Evaluation of Children’s Commissioning Support Resource (CCSR) Contract.

Descriptions

The Children’s Commissioning Support Resource (ccsr) is a service aimed at supporting the process of finding appropriate care settings for looked after children in Wales. It is a successful joined-up government initiative, with partners including the Welsh Assembly Government, the Welsh Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Social Services in Wales.The service is provided by the Local Government Data Unit and is centred around a real-time database which allows users to match children with provision based on a profile of their requirements.The ccsr database holds details of care settings and vacancies from a range of service providers, including residential homes and foster carers. These are continually updated by the providers, ensuring that ccsr provides the most up-to-date information possible.Placement teams and local authority commissioners can use the database to identify suitable placements for children in their care by entering details of the child’s requirements and running a search. The database will return a shortlist of the most suitable placements based on the information provided. A history of searches and their results is kept for future reference.Futher background can be found on http://www.wlga.gov.uk/english/ccsr/The principal aim of this research project is to consider the effectiveness of CCSR as a resource tool to facilitate local authorities’ identification and better matching of suitable placements. A further aim is to assess the capacity and value in extending the use of CCSR for all placements made by local authorities including those with in-house / local authority approved foster carer or residential settings.Specific objectives of the research are:•To assess the extent to which CCSR is helpful as a resource to support the placement process;•To assess the extent to which CCSR contributes to achieving more stable placements for looked after children;•To assess the extent to which CCSR has influenced the market for possible choice of placements;•To assess the extent to which CCSR has assisted in the overall placement strategy and any impact on placement expenditure;•To assess the potential benefits of extending CCSR searches to cover all placements for LAC;•To assess the potential for CCSR being used to support local authority wider responsibilities for placements for example SEN in specialist schools, adult residential care; and•To assess the potential for CCSR to have a secondary function to help CSSIW and authorities in discharging regulated functions and enforcement activity and securing local provision of placements for LAC e.g. provisions in the CYP 2008 Act in relation to securing sufficient provision and notifying LA of establishments or agencies who are subject to enforcement action because of poor performance etc. The Welsh Assembly Government, on behalf of the Welsh Ministers, will be conducting this procurement exercise through the etenderwales portal https://etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk. Tender documents and other information must be downloaded from and returned through this portal. If you require any further assistance the BravoSolution helpdesk is available on:Email: help@bravosolution.co.uk Phone: 0800 3684850 / Fax: 020 7060 0480Full information in accessing the portal is found in Section VI.3.