The film ‘What children in care want’ is part of the evaluation of the project and includes three young people from Devon who have received a personal budget to support their mental health and wellbeing.

Devon County Council has been part of a NHS England Demonstrator Project since March 2017, supporting children in care with mental health support needs – in Devon it is known as the Children in Care Wellbeing Project.

Devon is one of seven national demonstrators looking at how we can use a different approach to traditional therapeutic interventions to support young people to get better outcomes for their mental health.

The project looks to put young people at the heart of decision making by having a ‘different conversation’ with them about the things that would make their lives better and the things that make them feel more resilient and stable. Young people use a personal budget to spend on the things that come out of the person centred plan in order to improve their mental health outcomes.

The project has currently supported over 160 children in care in Devon and Plymouth, who have met the eligibility criteria. Young people are able to use their personal budget on almost anything, as long as it can demonstrate a positive impact on their mental health – so far we have supported everything from sporting activities, music and drama, art, activities to support family relationships, travel and transport, activities that support identity and confidence and many others.

The film ‘What children in care want’ is part of the evaluation of the project and includes three young people from Devon who have received a personal budget to support their mental health and wellbeing.

The impact of the project so far is extremely positive and we are looking at ways to embed the findings in the future so young people continue to receive outcomes focused support for their mental health needs.

For more information on the project contact Liza Jarvis

Is there anything wrong with this page?