Re the use of CSV volunteers as p.a.'s. 

I am the co-ordinator of the Student Community Action 
office at Uni of Liverpool.  I pesently act as supervisor 
to a CSV who is p.a. to a Ph.d student. CSV are useful 
because they do cover issues such as insurance etc, however 
as pointed out they do need a local supervisor.  If your 
institution has a paid Student Community Action worker they 
may appropriate to supervise as they are used to dealing 
with volunteer issues eg commitment, conflict, volunteer 
development. However, if the SCA worker is a sabbatical or 
unpaid, they may not have the capacity or experience to 
take on this extra role.

Training of p.a.'s is important and is often inadequate - a 
student making arrangements for a p.a. or a CSV supervisor 
may wish to contact local CVS (Community Volunteer Service) 
to find if their is a local voluntary agency providing 
p.a.'s or support for carers who may be able to assist with 
appropriate training.

Hope this of some use.


On Tue, 17 Mar 1998 15:00:04 +0000 Pat Butson 
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I was interested to hear about other people's experience 
in this > area.  We have a student this year who was using 
a CSV for  personal 
> support.  He arranged it for himself, although not 
without some > difficulty - no training was offered to the 
CSV in advance and I was > expected to supervise the CSV.  
I did this for a month to give the > local CSV organisation 
time to find a supervisor, but was very > reluctant to do 
it because there was a potential conflict of interest > if 
there was a difficulty between the student and CSV.   The > 
arrangement seemed to work OK, but when the CSV came to the 
end of > his placement, the student decided not to get 
another one, but to > arrange support for himself using 
another student.  This led to > concerns among 
Accommodation Service staff about what might happen in > an 
emergency.  However, this particular  student is very laid 
back > about the whole thing, and I came to the conclusion 
that we had no > right to impose anything on him.  I talked 
through what the concerns > were with him, and offered 
assistance if he wanted it, but > beyond that I don't think 
it is up to the University to intervene.   > I would be 
pleased to hear about other people's experiences and > 
thoughts on this though. > Pat Butson
> > 
> Date:          Tue, 17 Mar 1998 08:33:20 +0000 > Subject: 
Re: PROVISION OF PERSONAL ASSISTANCE/SUPPORT > From:       
"H. Bogusz" <[log in to unmask]> > To:            
[log in to unmask] > Cc:            
[log in to unmask] > Reply-to:      
[log in to unmask] > 
> On Fri, 13 Mar 1998, Caryl Davies DSTU ext 4610 wrote: > 
> >      I'm interested in finding out what kind of 
arrangements other > >      institutions make/"allow" in 
respect of personal support/assistance for > >      
students (not study support). > >      
> >      I know some institutions have their own schemes 
but I'd be interested > >      to know whether it is 
compulsory for students to use them or whether > >      
they are an additional option. > 
> >At Coventry the Volunteer Scheme co-ordinated by the 
Disabilities > Office is optional.  However since its 
introduction in 1994 we have > not had any students wishing 
to use CSV's.      >       
> >      Here, students choose their preferred method of 
assistance with some > >      students using agencies, some 
CSVs and others a combination of both > >      or other 
alternatives.  However, some people here are getting 
concerned > >      that some of the assistants do not have 
suitable experience and > >      training and that this 
could be a potential safety issue for either > >      
student or assistant and have implications for the 
University in > >      respect of its liability/duty of 
care etc. > 
> >If a student resident in University accommodation, 
wishes to employ carers > themselves, our Health 
> and Safety Officer has instructed us to ask for 
Certification that the > carer has received appropriate 
training and to check that > carer/student is adequately 
insured.  This situation has > not arisen, but I would be 
concerned that a claim could be made > against a student 
employer, in the case of injury to a carer, if the > 
student did not have the relevant insurance cover and had 
not provided > training.
>         > >      To what extent do people think 
universities should (n't) "dictate" the > >      type of 
assistants/assistance a student should use?  Has anyone 
else out > >      there encountered this concern over 
safety and liability. > >      
> >      Caryl Davies > >      Cardiff University
> >      > > 
> Pat Butson > Disability Co-ordinator
> University of Edinburgh > 3 South College Street
> Edinburgh EH8 9AA > Tel 0131 650 6828
> Fax 0131 650 6677

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