Un-Regulated Accommodation and Support Pathway Alignment

Expression of Interest:

Un-Regulated Accommodation and Support Pathway Alignment

Kent County Council (the Council) is the largest county council in England covering an area of 3,500 square kilometres. It has an annual expenditure of over £1.7bn on goods and services and a population of 1.6m. The Council provides a wide range of personal and strategic services on behalf of its residents, operating in partnership with 12 district councils and 309 parish/town councils.

The Council is working to redesign and align the accommodation and support pathway for Care Leavers, Children in Care and homeless 16- and 17-year-olds. This includes purchasing a good range of stable, safe, and well-maintained accommodation and support services that are flexible to meet individual and changing demands. The specifications for the proposed new services and pathway are currently being developed with key stakeholders and will be shared later. However, the key principles of each of the new services, we foresee, will remain the same but could be subject to change.

Current Services

Young People Support Accommodation & Floating Support (YP SAFS)

The YP SAFS contract is due to end on 30 September 2022.

Accommodation ranges from large purpose-built services with a mixture of self-contained bed sits with shared facilities to dispersed one or two bed properties. The service is predominately used by Children in Care, Children in Need and Care Leavers between 16-25.

The scheme is designed for accommodation for up to two-years and aims to build independence in young people through support sessions and tackle any health or wellbeing issues that may be preventing them achieving this, through a holistic assessment.

Within this context, the primary aim of the YP SAFS service is to provide suitable accommodation that is stable, safe, and well maintained and support for the quantity of time required.

The service has three main aspects:

1 Supported Accommodation– the provision of units of accommodation in the required locations with support

2 Floating Support– Support to those moving on.

3 Emergency Beds- a one/ two-night bed for emergency use

The Provider(s) will also be expected to manage anti-social behaviours that occur in any accommodation that it provides to service users on behalf of the Council by way of reporting all incidents to the Council to action accordingly.

Transitional and Outreach Support (Floating Support)

The current Floating Support service is commissioned within the YP SAFS contract.

This service provides housing related support for a maximum duration of three months.

Within this context, the primary aim of floating support is to provide a support worker to aid independence within the accommodation.

Shared Accommodation

The current Shared Accommodation contract is due to end on 31 October 2022.

Shared Accommodation is short term accommodation in a residential property where the Council buys units to accommodate individual young people. The current service is a Countywide service and is based on a four-bed property only model (no support). The service is predominately used by Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) and Asylum Care Leavers.

The Council wants to ensure that young people can benefit from the supportive impact of stable and successful housing on the other aspects of a young person's life. Housing is a critical component for securing education, employment and training and sustaining good health and providing important stability to young adults, which is often critical in managing effective transition.

Within this context, the primary aim of the Shared Accommodation service is to provide suitable accommodation that is stable, safe, and well maintained. This accommodation is an important part of the pathway to independence.

The service has three main aspects:

1 Accommodation Brokerage – the provision of units of accommodation in the required locations (including contingency accommodation)

2 Property and Facilities Management – Accommodation maintenance services including the management of damages

3 Move-In Arrangements – Young Person Induction outlining roles and responsibilities and expected behaviours

The Provider will also be expected to manage anti-social and violent behaviours that occur in any accommodation that it provides to young people on behalf of the Council by way of reporting all incidents to the Council to action accordingly.

Current and Potential Demand

High Needs Accommodation

The Council’s Sufficiency Strategy identifies the need for the authority to source suitable accommodation and support for those children and young people who have been assessed as having high and complex needs. Historically the Council has relied on making placements via spot purchased semi-independent accommodation which can be costly to procure and not deliver the desired outcomes for the young person. It is anticipated therefore, that the Council will seek to include the capacity to support this cohort within the new commissioned service by providing intensive support service model.

Supported Accommodation

There are 170 commissioned units with four emergency beds providing from five to24 hours per week housing related support. This does not meet the current demand and it is anticipated that the Council will require approx. 180 units under the new service across the districts (12) providing a range of support.

Transitional and Outreach support

We anticipate requiring approx. 31,000 hours of support per annum providing a range of support such

as transition into new properties which may include (but not limited to) guidance on cleaning, budgeting, cooking, rubbish removal, behaviours, roles and responsibilities and expectations.

We would also expect aiding integration into the community through signposting young people to multi-agency opportunities.

Shared Accommodation

There are currently 600 service users accommodated in this provision and it is anticipated that this figure to increase to ap…