Administration frustrates personal advisers’ work with care leavers, study finds

Professionals tasked with providing support for care leavers are frustrated that they cannot offer more help, with nearly a quarter of their time taken up by administration, a study has found. A report by social investment organisation Social Finance found that just under a quarter of personal advisers’ time is taken up by administrative tasks, including updating case management records and communicating with colleagues and other services. Advisers also said that IT systems they are using can be difficult to navigate, which is adding to the administrative burden they face. The research team was also told by advisers that they have to spend time “chasing up” other services and said there was a lack of co-ordination between care leaver services and partners. “[The] analysis revealed that the administrative tasks which personal advisers spend most time on include updating the case management system, communicating internally with other team members and services about specific cases, and chasing up external services,” states the report. Read more.