Questions for Providers from Families
We asked families to share with us the questions they had for providers. Be they questions they had asked, or questions they wish they had asked.
There are several but we have grouped them to make it easier.
These are the questions Providers should consider answering for all prospective families before the families even realise they need to be asked.
Being a Provider:
Being a Provider:- How do I know you exist and can help be part of the plan for my son to have a great life
- What is your biggest concern providing for people discharged from ATUs to you?
- What is your experience of working with people who have been in ATU?
- Will you voice your true opinion if it is not that of the social and healthcare services?
- What are the main pitfalls to it all going wrong?
- How do you ensure a new service/staff is well supported and does not break down?
- If a community package is in place how do you ensure all elements are met?
- How do you decide what level of support is most appropriate?
- What is your take on being person centred – please define?
- How is person centred practice delivered within your settings, please give examples.
- How do you sustain good support?
- How do you put your values into practice?
- What profit do you make from my child’s package and where does it go?
- Have you ever thought of shared support with the personal budget/holder & service provider?
- Will you work with another provider if the family wants this and offer Flexi support?
Your Staff/Our Team:
- How can I know to trust you if you say your staff have autism/Learning disability experience or expertise?
- How will you support your workers and families during (and following) a difficult incident
- What is basic training/induction for your staff?
- What additional training do you offer for staff working with children and young people who have been in an ATU?
- Your workers are refusing to have a young person out in the car because of hitting out (due to staff doing going the wrong way) – what will you do?
Working with the child, young person or adult in their care:
- How do you reduce help when it’s no longer needed?
- How are you promoting independence?
- How do you motivate a young person who will not leave his home?
- What process would you use to motivate him?
- What steps do your organisation take to ensure young people are not sent to prison when in your care?
- How can you guarantee you will not give up on a young person?
- How can we ensure that my sons rights to a good life, doing things he wants are not compromised by what is available?
- What do you have in common with my son for example his interests?
- Do you even consider what his interests are?
Working with the family:
- How do you work with families and people before you actually support them?
- Will you work as a team with the family carer?
- Will you truly be kind and supportive to families with a different view?
- Are you happy spending time in conversation with me?
- How do you work with families?
- How are you listening to the parents and their wishes?
- Do you agree parents have a role to play?
- How do you involve families in recruitment?
- Do you think parents are important in the interviewing process and how can we have input?
Coming soon:
Next week we will be looking at what our hopes and dreams for our children’s future are. Do they differ in any way to any parent?
We will also be sharing the ideas we can move forward with now, the ideas that we can do without changes in legislation. Changes which will help to truly transform care.
Debs is one of the co-founders and Directors of Bringing Us Together. She is mum to three child with a variety of SEND and has a great husband.
