Social and Community Services
Community Care and Criminal Justice
Introduction
The Community Care and Criminal Justice section is part of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s Social and Community Services Department and deals with the Comhairle’s responsibilities for adults social care and the provision of Criminal Justice Social Work Services.
Community Care
The Community Care Service Vision
Provide effective, efficient and well planned locally based services with our partners that provide improved outcomes for individuals and the communities we serve.
In order to be a progressive organisation that inspires confidence in the people who use our services, our staff and other stakeholders.
The values that underpin this vision are:
- Valuing people
- Providing leadership
- Working together
- Providing the highest quality service
- Being inclusive
- Promoting recovery
The Key Strategic Objective
To offer the right care and treatment in the right place at the right time.
This means:
- Offering service users greater control and choice in how their needs are met
- Developing competent, confident and motivated staff who feel valued and respected
- Working with others to meet the social care needs of service users.
Provide effective, efficient and well planned locally based services with our partners that provide improved outcomes for individuals and the communities we serve.
Our Aim
We aim to help people aged 16 and over to live more independently in their local communities and to find alternative care if they cannot live at home. We work with our partners to deliver high quality services that meet national standards, providing better outcomes that will positively impact on the lives of individuals, their families and carers.
Service Provision
Community Care Services are available to older people, people with dementia, physical disabilities, mental health problems, sensory impairments, learning difficulties, children with disabilities or a disabling illness and people who are terminally ill.
We deliver services across the Western Isles in people's homes, through our seven residential care homes and care units, and in our resource centres for adults with learning or physical disabilities. We also give funding to a number of local organisations to help them provide independent services, such as lunch clubs, support for carers, Dementia Services and advocacy.
Access to Services
When you Contact Community Care, a member of staff will discuss your situation with you and listen to your views on the kind of help you need. Further discussions may then become necessary, for example, with other professionals such as the Occupational Therapy service. The Comhairle has a duty to assess an individual where it appears to it that a person may be in need of Community Care Services. The assessment is based on "eligibility criteria", a framework for helping to ensure decision making is transparent, fair and consistent.
Depending on your particular needs and circumstances an assessment will be made. All requests for assistance are dealt with as promptly as possible. The needs of both carer and service user are individually assessed.
[ Care Assessment (PDF, 110K)]
If more information is required to make that assessment, it may be helpful to contact your family doctor, community nurse, and friends or relatives, subject to your consent. Personal care plans are then drawn up. Every effort is made to include both users and carers at the assessment stage and in the putting together of individual care plans.
After your assessment we will try to arrange the services that are best suited to you. These may be provided by the Comhairle or by other agencies. If we are in a position to help you, your worker will discuss a care plan with you.
We may also need to contact other agencies, such as Hebridean Housing Partnership or NHS Western Isles.
If we are unable to offer help, your worker will explain why, and may be able to suggest alternative sources of support.
Criminal Justice
Scottish local authorities have a legal duty to provide criminal justice social work services. The Scottish Executive funds these services through a specific grant annually awarded to local authorities who must work to specific National Standards and Objectives.
The criminal justice team works with offenders to reduce re-offending by:- Assessing and managing the risk that a person might pose to the community
- Addressing their offending behaviour
- Working on problems that might be connected to offending behaviour
- Advice, information & assistance to courts, offenders & families
- Diversion from Prosecution Scheme
- Probation Order supervision
- Community Service supervision
- Attendance Order supervision
- Fine supervision
- Services to prisoners & families
- Parole supervision
- Risk assessment
- Victim support
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar criminal justice service works in partnership with other local authorities, statutory services and voluntary organisations as a member of Northern Community Justice Authority (CJA).
Community Justice Authorities were set up by the Scottish Government to ensure that a range of statutory and voluntary agencies work together to provide services that are aimed at reducing re-offending rates. The work done by the criminal justice team is set out in the law, in government guidelines and in the National Objectives and Standards for Social Work Services in the Criminal Justice System.
Contact Information
For more information and advice in respect of Community Care or Criminal Justice matters, please contact your local office shown on the Contact Us page.
Emergency
If you need to contact us about an emergency when our offices are closed, please contact our Out of Hours Service on 01851 701702. They deal with emergencies for the whole of the Western Isles.
Please Note
These web pages are currently being reviewed and updated. For up to date information please Contact your local Social Work office.
