Vision. Our vision is to improve the quality of life and reduce social isolation among older and disabled people using the benefits that ICT can bring; and especially to educate and introduce computers and the Internet into the lives of vulnerable people who have no previous experience of them. We aim to increase the opportunities for people to retain their independence in their own homes, provide skills which will help them to improve their well-being and to bridge the ‘digital divide’ between generations. CareOnLine will achieve this using its own sustainable, holistic service model. 

Major Milestones Achieved.

·         2003 provided 100 people with computers and free Internet access at home and provided proof of the benefits and acceptance by first-time older users

·         2004 Transition from being a temporary project to acceptance as a valuable core part of social care within the County Council

·        2005 Roll out the scheme across Leicestershire

·        2005 Established a Technical Support Service to meet user demand

·        2006 Added Learning Disability/Mental Health services to CareOnLine skills

·        2006 Passed 15000 website visitors per month

·        2007 Passed  the 500 mark for people trained at home and 60 community locations provided with accessible computer installations allowing Internet access for 3,000 older and disabled people

·        2007 launched Chatroom for peer support among adult population 

Other achievements.                                          

1.     Provide a successful dedicated portal for Older People, Disabled People and Carers which is:

·        Highly usable and accessible

• Can be used without a keyboard
• Single information source to help learning Internet use

·        Access information in 2/3 clicks

·        links databases – 4,500 entries 

2.     Prove the benefits that technology can bring to older and disabled people, no matter what their condition or ability:

·         2003 positive comprehensive report from Loughborough University on all aspects of the project

·         2007 achieved over 100 positive commendations recorded from users

·         Accepted challenge to help people with severe conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Advanced MS and MND·         12 case studies of people with a range of severe conditions (see http://www.leicscareonline.org.uk/careonline_people ) 

3.     Provide a robust, service model which continues to deliver benefits:

·        2007 service has lasted over 5 years and is used as best practice example (see section 4 below)

·        Continued demand for advice and help from Social Workers, individuals and voluntary organisations

• Recognised as providing quality of life improvement for severely disabled and frail elderly people internally and externally (see section 4 below) National and European recognition
• 2005 E-Europe finalist
• 2006 Stockholm Challenge finalist
• 2006 UK E-government winner
• 2006 UK Top Team finalist

·        2007 linked to county council objectives for Local Area Agreement and Sustainable Community Strategy between council and voluntary sector which runs from 2008 to 2013 

Future Milestones.By 2008:

·        Assist others to implement similar services. Status:

·         2007 – had assisted 3 other authorities in UK to establish or improve services to older people (see section 4 below)

·        Equip Adult Social Care Homes and Day Centres. Status:

·         24 complete by end of 2007 (75%). Review and re-structuring means that this task is likely to continue for 2 more years. 

By 2011:

·        A volunteer network (target 50 people) across Leicestershire for ICT training and support with at least 3 key voluntary (NGO) partners to provide 8000 hours of additional home support each year

·        Funding for Assistive Technology and mobile training to support people unable to buy their own

·        Assess and recommend commercial partnership opportunities

Providing computers, assistive technology, training and support to isolated people in their homes to achieve new skills and realise benefits contributes to the following aspects of Adult Social Care and County Council policy (these are extracts from the Adult Social Care Strategy 2007-10 “Promoting independence – changing lives” and the County Council Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement 2008-2013):

·         Reducing social isolation through the provision of access to the internet.

·         Improved quality of life

·         Greater choice and personal control

·         Improve the quality of support for older people living at home

·         Providing support to enable older people to continue to live at home

Any kind of organisation working within the community can implement some or all of the services; it is not restricted to local government or large voluntary organisations; community groups could set up their own service to help the local area. CareOnLine can be described as a toolkit or series of building blocks which provide – Access – Content – Training – Support (as described in the Summary section above). Using some or all of these blocks organisations working within the community can build a service to meet their own circumstances or resources: 

·         The approach is not restricted to older and disabled people - for example, single parents, homeless adults, and ethnic minority groups

·         People wanting to learn new skills to gain employment

·         It can be applied equally to communal situations (such as Day Centres) and individuals at home

·       Organisations can include local authorities, charities (NGO’s) or community groups

·       The service can be started on a very small scale and expanded gradually according to demand

·       It can be located in a community centre or be mobile, visiting people at home

·       Organisations can choose to provide equipment or just training for people with their own computers. In Leicestershire 7 District Council partners have their own tailored version of the CareOnLine website with local content which cost £1500 each e.g. http://www.leicscareonline.org.uk/?reg=MELTON . 

In 2008 we are planning to make our Chatroom available to voluntary organisations as a link from their own websites to attract a larger audience and save replication of the facility across the sector.

CareOnLine challenges the boundaries of digital inclusion and gives a new dimension to Social Care. Many isolated and excluded Older People, Disabled People and Carers do not realise the benefits that computers and the Internet can provide and cannot come to us for help so we go to them, providing a unique four-stage ICT service. CareOnLine works with other local government, Health Services and Voluntary organisations to help people experience how computers and the Internet can enhance their quality of life, independence and well-being. The service covers: 

Help with Access

•        Personal home assessment of needs

•        Advice on costs and options

•        Help setting up computers

•        Assistive technology equipment 

Skills Training

•        Personalised training plans, and …

•        Free one-on-one training in their own home gives …

•        Confidence to overcome fear of technology, learn new skills and …

•        Motivation to continue  

Meaningful Content

•        Website specially for older and disabled people

•        Combination of Health, Housing, Social Care, Local, Lifestyle, Fun

•        See benefits in one lesson, safe place to learn Internet

•        information in 2 or 3 clicks without keyboard skills 

Technical Support

•        Getting started and beyond

•        Help desk and home visits, because …

•        We all suffer computer frustration; some need more help

•        Complements other Social Care, Health and voluntary services. 

Since 2002 CareOnLine has provided the following services to the community: 

• 300 people have received computer equipment to assist with access to the Internet in their own homes
• 60 community locations including sheltered housing, voluntary sector and Adult Social Care locations have received computer and Internet installations
• 5500 hours training provided to 320 individuals in their own homes and a further 200 people have been provided with group training by our partners in locations where CareOnLine has provided a computer
• Over 800 home visits have been made to provide advice, equipment and technical support
• The CareOnLine website usage has increased to an average of 15000 visits per month
• An easy-to-use online Chatroom has been built to meet demand and ensure our user community can “talk” to and support each other. See it at: http://www.leicscareonline.org.uk/mim_forums_homepage.htm  
• The age range of people receiving CareOnLine services is 19 to 94 with 50% being over 65 and 52% disabled