Exploring the Links
between the
Children and
Families Act and the
Care Act
Caroline Bennett – Senior Development Officer
August 2014
The Council for Disabled Children
• The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) is the umbrella body
for the disabled children’s sector in England.
• CDC bring together the diverse range of organisations that
work with and for disabled children, children with Special
Educational Needs and their families to support the
development and implementation of effective policy and
practice.
• CDC’s Council now exceeds 180 member organisations, large
and small, and their work impacts on over 800,000
disabled children and their families.
CDC’s Networks
CDC also runs a number of networks which include:
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•
•
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National Parent Partnership Network
Special Educational Consortium
Transition Information Network
Making Ourselves Heard participation network
Early Support
CDC also hosts the Every Disabled Child Matters Campaign
and works in partnership with the National Development Team
for Inclusion to deliver the Preparing for Adulthood
programme.
CDC as Strategic Reform Partner
CDC is working as Strategic Reform Partner for SEN and
Disability to the Department for Education.
As Strategic Reform Partner CDC is working with our CDC
Council and across our Networks to:
• Support the development of capacity building across the
Voluntary and Community Sector.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of key policy
initiatives.
• Identify and support research to gather evidence on what works
to inform policy and practice development and planning
Joining the CDC council
At the heart of our organisation are the CDC Council members.
The Council is the wider stakeholder group for CDC and
provides us with a unique overview of current issues.
CDC members enjoy a variety of benefits including:
•The unique opportunity to inform and be informed on a variety
of disabled children's issues.
•The chance to attend CDC Council Meetings.
•The opportunity to join CDC working groups.
•A free monthly e-mail newsletter and quarterly Digest,
summarising essential policy and practice.
•Regular invitations to workshop sessions/conferences on key
policy and practice issues.
Exploring the Links between
the Children and Families
Act and the Care Act
Key themes of the Children and Families Act: Part 3
•Local Offer
•0-25 Education, Health and Care Plans – Outcome focus
•Participation and engagement
•Personal Budgets
•Joint Commissioning
•Preparation for Adulthood
Background to the Care Act
•Foundations of Social Care law put in place over 60 years ago.
•Part 1 of the Care Act pulls together threads from over a dozen
different Acts into a single, modern framework for care and
support.
•It reforms how the law works, prioritising wellbeing for
individuals with care and support needs over the age of 18.
•It has a particular focus on person-centred practice, outcomes
and putting people in control of their care and support.
Where do the Children and Families Act and the Care Act
overlap?
 They will overlap for young people aged 18-25:
 Local Authorities will need to consider the implementation
of the Acts together to ensure they are not implemented
in conflicting ways;
 Or in ways that mean there is duplication creating more
work for professionals in local areas and more stress for
young people and families;
 However, there are many positive opportunities created
by thinking about the implementation in a joined up way.
What are the opportunities?
Focus on participation and involvement
Focus on Outcomes and Person Centred Practice
Duty in the Care Bill to promote wellbeing:
• Control over day to day life (inc. care and support)
• Participation in work, education, training or recreation
• Social and economic wellbeing
• Domestic, family and personal relationships
• Suitability of living accommodation
• Contribution to society
Continuity of care – Child’s Needs Assessment
• Can be requested at any age;
• Duty to carry out if ‘likely need’ for care and support post 18 and at a
time of ‘significant benefit’ to a young person’s planning;
• Proportionate assessment leading to a transition plan;
• Continuation of children’s service post 18
Matthew’s Story
Work experience from age 11
Person centred review with a focus on PfA
Outcomes - Paid employment and to live in his
own home
4 planning sessions to support full involvement
Input from Adult Social Care:
• Personal Budget?
• Enough to pay Job Coach?
• Link to Housing Association
Now: Living independently in a job he loves;
www.media19.co.uk/production/Matthews-story
What are the opportunities?
Information, Advice and Support
o
Duty to establish and maintain an Information and Advice service
for individuals aged 18 and over and their carers;
Local authorities have new functions to ensure that people:
• receive services that prevent their care needs from becoming
more serious;
• can get the information they need to make good decisions about
care and support;
• have a good range of providers to choose from.
For more information you can download the new PfA factsheet about
the Care Act at: www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/resources/pfaresources/factsheet-the-children-and-families-act-and-the-care-act
What could it look like in practice
•Consider opportunities for information and advice across age
spans from childhood to adulthood;
•Get involved in the development of the Local Offer – this may
be used to identify existing provision and gaps in support
available to feed into commissioning priorities;
•Increased focus on participation including the need for
shared/supported decision making from 16 and the requirement
in the Care Act to provide independent advocacy;
•Both Acts strongly emphasise the importance of participation
and involvement of children, young people, individuals and their
families or carers.
Local authorities have duties within both Acts to develop the
market to ensure that there are quality services, which lead to
the intended outcomes of the Children and Families Act and the
Care Act;
Provide young people and their families with opportunities to
pool budgets and commission mutually beneficial support;
Where to find out more and keep up to date
You can read the responses to the questions we have received
each week in the documents below.
Week
Week
Week
Week
1 - Local offer (updated)
2 - Engagement of young people and families
3/4 - EHC plans and Personal Budgets
5 - Personalisation and Person Centred Practice
www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/forum
Contact Information
Council for Disabled Children
Website: http://www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/councilfordisabledchildren
Twitter: @CDC_Tweets
Newsletter:e-mail cdc@ncb.org.uk
Preparing for Adulthood
Website: www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/preparingforadulthood
Twitter: @PfA_Tweets
Blog: www.preparingforadulthood.wordpress.com
Contact Information
Transition Information Network
Website: http://www.transitioninfonetwork.org.uk/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TransitionInformationNetwork?ref=
hl
Twitter: @TIN_Talks
Membership:
http://www.transitioninfonetwork.org.uk/membership.aspx