Care Act 2014: A quick guide to resources to support implementation

With less than six months to go until the first set of Care Act 2014 reforms come into force, here’s a list of the resources produced by the government and several social care organisations to support local authorities and social workers get to grip with the changes.

What do you make of the tools produced so far? If there are resources you’d really like to see to support social workers with the Act do send us suggestions.

From the Department of Health…

• The final Care Act guidance – Sets out statutory guidance on how the Act will work and the various ‘must dos’ and ‘should dos’ for local authorities. Comes in at 506 pages
• The Care Act factsheets – If 506 pages of guidance feels slightly daunting, these 12 factsheets offer a summary of the key messages around various parts of the Act
• The final regulations for Part 1 of the Care Act  – Essentially the nuts and bolts of several key parts of the Act, including eligibility criteria
• Easyread: The 2014 Care Act – An easyread summary of the Care Act guidance

From Skills for Care…

• Workforce capacity model – Skills for Care, in partnership with several sector bodies, has produced a tool for local authorities to test their workforce’s readiness for the Act
• Learning and development – This suite of materials, including learning and development videos, claims to cover ‘all key parts of the Act’. The resources were developed with The College of Social Work

From the Social Care Institute for Excellence…

• Commissioning independent advocacy guide – SCIE is developing several resources around the Care Act 2014. This guide on the new advocacy duties is the first to be launched. href=”http://www.scie.org.uk/care-act-2014/advocacy-services/”>Details of other resources in the pipeline can be found here

From the Local Government Association…

• ‘Get in on the Act’ report – A 12 page summary of key changes being introduced with the Care Act
• Briefings for local councillors – Four examples of work being done to engage local councillors in implementation of the Care Act

From Think Local Act Personal…

• Information and advice strategy tool – Outlines a six stage process for developing a strategy to meet the Care Act’s information and advice duties
• Information, advice and brokerage guide – Designed to help councils meet the April 2015 deadline to improve information on support services available in their communities