Service innovation stories
A series of stories highlighting innovative approaches to social service delivery in Scotland.
There is evidence that people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are more likely to come into contact with the police than people who do not have ASD. It may not be immediately obvious to criminal justice professionals that the person they have encountered has ASD. His or her unusual behaviour may invite the attention of others, but in general ASD is a hidden disability.
IRISS Forum 2010 - Challenging times, creative solutions was the first annual IRISS Forum. Those who attended had the opportunity to hear from a number of speakers and found out how IRISS can support the social services workforce to 'do things differently.' Was focused on how solutions can be found by working in partnership to deliver successful outcomes for the people that access Scotland's social services.
The Altrum Risk Research Project is currently conducting research on how risk affects the lives of people who use services, and aims to produce a guidance pack for practitioners who deal with risk.
It is hoped that the overall project will result in approximately 17,500 disabled people becoming more involved in decisions about risk and protection; hopefully increasing their level of choice and giving them more control over their lives.
Scotland is facing an ageing population demographic and the implications have been widely discussed: the size of the available workforce; pressure on pensions; and how health and social care will support more individuals with emerging long term conditions. These implications coupled with a desire for public services to be more flexible and personalised to individuals, has led some local authorities to fundamentally redesign their approach to service delivery.
Offending by men is reported to peak at the age of 21 and so working with young offenders is a key priority to encourage desisting from crime to save the state costs later for dealing with offenders and to help provide access to a better life. On the Ball is a ten-week programme for young offenders run by the Edinburgh City Council Youth Offending Service in collaboration with a number of external partners, most notably Heart of Midlothian Football Club and The Duke of Edinburgh Trust.
Across Scotland there are an increasing number of people being diagnosed with dementia – a range of illnesses of which Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common. As doctors and specialists become more aware of the disease and its symptoms, the number of people diagnosed and diagnosed earlier has increased; coupled with the an increasingly ageing population - there are more people at risk than before in suffering from dementia. It is estimated that one in three women aged 90 and over suffer from dementia.
Positive relationships and strong social networks are increasingly recognised as integrally important to an individual's wellbeing and their re-enablement after illness. However, support mechanisms for vulnerable people unfortunately often don’t place emphasis on the importance of relationships and networks for a multitude of reasons ranging from budgetary issues, to not knowing how relationships and social networks can be delivered as support.