I meet the eligibility criteria for Social Services and would like to make my own
arrangements to meet my support needs. What is self-directed support?

Self-directed support is the name given to a way of redesigning the social care system so that the people who get services can take much greater control over them. Direct payments and individual budgets give people who use social care the opportunity to control the resources allocated to their support.

The underlying principle of self-directed support is the development of a culture and the tools to enable people to take greater control of their lives and the support they receive, so that they can make the decisions and manage their own risks. This puts people at the centre of assessing their own needs and tailoring support to meet their needs.

Moving from traditional service delivery to larger scale self-directed support will require changes in the way local authorities commission social care, as service users become their own commissioners. A fundamental reform of

social care will be needed if individual commissioning is to become the norm for the majority.

Direct payments

Direct payments enable people to have cash instead of services and use it to meet their support needs. Direct payments can be used in a variety of ways, such as buying special equipment, spending time away from home, going to a gym, eating out, employing a personal assistant to help with everyday tasks and so on. Direct payments cannot currently be used to purchase permanent residential care, local authority provision or health care. They are a different way of fulfilling existing social services responsibilities by giving people the flexibility to find ‘off the peg’ solutions.

Direct payments started in 1996, initially for disabled people, and their use has been gradually extended to other care groups since, but take-up has remained low. Despite a slow and uneven take up of direct payments, recent policy has demonstrated the government’s intention to place self-directed support at the centre of social care provision. Not only have direct payments become a mandatory responsibility rather than an option, they have also become a social services performance indicator.

Individual budgets

Individual budgets are similar to direct payments in that they have the same principles of service user choice and control. However, an individual budget, unlike direct payments, does not have to be in the form of a cash payment. A single transparent sum is allocated to a person in their name and held on their behalf rather like a bank account. They can choose to take this money out either in the form of a direct payment in cash, as provision of services, or as a mixture of both. Individual budgets have a number of key features:

• It should be clear to each individual how much money has been allocated to them to spend on their care and support packages.
• The individual should be central to the process, using their money in a way that suits their own situation and needs, with more of a focus on self-assessment.
• Resources from different agencies, not just social care monies, can be collated together and accessed from the one individual budget to give the individual a more joined-up package of support.

In-Control

Many local authorities including Lancashire County Council are adopting the in-Control system of self-directed support, which involves a seven step process for self-directed support. The person can decide what degree of control they would like to take over their funding and support. They could receive help with the process from family, friends, care managers, independent brokers or others.

The in-control system for self-directed support

Source: in-Control

A self-assessment determines the level of severity of an individual’s need and the level of severity gives an entitlement to an allocated budget. Once people are aware of the level of funding they can plan how best to use it to meet their

support needs via in-house or independent sector services, or a direct payment, or a combination of these. Crucially in this system service users know how much they have to spend and how much things cost.

For advice on Direct Payments please contact:

Lancashire Centre for Independent Living (LCIL) Preston Technology Centre, Preston Technology Park, Marsh Lane, Preston, Lancashire,PR1 8UQ

Tel 01772 250300
Fax 01772 250288

Website: www.lcil.info

Email: office@lcil.info

Lancashire Centre for Independent Living employs a team of Independent Living Advisors who can give you all of the information and advice necessary to run your own care package through Direct Payments.

This includes:

· Deciding if Direct Payments is right for you.

· Providing information about Lancashire's Direct Payments scheme.

· Offering full advice and support relating to recruiting staff and managing staff (personal assistants).

· Assisting with budgeting for your care package.

· Providing information regarding additional funding for care packages.

For Advice on Individual Budgets please contact:

Graeme Ellis, Lancashire Self Directed Care Support (LSDCS) c/o The Cornerstone, Sulyard Street, Lancaster, PR1 1PX

Tel: 07595636457

Email: Graeme.ellis@lsdcs.com

LSDCS provide support in all areas of accessing Personal Budgets with social services and help with:

· Deciding if an Individual budget is for you.

· Completing self rated questionnaires.

· Support planning.

· Choosing agencies or employing staff.

· Helping you manage staff.

· Dealing with invoices, payroll and employers tax returns.

· On going support and contact.

Initially, they can provide advice at no cost to you. Once you accept the budget, charges will be discussed.