This week’s visit to two teams from Families First and Independent Futures highlighted a number of issues. Firstly, it reaffirmed the view that we have excellent and committed people looking after the most vulnerable of Staffordshire’s residents.
The Families First Through-Care team tackle the vital, and complex, task of the transition of our looked-after children into adulthood. They already achieve a 70% success rate in terms of getting them into education, employment or training, well above the national average of 50%. The question of how we can do better was the theme of our discussions. Two things stuck in my mind – longer-term foster carers have a disproportionate effect on success in terms of setting the child on the right course, and the leverage that we have with our suppliers in terms of persuading them to offer employment to these young adults.
The Independent Futures team work very successfully with families and individuals to provide care solutions that create the conditions for the clients to live as independent lives as possible. It’s not an easy task, and not surprisingly, the transition from child to adult is one of the most important phases in these plans.
With both teams, the buildings out of which they work leave a lot to be desired. Both are converted Victorian structures – a villa and a primary school – and do not lend themselves to modern working. We are in the process of planning the consolidation in Stafford into SP1 and 2, and we have some good solutions across the county, and we will be looking to do better in Burton.