Download Jobs First learning disabilities? Emerging evaluation findings Dr Martin Stevens and Jess Harris

Jobs First for people with
learning disabilities?
Emerging evaluation findings
Dr Martin Stevens and Jess Harris
Social Care Workforce Research Unit
King’s College London
Introduction
• Background
• Aims and methods
• Emerging findings
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Context
Attitudes
Refocusing self-directed care steps
Job coaching and support for self-employment
Organisational changes and challenges
Labour Force Activation policies
Employment outcomes
• Conclusions
Background
• Personalisation and
employment
• Valuing Employment Now
• Multiple funding streams
• Refocusing social care
support on employment
• Seven authorities selected,
five took part
• Comparison group study
• Process evaluation
Policy connections
• ‘We will legislate to ensure that
everyone can take control of
their care and support by giving
them an entitlement to a
personal budget.’ (HMG, 2012: 54)
• ‘encouraging and supporting
employment, local mentoring
and volunteering activity at an
individual level’ (HMG, 2010: 12
emphasis added)
Jobs First evaluation
• The independent evaluation was
commissioned by the Department of Health
as part of SCWRU’s core work
• The evaluation aimed to:
– Investigate whether and how Jobs First made a
difference to employment outcomes for people
with learning disabilities
– Identify organisational and practice
developments that support this goal
Methods
• Comparison group study
– Cohort of 20 people with learning disabilities per site
– Matched comparison group
– Case record data on 116 people with learning disabilities
(76 in the Jobs First cohort, 40 in the comparison group)
• Process evaluation involved 142 interviews with:
– DH Lead and national advisers, Jobs First leads, other
managers and professionals
– Social workers/care managers, job coaches, care workers
– People with learning disabilities and their family carers
Progress and status of the report and
findings
Progress
Status
Therefore
• Report submitted
• Responded to peer review
• Awaiting DH sign off
• Findings indicative
Context
• History of supported
employment
• Financial climate
• Changing personnel and services
• High unemployment
• Progress with personalisation
• Impact of Getting a Life and
Right to Control
Attitudes towards employment
Positive attitudes
Nothing stops me [from getting a
job]... I keep going. I wouldn’t
give up. It’s the right attitude to
have..
Person with Learning Disabilities
AH01 R2
Where families are on board that’s
been really positive. People living
in shared supported living or
perhaps adult placements, it’s
been a varied picture perhaps
Jobs First Lead MS06
Concerns
They may not have experienced
paid employment and for some
people the thought of having a
job can be stressful
Jobs First Lead MS06 R1
We always go in for part time
work, because families don’t
want anything changed
Social Worker MS3
Refocusing self-directed support steps
• Access to clear and comprehensive
information about welfare benefits and
the options for employment support
• Raising employment routinely in reviews
as a serious possibility for more people
• Prioritising employment goals in all
support plans
• Combining the use of different funding
streams for those people eligible
• Help to re-claim welfare benefits and to
re-establish support with job finding
should jobs be lost
Challenges to refocusing selfdirected support
• Support plans costed above the indicative
budget identified by the Resource Allocation
System (RAS), which were often not agreed or
‘signed off’
• A lack of ownership and leadership from
commissioning managers and care
management staff
• Raising the idea of employment with
individuals and families was hard for some
social care staff
• Prioritising employment within social care was
difficult when funds to meet essential care
needs were being reduced
Job coaching
• Profiling skills, strengths and interests
• Balancing realistic goals with ‘dream
jobs’
• Working with employers
• Travel training
• Teaching tasks required and about the
experience of being at work
• The level of support required may
reduce over time
Support for self-employment
• Self-employment was seen as a good option for
– People for whom the employment relationship was unattractive
– Those likely to find a work setting difficult
• Two self-employment approaches were adopted in sites:
In-Business, which emphasised the involvement of
informal support to help individuals set up
businesses
Mi-enterprise, a marketing cooperative approach,
facilitating setting up of micro enterprises
Both approaches were viewed as valuable
and had helped people to start trading
Organisational changes
• Jobs First was felt to be useful in ‘clarifying the
pathway’ of changes needed within local
authorities and in collaboration with partners
• Three out of the five sites had ensured that
assessed employment support needs were
included in the Resource Allocation System (RAS)
• Other sites allowed funds allocated for ‘social
inclusion’ to be spent on employment support
• Close working was required with:
– Jobcentre Plus
– In-house and independent sector supported
employment services
• ‘Developing’ supported employment provision
where there were gaps
Organisational challenges
• Promoting employment to staff at all levels, in all
agencies and organisations involved
• Systematically integrating employment goals into all
contracts with providers working with adults with
learning disabilities and into performance
management regimes
• Releasing social care funding currently tied up in day
services into personal budgets
• Working closely with Housing to develop services that
support employment goals
Jobs First in relation to
Active Labour Market Policies (ALMP)
• Aims match ALMP (welfare to work)
– personalisation, choice, collaboration and internalising
policy goals
• But language linked to normalisation and social
role valorisation
– What we have done is given reassurances that it is not
about taking something away... It’s more about creating
opportunities where we can for people into paid work
Jobs First Lead MS06 R1
• However a mix of moral pressure and opportunity:
– ... I believe everyone should work, really. Have the
opportunity to work at least. Adult Social Care JH17
(Emphasis added)
Follow-up employment status by
evaluation group
70%
60%
50%
Baseline Jobs First n=59
40%
Follow-up Jobs First n=60
30%
Baseline Comparison n= 39
20%
Follow-up Comparison n= 33
10%
0%
Not looking
Looking
In paid work
Conclusions
• The evaluation stresses the importance of
– Attitudes and professional roles, especially social workers and care managers
– Establishing the legitimacy of employment in funding decisions
– The availability of sufficient good quality employment support
• More people in the Jobs First cohorts were working at follow-up
• Where good supported employment provision existed most
professionals believed there was value in the idea of using
personal budgets to purchase employment support
• It was not possible to ‘braid’ different statutory funding streams
into a single budget
• Savings were thought to be possible long-term, in reducing the
need for long-term use of day services or support worker time
Thank You
Martin Stevens [email protected]
Jess Harris – [email protected]