Engaging care providers to support people with learning disabilities and / or autism with forensic backgrounds

This eight month project from April 2022 will work with members of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group and a wider network of care and housing providers with aligned values.  The project aims to encourage care and support providers to step forward and ensure that they are able to work with individuals with a learning disability or autism and forensic histories to get them successfully out of hospital and to keep them out of hospital. The intention is for this pilot to then inform how a national approach could be delivered.

Aims

1. To pilot up to the point of provider mobilisation a programme to engage care providers in the delivery of support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people with forensic histories (Including young people aged 16+).
2. Provide a direct contribution to the NHS Long-Term Plan, specifically – at a regional level – support closer to home, discharging people from secure hospitals and keeping them out of hospital.
3. Document the ‘art of the possible’ for a national approach to support people with forensic backgrounds who need to transition back into the community.
4. Be in a position where a number of providers will be able to mobilise in the West Midlands area to support the needs of people with forensic backgrounds who need to be discharged from low to medium secure hospitals into the community.
5. To lead the development of training for specific care providers with the Provider Collaborative.
6. The programme will focus on facilitating discharge but recognise that the services to be facilitated would also be suitable for preventing similar future admissions.
7. Learning will be shared throughout the project, enabling wider progress and rollout.

Outputs

The project will:

1. Undertake a review of best practice in community social care support for people with forensic histories.
2. Identify people with forensic background support needs in the West Midlands area expected to be ready for discharge within 12 months and existing delayed transfers.
3. Develop a schedule of providers on commissioner forensic service frameworks identifying those which are active and those which are dormant and why.
4. Develop and test a provider screening and quality assurance tool.
5. Identify a group of VODG members willing to provide forensic services in the Midlands.
6. Conduct a market analysis of what providers need in order to come into the market.
7. Establish which providers have housing arms or good links with housing and identify additional housing providers.
8. Develop with providers a training package for meeting the needs of people with a forensic background.
9. Create a map matching selected providers with identified individuals to ensure a good fit.
10. Produce a professional report disseminating findings and recommendations, also detailing what the project delivered, what worked, and recommendations for a blueprint for wider application.

After carrying out the initial research and analysis we will be holding a workshop with potential providers immediately after the peak summer holiday period.