CP1077-14 Family Based Carers Breaks for Devon.

Descriptions

This Service is the commissioning specification for the provision of Family Based overnight short break service for Children with Additional Needs. This service specification has been developed by commissioners to provide a vision for family based overnight care which provides safe, caring, personal and effective environments for children and young people to thrive and achieve in.This specification expects the service provider to support service users to be safe, develop their potential and continue to live within their own family setting for most of the time. The provider will be required to deliver a service that meets the collective needs and outcomes of children and young people who are residing at any one time alongside the individual needs of each persons plan and requirements.We would expect Foster Carers to offer a ‘home from home' service with children and young people taking part in ‘family activities' as well as additional positive experiences that may not be available to them in other circumstances.The foster carers will be expected to have appropriate training and experience to enable them to work appropriately and pro-actively with the children in their care. They will be able to identify where they can influence and develop a young person's skills and development and support behaviour and care plans that are collectively agreed across all services, including the family, who support an individual young person.The provider will be expected to demonstrate strong management and governance that is supportive to the framework in which foster carers feel confident in carrying out their duties and can be supported and challenged in appropriate ways.The safeguarding of children is of paramount importance and we are looking for a provider who evidences an open culture of learning and development for staff and foster carers to be able to identify and respond to risk and inappropriate behaviour and boundaries.This service specification also has a principle of decreasing individual users dependence on overnight care — the service provider will be required to actively participate in supporting plans to stabilise and where possible decrease dependency on overnight care for individual young people using their service.