Equality impact assessment young peoples substance misuse needs assessment 2007

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1. What is the name of the policy or service that is being assessed?

Wiltshire Young Peoples Substance Misuse Needs Assessment 2007

2. What are the aims of the policy or service? Whose needs is it designed to meet? What are the current priorities?

This needs assessment has been commissioned by the Wiltshire Children and Young People’s Trust Board Children and Young People’s Joint Commissioning Group. It follows a previous analysis in 2005, commissioned by the Safer Wiltshire Executive (Higham, 2005). It is also in response to the NTA expectation of an annual needs assessment of young people’s treatment services.

It is understood that the need is to undertake a Wiltshire-wide assessment of the needs of children and young people with drug and alcohol issues. The proposed needs assessment must range across all age groupings for young people and across all drug and alcohol use, including information about levels of injecting behaviours. It must include information about existing referral pathways for vulnerable groups and potential areas for improvement, detail any areas of unmet need in Wiltshire, and must include vulnerable groups, including children and young people in transition. Young people with a parent having problems with drugs or alcohol, and looked after children, are particularly vulnerable, and the review should ensure that these are not overlooked. It is understood that a needs assessment was completed several years ago, and that the current work will build on this, updating the information and seeking to fill any perceived gaps

3. In what ways might this policy or service affect some groups of people differently? Might some groups find it harder to access the service? Do some groups have particular needs that are not well met by the current policy or service?

As 2 above

4. What evidence do you have for your judgement? Is there evidence of public concern (e.g. complaints)? Have staff raised concerns? Is there local or national research to suggest that there could be a problem?

As 2 above

5. Who have you consulted with as part of your assessment? What were the results? Have you published the results of that consultation? If so, where?

Agencies to be contacted would include, among others: the Young People’s Specialist Misuse Service; Youth Offending Team, Local Education Authority; Swindon & Wiltshire Alcohol & Drug Advisory Service; Police; Wiltshire Council; Connexions. It is proposed that representatives of a wide range of agencies be contacted by both letter/email and telephone to explain the nature of the assessment and the type of information required. The agencies would be asked to provide any reports or statistics related to young people’s drug and alcohol use; service usage; perceived needs; referral pathways; problems encountered and solutions found for meeting young people’s needs.

See results section in Needs Assessment document

6. If you have found that the policy or service might have an adverse impact on a particular group of people, can you justify this?

None found

7. If the impact cannot be justified, what do you intend to do about this? Are there changes that you could introduce which would make the policy or service work better for this group of people? Is further research or consultation required?

N/A

8. How will you monitor the take-up or impact of the policy or service in future?

YP Treatment Plan to be formulated on the results of the NA and reviewed quarterly via the council contracts department and CYPJCG.

9. What actions do you plan to take as a result of this equality impact assessment? Please state any resource implications

See above

10. There is a legal requirement to publish the outcomes of Equality Impact Assessments. Please outline how / where this will happen

Via the Wiltshire.gov website

11. Name of person completing form

Young People’s Substance Misuse and Crime Prevention Manager

Date assessment completed

13.12.07

12. Senior manager approval

Assistant Director Community Services

Date

19.02.08

Last updated: 13 May 2009