Self Directed Support is a change to the way the social care system operates to give individuals who are eligible for social care services choice, control and flexibility over the support they receive.
This means individuals and their families can choose the way they want their support to be provided – it is personalised to suit a person’s unique needs and circumstances.
What is a Personal Budget?
A personal budget is a sum of money identified by the Trust to meet the assessed needs of a person who is eligible for social care support. Individuals will work in partnership with their Key Worker and/or other organisations to decide how to use their personal budget, to enable them to achieve their aspirations.
What is a Direct Payment?
This is a cash payment available to individuals so that the person can arrange the services that they need themselves. Direct Payments can be paid to individuals who are eligible for social care services aged 16 years or over, carers and people who have responsibility for a disabled child.
A person who receives a Direct Payment must be willing and able to manage the money – the person becomes the employer and is accountable for the way in which the money is used. Most people use Direct Payments to employ staff as “Personal Assistants”. You should seek specialist advice on this.
What is a Support Plan?
This is a document that records how someone’s personal budget will be used to meet their support needs. The Support Plan should identify the outcomes that the person wishes to achieve from the support that they receive. It will also identify how the person will make use of the personal budget to meet their needs. Individuals can work in partnership with their Key Worker and/or other organisations to develop their support plan.
Risk Enablement Framework
Self Directed Support is one of the ways that is transforming traditional social care services to put people in control of their own support. Self Directed Support moves social care services from a service–led system to one that promotes autonomy and independence by giving people more choice and control over their support arrangements; it is a unique partnership between families, individuals, services, third and independent sector organisations and Government bodies.
However, there is a fear that personalisation leaves individuals who use services open to increased levels of risk. Professionals struggle to balance their ‘duty of care’ with risk enablement and positive risk taking approaches.
The Risk Enablement Framework document aims to explore how to strike a balance between leaving people open to abuse and neglect and ‘wrapping them up in cotton wool’ – to occupy the space in the middle where people are safe on their own terms and are fully in control of their own lives.
