FOI Request - Mental Health and Wellbeing Services for Children and Young People
Request 101003094086
Of the 230 additional, or enhanced, mental health and wellbeing supports and services for 5 to 24 year olds, announced by the Scottish Government, as part of their recovery from the pandemic could you please answer the following questions.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-covid-recovery-strategy-programme-board-programme-approach/pages/update-on-covid-recovery-strategy-actions/
1. How much was allocated to your local authority.
2. Which new or enhanced services will this money be allocated to, and is each service
a. New or enhanced?
b. If enhanced how many extra places are available for children and young people?
c. Digital, physical or telephone based?
d. If digital, is the service self-help?
e. What is the age range of children and young people this service supports?
f. For how long will this service be able to run on this funding?
g. What is the referral pathway for this service?
h. How many children and young people are expected to use the service for the term of funding?
i. What consultation was done with children and young people and parents on the design and commissioning of these services.
Response 11-07-2022
1. The Local Authority has received in total £406, 250 from this funding stream.
2. a) Initial scoping funding included allocation of funding to the following providers Aberlour Youth Point (enhanced) , Revolution for Good ( enhanced) , Moray Wellbeing Hub (new). Sonas Wellbeing service is now the only service funded, this is a new purposely designed service.
b) Sonas Wellbeing Service is new, (enhanced provision was delivered only short term as the service delivery options were explored with those providers named above) and no longer available through this funding stream
c) Sonas Wellbeing Service utilises all the above methods as use a range of tools appropriate to the age and stage of the children or young people referred
d) A website is part of provision accessible by all, additional digital support is then provided to reflect assessment and expressed choice. Provision is person centered so a young person may choose self-help however support is available to them if wanted to engage resources
e) 5-25 years, 26 for those care experienced
f) Current contract in place until July 2023 from this funding stream
g) Self-referral either by phone or website, also referrals can be accepted from parents or professionals on behalf of a Young Person
h) Difficult to ascertain need due to the ongoing revealing impact of the pandemic, this service is also contracted to include community provision, preventative work and group based provision. Initial forecasts were for 4,000+ Children and Young People per annum.
i) A working group was formed and individuals were engaged to interview both parents and young people regarding their mental wellbeing needs and experiences. Work was already ongoing prior to this funding announcement to identify gaps in service. In addition engagement was captured during the children services plan production engagement activities and relevant data was collected through the realigning Children Services Survey ( Every Local Authority completed). We continue to assess needs through the mental wellbeing improvement programme and the service has a specially created role to engage Young people around their experiences to inform service development.