Sue Mennear writes -

"All Kinds of Short Breaks" Good Practice Guide to help Local Authorities meet Children's National Services Framework directive. Shared Care Network has published "All Kinds of Short Breaks" a new publication aimed at practitioners and managers working in family support services for disabled children. The publication will help local authorities meet their obligations under the new Children's National Services Framework.

"All Kinds of Short Breaks" has been written to reflect the fact that short break services are changing. In recent years a whole range of different options for families has supplemented the traditional overnight stay with another family. Services now include sitting and overnight sitting, daycare, befriending, integrated leisure services and the at use of salaried or paid carers.

The guide will help local authorities meet the Children's National Service Framework directive which states they

"should ensure that all disabled children and their families who are assessed as having needs that can be met by short term breaks, are offered, without undue delay a range of services from which to choose. This includes home and community-based breaks as well as family-based and residential breaks and access to childcare and sitting services."

The publication gives factual, accessible material, outlines critical success factors and gives practical examples of good practice in these areas. The guide also gives advice on providing quality services to children with complex healthcare needs, children with Autistic Spectrum
Disorders and children from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Philippa Russell, Disability Rights Commissioner said;

"This guide is a wealth of practical (but also imaginative) advice on the development of a range of options for short breaks. And, it confronts the current preoccupation with risk and offers "safe solutions" to some of the problems constantly identified by providers. It acknowledges the positive role which high quality care should and does make to the lives of disabled children as well as their families."

"All Kinds of Short Breaks" is published by Shared Care Network and supported by the DfES (Department for Education and Skills). It is available from Shared Care Network priced £24.95 for members and £30.95 non-members (including p&p). Order forms are available from the website www.sharedcarenetwork.org.uk or ring Shared Care Network on  0117 9415361 or email shared-care@bristol.ac.uk.