of this paper is to map the current organisation and implementation of children’s services in three regions of Spain, to identify strengths and gaps and to suggest proposals for improvement in line with European recommendations.

Spain features a decentralised approach when it comes to the organisation of children’s services. This means that relevant themes for children’s services refer to decentralised policies, which diverge within the regions in the country and therefore to illustrate this the authors focus on three specific regions. The study used an exploratory case study design and relied on qualitative methods, including the answers to open questionnaires provided by senior civil servants at key regional child welfare agencies, children’s services directors and service providers.

The main finding from the review of the legislation and the answers to the questionnaires is that public social services still follow an assistance logic rather than a social investment approach in regards to children’s services. Although a significant development of laws and policies has taken place, ensuring the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes and services for children remains a challenge.

The answers provided by the respondents may be subject to limitations imposed by the agencies for which they work. A general disadvantage of qualitative research is the use of subjective criteria to interpret the relevance of the results. The study was further challenged by differences across regions when it comes to their legal and policy frameworks, development of provisions and implementation and outcomes’ evaluation.

The findings could be used to assess the state of play in regards to children’s services across the regions studied and beyond with a focus on children being placed at the centre of public services’ intervention, using a comprehensive approach and promoting critical thinking and reflective practice.

The three selected case studies provide additional insight into policy and legal developments, implementation and evaluation of activities and efforts to improve policy and practice in children’s services.

This paper contributes to the evaluation of the current situation of children’s services in Spain from a decentralised perspective with the aim to facilitate changes to improve planning, implementation and evaluation of children’s services and secure better outcomes for children.

Following the passage of the Children Act, 2004, the leadership of children's services in England has been unified through the appointment of Directors of Children's Services. The role is demanding as it requires leading a range of services in each local authority, which are often subject to a high degree of public and political scrutiny. The change of government in May 2010 shifted the nature of these challenges by reforming the guidance to local authorities and by placing restrictions on local authority expenditure. This paper aims to explore the skills required by leaders in this complex and changing environment.

The paper draws on the findings of a scoping study conducted for the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services and describes and analyses the skills and capabilities required by leaders of children's services in England.

The paper offers a view of what might constitute “effective” leadership, and the skills needed to meet the requirements of improving the lives of children and young people.

The paper offers an analysis of the way in which interventions to enhance leadership in this area might contribute to better outcomes for children and young people in the future in an era of significant change following the formation of the UK Coalition government in May 2010.

Despite the pressure on work-family polices arising from the increase in nonstandard working times in various sectors, only a few studies have addressed management practices in 24/7 workplaces. This paper aims to investigate the challenges Finnish managers face in meeting the various tensions stemming from nonstandard working hours and services operating 24/7. Two typical 24/7 work contexts are focused: the hospitality and retail industries and flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. The emphasis is on management practices relating to the planning of work shifts and children’s care schedules.

Study 1 comprises focus group interviews with middle managers (N = 20) working in hotels, stores and service stations with restaurants and shopping facilities. Study 2 uses survey data on directors (N = 20) of centers offering flexibly scheduled ECEC services.

The results showed that management in 24/7 workplaces raises issues of fairness and social responsibility. Managers in both sectors were faced with constantly varying service demands, leading further to changes and unpredictability in employee working times. Alongside organizational goals, the business managers reported needing to consider employee needs and the ECEC service directors the well-being of parents and children. They also reported seeking the most cost-effective way to deliver services at a time of budget cuts.

The relatively small sample sizes and non-representative nature of the data restrict the generalizability of the results.

Service organizations need to design a 24/7 strategy that includes organizational communication and guidelines on fair work scheduling. Key issues in management are finding ways to enhance predictability within unpredictability, discussing the most common ethical problems and developing the skills needed to manage diversity. These are elements that should be included in management training.

The study contributes to the literature by focusing on seldom studied issues and innovately approached by comparing two work sectors.