A NATIONAL charity has been awarded a contract to deliver an adult foster care-like scheme on behalf of Dudley Council for the next five years.

Camphill Village Trust (CVT) has been developing a ‘Shared Lives’ scheme at its Berith & Camphill Community in Stourbridge, and it is envisaged that the scheme will take over the current council service as of April 1.

The trust will work with the existing staff team and carers, who have been supporting vulnerable people through live-in, short-breaks and day support arrangements across the borough for many years.

Huw John, CVT’s chief executive, said he was delighted with the news, adding: “This is a big step forward for us and shows further evidence of the organisation’s progressive approach in responding to a changing adult social care sector.

“It’s well deserved after all the hard our staff team have put into developing a quality service from scratch in such a short space of time.

“I’m really excited about the future of our Shared Lives service, and the potential to build positive connections between our present CVT communities and with the wider community in which they are situated.”

During the past 12 months, the CVT Shared Lives staff have recruited and trained six new households, as well as putting together an independent panel of local social care professionals and lay people, who approve the status of all Shared Lives carers.

Kate Morgan, registered manager, said: “This is a really exciting challenge for CVT and we appreciate being given the opportunity to work with Dudley Council to deliver a truly dynamic service.

“After speaking with commissioners, we know they have very ambitious expansion plans for the new scheme and with our previous experience, we are confident that we can offer innovative approaches to people where Shared Lives may not have been an option for community living before.

“We recognise there will be a lot of work to do in the coming months during the handover, so it is vitally important that we listen to all stakeholders involved and enable them to have a say regarding our development.”

As part of the scheme, carers are matched to support the person from their own home where they will help develop their skills so they can lead an ‘ordinary independent life’.

Anyone is interested in applying to the CVT Shared Lives scheme to become carer should email www.cvt.org.uk/sharedlives, or call 01384 597264.

Carers must also be over the age of 18 and have a spare bedroom and will be paid between £400 and £600 per week depending on the level of support they provide, as well as receive significant tax breaks.