Personal Budgets within Norfolk Social Services January 09 Guidance for use by: People interested in getting their support through a Personal Budget Care Managers/Co-ordinators/relevant management staff Support Planners/Brokers This guidance contains all the information you will need to plan and set up a Personal budget: What are the beliefs and values that underpin Personal Budget? What are Personal Budgets? Who is eligible to get a Personal Budget? Who can set up a Personal Budget? Will you have to make a Financial Contribution? How to get started. What if I need help with my support plan? What needs to be in the support plan? Forms included: Keeping Yourself Safe Action Plan What are the beliefs and values that underpin Personal Budgets? The individual is at the centre of this process and should be involved as much as they choose and/or as far as they are able. The individual should be encouraged and supported to make their own choices and decisions. The individual’s involvement should be recorded and reflected in their support plan. Where an individual does not have the capacity to make their own decisions, those acting on the individual’s behalf should ensure that any decisions made will cause minimal restriction to the person’s freedom and rights. Page 1 of 10 What are Personal Budgets? A Personal Budget is an allocation of resources to meet your social care needs over the year to come. This can be taken as cash or as services. You can use the budget in ways that suit you. There aren't too many rules. You can be ‘in control’. You can write your own support plan with help if your require, that shows how you think your Personal Budget should be spent. Who is eligible to receive a Personal Budget? You must meet the county council eligibility criteria for social care. If you require any further information on this please speak to your care manager/co-ordinator Our goal is to make Personal Budgets available to everyone needing support from our service over the next few years. However, this is a very big task and therefore will have a gradual introduction. For the time being, we intend to concentrate on: Young people moving to adult services (except Mental Health) Priority will be given to: o young people who want to plan for their support after they leave school or college. o Anyone who has or is likely to need very large, complex and expensive support People who are in Adult Mental Services wishing to leave or at risk of needing residential care. Older people who have not previously had a service (except Blue Badge) and who are currently not in a crisis or are about to leave hospital. Who can set up a Personal Budget? All staff who have a care management role can set up a Personal Budget once the support plan has been authorised. Page 2 of 10 Will you have to make a Financial Contribution? This depends on how much money you have coming in. Everyone offered a Personal Budget will be assessed to see if they need to contribute toward the cost of their support. This will be done by our Joint Team Visitors who will make sure you are receiving all the benefits to which you are entitled. A rough guide is that anyone not in or going into residential care on less than £170 per week will not be expected to make any contribution. If you have more than £22,500 in savings then you will be asked to pay the full cost of meeting your support plan. (all figures apply to 2008/9 financial year). However, there may be elements of your income/capital that will not necessarily count. How to get started 1. Both you and your care manager/co-ordinator will complete a personal budget questionnaire. 2. If you and your care manager/co-ordinator cannot agree on the answers we will try to resolve the problem. If we can't do that, someone independent could help. 3. You are told what the estimated budget is and how you can get help to write your support plan. 4. You will write your own support plan, with as much help as you need. 5. Your care manager/co-ordinator and another manager will agree to and sign off your support plan. 6. You or your representative (eg family, friend, care manager, broker, service provider) will organise the support. 7. You and your care manager/co-ordinator will hold reviews as agreed in the support plan. What if I need help with my support plan? You can do your support plan yourself or ask anyone else you would like to help you: Such as: Friends and family Independent Living Norfolk (telephone no: 01508 491222) Your care manager/co-ordinator/assistant practitioner Anyone else able and willing to help, eg broker, service provider Page 3 of 10 What needs to be in Your Support Plan? There is no set format - you can write your support plan in any way you choose. But your care manager/co-ordinator must make sure the plan answers the eight questions below: Question 1. Who is writing this plan? 2. What is important to you? What this means What care managers/coordinators will look for You can create your own plan with as much help as you need. If you are not able to make all the decisions yourself, the plan should show the Circles of Support or decisions that you Trusts are a good way will be making and to make plans if you those taken by find it hard to do it others. yourself. If you can't speak However it's done, the or don't use support plan should words, the plan show how you will should show how have as much control you communicate as possible over your and whether you life. need equipment to help you What are your likes, dislikes, interests, talents, important relationships? 3. What is How will you build on working in your or improve the things life? that are already working in your life What is not working so What changes do you well? want to make in your life Your plan will only be agreed if You have made the decisions or been helped and involved as much as you can be. For the few people who are not able to make decisions it must be very clear why this was not possible, and show evidence that they have been involved as much as possible. A sense of what is It shows a clear important to you, picture of you as any experiences an Individual. or relationships that are important to you. The changes can be long or shortterm changes. It shows how your life and wellbeing will be maintained or improved. If your are making long term changes, it might be helpful to break it down into Page 4 of 10 Question What this means What care managers/coordinators will look for Your plan will only be agreed if achievable steps. 