Framework Tender for Fostering Families and Adult Caring Households (Continuing Care and Aftercare) Services

Description

A Framework is being established with Providers registered as Fostering Services and Adult Placement Services to secure future Fostering Families and Adult Caring Household provision for children and young people who require to be looked after and accommodated away from home. From this point on any reference to Bidder will mean the Provider Organisation who is bidding to provide Fostering Families and Adult Caring Household services, referred to hereafter for ease as Fostering Families. Glasgow City Council (the Council) is seeking to establish a multi-supplier Framework. Successful Bidders and Fostering Families will play a key role in supporting the Council to meet its statutory duties in providing care and support to children and young people who need to be Looked After or Looked After and Accommodated in a family setting. Successful Bidders will work in collaboration and close partnership with Social Work staff and key partner agencies, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) and Education services to deliver the outcomes for the children and young people as specified by the Council in the child or young person’s My Plan. Contract Duration: 3 Years, plus the option to extend for a further 1 year. Providers will be expected to recruit Fostering Families from within the Glasgow City boundary. Where this is not possible, and to ensure the most compatible match for the child or young person, recruitment of Fostering Families within a 20 mile radius of the Glasgow City boundary and beyond will be considered. Lot 4: Providers for Children and Young People with Complex Learning, Physical Disability and Mental Health Conditions The provision of Foster Family and Adult Caring Household based care for children and young people with very complex care needs. This will require the provision of Foster Families and Adult Caring Households where the Carers already have, or are able and willing to develop particular skills and abilities to support children and young people with some or all of the following needs: Non-verbal communication/communication through other methods Needs that require specific training for the Provider and Providers, e.g. nutrition is met through percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) or stoma care Significant daily and overnight physical care needs Autistic Spectrum Disorder Medical needs that require additional support and attendance at NHS appointments Administration of medication/rescue medication (PRN) Round the clock supervision Ongoing CAMHs or other professionals’ involvement This list is not exhaustive. This Lot also includes provision for Mother and Baby placements. Examples of the range of disabilities expected to be covered by this Lot are included as part of the tender documents. Age Group – 0 to 26 years (26th birthday). Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Lot 2: Individual Fostering Families This Lot is for the provision of an individual Fostering Family which will require the child or young person to be the only child or young person being cared for in the Fostering Family household. A key emphasis of the Fostering Family support is safeguarding, and will necessitate the carers being very experienced and suitably skilled to care for, and support the child or young person. Children and young people in this category may have neuro diversity profiles and may struggle to live in busy, noisy environments with multiple children, or young people, or children or young people may display behaviour which can pose a risk to themselves or others, including other children and young people. This Lot also includes provision for Mother and Baby placements. Age Group – 0 to 18 years (18th Birthday). Lot 2 is explicitly tied to Lot 3. Bidders applying to Lot 2 must also bid for Lot 3. Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 Lot 1: Fostering Families This Lot is for Fostering Family arrangements where there may be one or more child or young person, including the Fostering Family’s own children or other fostered children or young people being cared for, depending on the Foster Families’ registration. This Lot also includes provision for Mother and Baby placements. Age Group – 0 to 18 years (18th Birthday). Lot 1 is explicitly tied to Lot 3. Bidders applying to Lot 1 must also bid for Lot 3. Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Lot 5: Providers for Short Breaks (Respite) A provision to offer short-term, time-limited care in a one-off or standalone arrangement in response to urgent need, or as a planned regular arrangement to support a child or young person over a period of time, as agreed through the social work care planning process and in line with relevant legislation and guidance. The minimum duration of a Short Break will be 4 hours. Short Breaks (Respite) Carers will form a critical part of Glasgow City Health Social Care Partnership’s (GCHSCP) resources in order to provide flexible support to families to assist them to remain together. Short Breaks Providers will be used for children and young people who are LAAC. Short Breaks can also be used for families in the community where the child or young person is at risk of being LAAC, Kinship families; and to provide a break to Adult Caring Households or the child or young person, to provide distance to de-escalate family tensions or to respond to a family crisis, such as the acute illness/ death of the parent or carer. Short breaks can also be used as a short-term support arrangement for children affected by disabilities who continue to live within a family situation. Where a child or young person needs planned short breaks, GCHSCP would seek a regular Fostering Family to provide consistency and to enable the Fostering Family or Adult Caring Household to be part of the child or young person’s support network over time. This Lot also includes provision for Mother and Baby placements. Age Group – Fostering Families 0 to 18 years (18th birthday) Continuing Care 18 to 21 (21st birthday) Aftercare 18 to 26 years (26th birthday). Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Lot 3: Adult Caring Households (Continuing Care and Aftercare) This Lot covers the provision of care to a young person who was formerly looked after away from home between the ages of 16 and 18 but is now no longer a Looked After Child (LAC) and who has opted to remain in their current placement (Continuing Care), or where the young person remains in placement on an Aftercare basis. Legal status becomes either Continuing Care until 21st Birthday, or Aftercare until the 26th Birthday. This Lot also includes provision for Mother and Baby placements. Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (GCHSCP) may, on occasion, seek Adult Caring Households for young people who have not previously lived with Fostering Families on a Foster Care basis. GCHSCP is committed to the Staying Put agenda, and in supporting young people to remain in or move to Providers where they are happy, and their needs are met until they are ready to move towards greater independence. The care given will acknowledge and proactively support the growing maturity and increasing independent living skills of the young person. Age Groups Continuing Care 18 to 21 (21st birthday) Aftercare 18 to 26 years (26th birthday). This Lot is explicitly tied to Lot 1 and Lot 2. Bidders cannot bid for Lot 3 on it's own. Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.