The Strategic Management of Social Care Costs toolkit aims to help council ensure social care eligibility criteria help them to deliver value for money, while identifying efficiencies and resources to modernise services.
- Strategic Management of Social Care Costs can be used either independently or with the Better Budget Management toolkit. Used jointly the toolkits bring together operational and financial decision making to help organisations challenge their practices, while separately they will address an individual organisational weakness.
- It is delivered by an auditor (in the Audit Commission this will be a performance specialist) and will take approximately 15 days of auditor time. In addition around 7 days will be needed to review social care case files (this work should be undertaken by skilled and experienced social care practitioners identified by the council).
Using the tool
Strategic Management of Social Care Costs is an Audit Commission toolkit that can be used flexibly to meet a council special needs. It will draw on a range of information. The main elements are:
- a review of council documents;
- an online survey of operational staff;
- interviews with key managers;
- a financial modelling tool; and
- a review of social care case records (undertaken by experienced social care practitioners identified by the council)
Contact details
Audit Commission,
1st Floor,
Millbank Tower,
Millbank,
London
SW1P 4HQ
Telephone: 0844 798 1212