4. What are you hoping to achieve using your Personal Budget? Using the What you want to Questionnaire you can do is realistic and think about how you achievable. can use your budget to meet the needs that you have identified. What you want to achieve relates to your answers in the Questionnaire. What are your intended goals /outcomes? 5. How will I keep myself safe? As well as thinking about what you want to do to make your life better you will need to think about the likely possibilities for things not working out as you had planned. See ‘Keeping Myself Safe’ Form. 6. What is the Personal Budget to be used for? You must describe each area of expenditure with costs. It is a good idea to have a reserve for unexpected costs/ emergencies. Please use the summary support plan at the back of this document to show how you wish to spend your money. A completed 'Keeping Myself Safe' form. The plan will only be agreed if the ‘Keeping Myself Safe’ form The plan should identifies likely show the action to risks and shows be taken if your how these can be needs or situation realistically changes and who minimised to a will take that level considered action. reasonable by your care manager/coordinator. The plan should say exactly how you wish to use your money. Expected costs are shown, and if the costs are not more that the amount that has been agreed. Every thing in the plan is legal! Feel free to be imaginative and creative and keep it legal. Page 5 of 10 Question 7.How will you receive and manage your Personal Budget? How will you put your plan into action? What this means What care managers/coordinators will look for You can have your Personal Budget as money paid straight to you or to someone you trust to manage the money on your behalf, such as a family member or Independent Living Norfolk or a Service Provider The plan makes it clear who is responsible for organising each area of expenditure. If you are going to employ people it must say how you are going to sort out their wages, You can ask your care Tax and National manager/co-ordinator Insurance e.g. do to buy a service on it yourself or ask your behalf. ILN to help. Your plan will only be agreed if It shows who is responsible for when and how you need your money to be paid. There is a summary support plan. Your plan must tell us where to send the money, how much and when! You can have a combination of all of the above. How the money is to be paid: ie monthly instalments (eg You need to make it staff costs), clear what you will quarterly, lump arrange yourself and sums (for one off what you will ask other spends etc) people to do on your behalf. 8. How will you How often you want to Your plan can be review your do this and who reviewed as often plan? should be involved in as needed. this? There should be a How will you decide first review within how much progress 3 months. you have made You will need a towards the review after 10 goals/outcomes you months to make are hoping to plans for the next achieve? year. You may then need to do a questionnaire again to see if your needs have changed. It is specific about what you want to happen and how you will make any changes to the plan over the year. Page 6 of 10 Keeping Yourself Safe Life is full of risks. We all understand this. Your support plan is about how this is managed. You will need to work out what could go wrong and what can be done about it. You and your care manager/coordinator to will need to agree a level of risk that is acceptable to both of you. Some things to think about: Who would you speak to if you were being abused in any way? Could any planned activities perhaps result in an increased risk for you? Are you sure that you will be able to spend your Personal Budget as agreed in the support plan? Are there any signs to show you or other people that things might be going wrong? Who will you contact if you are worried that things might be going wrong? Does the support plan include employing anyone? Have you had advice from Independent Living Norfolk? What if the unexpected happens, for example your personal assistant or main carer becomes ill? How much money do you feel comfortable managing in one go? Have you had a copy of the leaflet ‘Protecting Vulnerable Adults’? What could go wrong? What can be done about it? Page 7 of 10 What could go wrong? What can be done about it Personal Budget Recipient: Dated: _____________ Care Manager/Co-ordinator Dated: _____________ Page 8 of 10 How will you put your plan into action? The last part of your support plan should draw together all the things that need to be done, who will do them and when they will be done. This will help make sure things happen as they should. Whatever you decide, we will need to know what arrangements you want to make to receive your money. This can be regular payments or one off payments or a combination. Suggested things to also think about: Do you need to open up a separate bank account? Do you need help to buy goods or arrange a service? Have you taken into account any oncosts if you are employing someone What needs to happen? Who will do it? When/how often? Page 9 of 10 SUMMARY SUPPORT PLAN Please complete this form for our records Personal Budget Allocated: Item Estimated cost Who will receive the payments (yourself, agent, Trust, ILN provider)? How often? (monthly, quarterly, one off-date needed if known) Personal Assistant Support: Social and Educational Activities: Short Breaks: Longer term registered care: Supported Living: One off purchases (over £50): Transport: Miscellaneous: Contingency: Review Date: ___________ Authorisation (budget holder) Name:_______________________ Signature: _________________________________________ Date: _________________ Page 10 of 10