Scottish Accessible Information Forum

Standards for Disability Information and Advice Provision in Scotland

Self-Assessment: Checklist Three - Managing Your Service to Ensure Accessibility

3.1 Managing your Service

Do you have a written description of your management structure?

Do you maintain an office manual that collates details of office practice and that is readily available to all staff and managers?

Is responsibility for the maintenance of this manual clearly assigned in your management structure?

3.2 Managing and Training Your Workers

Do you document, in a job description, the skills, knowledge and experience required by advisers and other staff, and the tasks they are required to perform?

Do you have an annual performance appraisal system for staff and volunteers?
Do you evaluate performance against each member of staff's responsibilities and objectives?
Do you have a method by which you can act upon these appraisals?

Do you have a written training policy that ensures that:

advisers are trained to a level of competence appropriate to their work?
training needs are assessed for each person against your agency’s service objectives and reviewed at least annually?
written training records are maintained?
a budget is identified and maintained for this purpose?
your agency has contingency plans in the event of new legislation being introduced that affects the areas of advice undertaken?

3.3 Confidentiality and Access to Information

Do you have an effective policy on confidentiality that details:

the extent of the policy and the circumstances under which information may be passed on?
what these circumstances may be?
how breaches of confidentiality will be dealt with?
the forms of authority required that will enable the agency to speak or act on behalf of the service user?
how service users will be kept informed of any information that has been passed on to third parties?

Do you have a clear policy on access to information including what information is held about clients, and how the service user may access this information?

3.4 Information Resources

Do you have arrangements to ensure that advisers have ready access to up-to-date reference materials and appropriate journals?

Do you clearly designate, within your services plan, responsibility for maintaining and updating information resources?

3.5 Case Management

If you are an advice provider do you have a case management system that allows you to:

identify and trace all documents relating to a case?
identify conflicts of interest?
monitor the number of cases and type of case undertaken by each adviser to ensure that they are within his/her capacity?
record centrally any key dates in cases to ensure that action is taken in appropriate time by the adviser, or, in his/her absence, the agency?
ensure that action taken can be easily verified?
ensure that there is proper authorisation and monitoring of undertakings given on behalf of the agency?

If you are an advice provider, do you have a systematic means of handling cases that can:

identify the needs of the service user?
identify what action is to be taken?
identify who will be responsible for the case?
identify key dates in the matter?
identify how and when the service user will be kept informed?
report and confirm in writing to the service user on the outcome, explaining any action the service user should now take?
return to the service user any original documentation except where the service user has agreed that the agency should maintain this information?

3.6 File Review

Do you have arrangements for case files to be reviewed by a supervisor or other adviser who has not been involved in the day-to-day conduct of the case?

3.7 Identifying Outcomes

Do you identify, record and report on the outcomes of your work?

Go to the next page: Checklist Four

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