Social Work And Health Committee - 25/06/2007

At a MEETING of the SOCIAL WORK AND HEALTH COMMITTEE held at Dundee on 25th June, 2007.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Bailie Helen WRIGHT, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 16th April, 2007 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL SOCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT'S ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

There was submitted Report No 349-2007 by the Director of Social Work providing details of the Social Work Department's Organisational Development Strategy.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to adopt the Strategy; and

(ii) to instruct the Director of Social Work to develop an action plan to ensure the implementation of the strategy and to ensure that key actions are reflected on the Department's Service Plan.

II PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES FOR THE PROTECTION OF DUNDEE'S CHILDREN

There was submitted Report No 289-2007 by the Director of Social Work seeking approval for specific proposals to improve the systems and processes within inter-agency child protection services in Dundee.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to the creation of an expanded multi-agency team dedicated to the child protection task, to include representation from Social Work, Education, Tayside Police and NHS Tayside;

(ii) to the development of a model of co-location for a multi-agency team; and

(iii) to the establishment of a multi-agency project team to operationalise the proposals.

III OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY SERVICE - CRITERIA FOR THE PROVISION OF EQUIPMENT AND ADAPTATIONS INTHE HOMES OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

There was submitted Report No 700-2006 by the Director of Social Work updating and revising the criteria for the provision of equipment and adaptations in the homes of people with disabilities and to provide the basis of professional guidance to staff and public information.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to approve the criteria proposed in Appendix A of the report; and

(ii) that the Director of Social Work arranged for this information to be available on the Council's website and in other appropriate formats.

IV FOSTERING AND ADOPTION RESOURCES

There was submitted Report No 324-2007 by the Director of Social Work informing of the pressures being experienced by the family placement service and the impact of this on the experiences for looked after and accommodated children.

The report also made recommendations regarding the future development of the family placement service and recommended policies for promoting good practice and positive experiences for children and young people even within a context of pressurized resources.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) that the fostering and adoption services needed to continue to recruit and retain additional carers to meet the increased demands on the service;

(ii) that the fostering service needed to continue to improve the conditions of service, including financial payments, in order to meet recruitment and retention targets;

(iii) that the capacity of the fostering and adoption services would need to be enhanced in order to meet the additional demands;

(iv) to implement the recommended policies in relation to the maximum numbers of looked after children in a fostering household and looked after children sharing bedrooms;

(v) that the service continued to build capacity and support kinship carer placements;

(vi) to instruct the Director of Social Work to provide a report on the adoption services review; and

(vii) to instruct the Director of Social Work to continue to lobby the Scottish Executive regarding the under funding of local authority fostering and adoption services.

V THE CLOSURE OF DUNCAN PLACE AND THE RE-ALLOCATION OF REVENUE INTO CURRENT ANDALTERNATIVE PROVISION

There was submitted Report No 306-2007 by the Director of Social Work seeking approval for the closure of Duncan Place Young Persons' Unit due to the considerable investment required to bring the accommodation up to current building standards and seeking approval for the proposed plans for the re-allocation of savings to meet service pressures.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to approve the content of the report and agreed the closure of Duncan Place Young Persons' Unit by 31st July, 2007; and

(ii) to the proposed plan for re-allocation of resources.

VI SCOTTISH SOCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL ANNUAL AWARDS

There was submitted Agenda Note AN189-2007 on the Scottish Social Services Council Annual Awards which recognised best practice throughout the social services sector in Scotland.

It was reported that Dundee City Council's partnership with Barnardo's Scotland, the FACE (Fighting Against Child Exploitation) Project was the winner in the category for involvement of people who use services. The FACE Project also received a special commendation in the category which recognised innovative and/or imaginative training programmes.

Dundee City Council Social Work Department's Staff Support Service reached the final in the category of successful initiatives to recruit and retain staff.

Overall, 13 finalists (covering 5 categories) had been selected by judges from over 114 entries received from across Scotland.

The Committee noted the achievements of the City Council in partnership with Barnardo's and the Social Work Department's Staff Support Service.

Helen WRIGHT, Convener.