Growth and development.pdf

AberdeenThe Council is still some way from delivering comprehensive services for care leavers. The majortasks arise over:• identifying the numbers of care leavers for whom the Council has responsibility;• establishing their main needs in setting out their futures lives;• planning appropriate accommodation for young people who have chaotic lifestyles and whoabuse substances; and• assessing the budget required to make inroads into the support required.A significant number of children are affected by disability and the provision of services to thesechildren can require the deployment of significant resources.In criminal justice services, the various aspects of risk assessment at present in use – includingthose for sex offender cases – fall short of a systematic and continuous mechanism for qualityassurance of risk assessment and the Council and its partners in the grouping should explorethe options for such a mechanism, which would improve service quality.The problems which are emerging in social work staffing could impact on the City’s capacity tomeet its strategic plan, although in the past it has been able to use underspend in staffing budgetsto offset other expenditure. The Council needs to urgently devise means of improving staffrecruitment and retention, making use of the ADSW action plan for supporting front-line staff.15