Working Age Adults - draft

Warwickshire has an established provider market across supported living, care homes, short breaks and respite, day opportunities, live-in care and wider accommodation-based support. Our priority is not to increase the number of providers in the market, but to work with existing providers to improve quality, address gaps in provision and strengthen local services.

Quality is our number one commissioning priority. We want people with disabilities, mental health needs and autistic adults to receive high-quality support that promotes independence, choice, control and positive outcomes. We continue to identify opportunities to strengthen:

• Leadership, governance and organisational oversight.
• Outcomes-focused, strengths-based support.
• Workforce skills, supervision and practice.
• Community inclusion, independence and progression.
• Autism-informed, trauma-informed and person-centred approaches.
• Early identification and resolution of quality concerns.

We expect providers to lead and own continuous quality improvement, with strong governance, effective quality assurance and a culture focused on learning and improvement.

We will continue to work collaboratively with providers through our See, Hear and Act approach, sharing intelligence, identifying emerging themes and supporting improvement where needed. Where quality falls below expected standards, we will work with providers to secure sustainable improvements while maintaining clear escalation arrangements where required.

Alongside quality improvement, we will continue to share market intelligence, demand trends and commissioning priorities to help providers respond to changing needs and strengthen local provision.

Mental health

Warwickshire wants to work with providers who can support people with mental health needs to live independently, sustain tenancies in good quality accommodation, avoid unnecessary hospital admission and remain connected to their communities. The focus is on recovery-focused, trauma-informed and flexible community support, including supported living, outreach and step-up or step-down models. A particular gap is support for adults who require low hours of mental health support, where flexible and proportionate provision can help people maintain independence, prevent escalation and reduce reliance on residential care where other options would better promote independence.

Learning disabilities

For people with learning disabilities, Warwickshire’s priority is to develop more support that enables people to live ordinary, independent lives in their own homes, close to family, friends and local communities. Providers are encouraged to offer high-quality supported living, community-based support and flexible outreach that build skills, confidence, relationships and inclusion, while working with housing providers to ensure people can access and maintain tenancies in good quality accommodation. Strengthening the transitions offer is a key gap, particularly for young adults moving from children’s services, education or residential settings into adult support, independent living and community-based opportunities.

Physical disabilities

People with physical disabilities should be supported to live independently, safely and with dignity in accessible, good quality homes and communities. Warwickshire wants providers to work with housing partners to develop flexible support that combines personal care, reablement, assistive technology, housing adaptations and community-based support, with a stronger emphasis on supported living, outreach, live-in care and specialist accommodation rather than residential care where appropriate. Support should promote independence, choice, wellbeing and participation in everyday life, including for people moving through transition into adulthood or whose needs change over time.

Autism and ADHD

Warwickshire wants autistic people and people with ADHD to have access to neurodiversity-affirming support that enables them to live well and independently in their own homes and communities. Providers are encouraged to develop supported living, specialist supported housing, short breaks, outreach and preventative community support that is sensory-informed, flexible and based on people’s strengths, communication preferences and reasonable adjustments, working with housing providers to ensure people can maintain tenancies in good quality accommodation. There is a particular gap in the local offer for autistic adults, including people who need timely support to prevent escalation, placement breakdown or inappropriate reliance on residential or inpatient settings.