Drug and alcohol services - improving holistic family support

10. Future developments and approach to commissioning, redesign & partnership

"I finally got a new drugs worker and there was another drugs worker who came to see me in the house every week. She was amazing and really down-to-earth, and I was able to open up and talk to her. She spoke to me on a human level and was just herself. Her support helped me to get my son back."

(Laura Deasley, Mother)

This section focuses on development of:

• Sustained and sustainable partnerships who jointly redesign and commission, whole family approaches with a common set of outcomes, recognising and playing to the range of strengths across partnerships which includes family inclusive practice
• A financial framework to ensure approaches are resourced appropriately
• The Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland and the Scottish Government and COSLA's joint statement of intent

10.1 Strong strategic and operational links between Alcohol and Drug Services, Children and Families Services, adult social care, the wider links to Public Protection and Community are key to ensuring that we can develop and deliver a range of whole family approaches in supporting children, young people, parents/carers and wider families where substance use and other challenges and needs exist.

10.2 Likewise a strong sustainable set of partnership arrangements need to be in place at local and national level with third and voluntary sector organisations who have skills, expertise and a proven track record in the delivery of whole family approaches. This, linked to deeper well embedded family inclusive practice across all our alcohol and drug services is essential if we are to deliver the aspirations of Rights, Respect and Recovery, the Promise and GIRFEC.

10.3 RRR recognises the importance of this approach to supporting individual recovery, but also to ensuring the needs of a wide range of family members, critically including children and young people, are best met when we take this broader, more holistic and inclusive approach. It also means that public resources, service capacity, expertise and skills can be better directed, co-ordinated and delivered. This, as we have described elsewhere in this document, will lead to better, more sustainable outcomes. Whole Family Approaches are central to:

• Recognising and delivery of savings downstream by working early, effectively and sustainably with families.^[40]
• Maximum efficiency in the use of public money by co-ordinating the efforts and skills of agencies and individual workers.

10.4 And in order for this to happen local areas will wish to ensure:-

• Adequate resources are available to back up delivery of the sustainable long term financial framework to meet the aspirations of this work;
• Joint commissioning approaches are put into place "children's services planning should be seen as a driver towards the development of local commissioning processes which are based on robust information about needs, costs and quality, and ongoing engagement with service users and the wider community."
• Funding sources from local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and other partners to the Children's Services Planning Partnership are aligned around common and jointly agreed objectives in meeting local needs and ambition, with these objectives articulated in the Children's Services Plan and aligned planning frameworks such as (but not limited to) ADP Delivery Plans, Community Justice Plans, and plans relating to adult social care, ensuring these meet local needs identified through joint strategic needs assessments.
• A common set of core outcomes are developed and agreed by all partner agencies, taking account of nationally agreed outcomes set out in national guidance and aligned outcomes frameworks. (This will be supported at a national level through identification of agreed national outcomes across ADPs and Children's Services.)
• We all play to the strengths of local and national third/voluntary sector partners, creating trust, a positive set of relationships, a strong ethos and alignment between services.
• We work, learn and train together in developing rights-based, trauma-informed family inclusive practices and whole family approaches.
• We find ways to change how our current commissioning cycles and competitive tendering approach works for us to develop sustainable services with deep roots in our communities.

10.5 The Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland concluded at the end of January 2021 and its report, was published on 3 February 2021^[41].

10.6 The principal aim of the review was to recommend improvements to adult social care in Scotland, primarily in terms of the outcomes achieved by and with people who use services, their carers and families, and the experience of people who work in adult social care. The review took a human rights-based approach.

10.7 The Scottish Government and COSLA have issued a joint statement of intent^[42] outlining how they will work together to deliver the key foundation pillars set out in the Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland (IRASC).

10.8 The joint statement of intent includes a commitment to develop a minimum standards framework for terms and conditions. This will lead to the establishment of core requirements for ethical commissioning which will ensure that going forward, fair work requirements and principles are met and delivered consistently.