Commentary on "Specialist community teams for adults with learning disabilities: referrals to a countywide service in England"

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on the paper Specialist community teams for adults with learning disabilities: referrals to a countywide service in England by Isabel Clare and colleagues. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews some themes presented in this paper relating to the practice and management of community teams for adults with learning disability within the context of recent national service initiatives. Findings There is a limited literature on the practice, purpose and service caseload management of community teams. Taken in the context of recent national service initiatives, the paper by Clare et al. illustrates the gaps between the way community teams are currently processing demands and how these services will likely need to behave in future. Originality/value There is little recent literature examining the purpose of, and management approaches in, community teams and this addition should stimulate some further consideration of how community teams need to adjust to meet changing demands.