Local area co-ordination: strengthening support for people with learning disabilities in Scotland

Accessible summary • Local Area Co‐ordination is a new, person‐centred way of supporting people with learning disabilities and their families to have a good life in the community. • There are 59 local area co‐ordinators in Scotland. • There are a lot of differences in the way these local area co‐ordinators work; for example, who they work for, how many people they support, whether they support children or adults and how much money they are paid. • People with learning disabilities and their families really like their local area co‐ordinators. They feel the local area co‐ordinator is on their side. • Local area co‐ordinators have helped people in lots of ways, like finding supports and services, getting a paid job and moving house. They help people join new groups and meet people. • We think the Scottish Government should pay for more local area co‐ordinators in Scotland and write new guidelines about how to do local area co‐ordination. Summary This paper reports the findings of a study commissioned by the Scottish Executive which examined the introduction and implementation of local area co‐ordination (LAC) in Scotland. A questionnaire about their posts was completed by 44 local area co‐ordinators, interviews were conducted with 35 local area co‐ordinators and 14 managers and case studies of LAC practice were carried out in four local authorities. The study found both strengths and weaknesses in the implementation of LAC nationally. There was great unevenness across Scotland in the number of local area co‐ordinators employed by local authorities and in their roles and remits. Progress in community capacity building was slow overall and some managers expressed mixed feelings about LAC's usefulness in a climate of scarce resources. Individuals and families, however, were very appreciative of the support received and there was evidence that LAC had made a positive difference to their lives; for example, in relation to increased inclusion, choice and formal and informal supports. Various proposals are made for supporting the future development of LAC.