Self Directed Support and Personal Budgets

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1 Adult Care Self Directed Support and Personal Budgets Choice and Control Norfolk County Council Community Services (adult care) wants you to have choice and control of how your social care needs are met. In the old system, professionals made most of the decisions about the support people could have and who would provide it. The person needing support often had little control over this. Norfolk County Council is introducing self directed support, which includes personal budgets. Self directed support is a new way for you to be in control of your own support meaning you can live your life more as you choose. You will be able to plan the support you want and choose your own goals.

2 The personal budget system lets you decide how you would like to meet your needs. Previously you may have been limited to traditional options such as home care or day centres. If you wish, you can still choose to use traditional services and ask Norfolk County Council to arrange them for you. You are the expert on the support you need and how you want to manage your support. It is your choice. This leaflet will give you more information about personal budgets. You will probably have many questions about this new system, so some of the most frequently asked questions are answered. If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact Norfolk County Council on the phone number or address listed at the end of this booklet. Personal budgets the process Taking responsibility for managing your own support and services can seem a little daunting, but you re not on your own. We know that change isn t easy, so we will be here to support you as you develop your support plan, identify and find the services you want. We also recognise that sometimes you won t want us to provide that help, so there are a number of organisations throughout Norfolk who can offer you independent and impartial advice and support through the planning process, for example Age Concern Norfolk and Independent Living Norfolk.

3 If you have a social care need you may now be able to have access to a personal budget, an agreed amount of money which will be allocated to you to use on any kind of care or service which you think will have the most benefit to your wellbeing. Once you have made these decisions, we ll just need to ensure that it meets your social care needs, that you ll be safe and that the activities or services are legal. The level of financial support you receive will be based on your score from a Personal Budget Questionnaire and we will arrange for a home visit to complete this. Norfolk County Council will offer you the ability to take control of all or part of this money to use to meet your needs. The questionnaire will help us work out how much your personal budget should be. The next step is putting together a support plan. A support plan will give us details about you and how you want to use your personal budget to achieve a better quality of life. You can put together your plan however you like but it must show clearly what support you need and how your budget will be spent to support this. You can get a friend, family member, social worker, or Independent Living Norfolk to help you with this. Frequently asked questions You will probably have many questions about this new system, so we have tried to answer the most frequently asked ones here. If you have a question that is not answered here, please do contact us on the phone number or address listed at the end of the booklet. Questions and answers about personal budgets Q Can anyone have a personal budget? A Not everybody will be eligible. You will be assessed to see if you are eligible under the national Fair Access to Care Services Criteria. Only people with a critical or substantial need will be able to have a personal budget.

4 Q What if I don t want to have a personal budget? A Nationally, all adult social care is changing. The important thing is that you will have much more choice in the services you receive. You do not have to manage this money yourself - you can ask Norfolk County Council to use your budget to pay for the services you choose. Q What if I am not eligible for a personal budget? A Norfolk County Council will always try and meet your needs by offering you advice, support and guidance. Q How do I know if I am eligible for a personal budget? A You will be told if you are eligible when you are assessed. You must meet the county council eligibility criteria for social care. For more information please ring Q How will I know how much money I will get? A You will be asked to complete a personal budget questionnaire. The questionnaire is a list of questions about your life and how easy or difficult it is to do different activities. The questionnaire will help to work out how much your personal budget should be. You will then be told how much your budget is for the next year and be able to plan how you want to use your budget. Q Will I have to make a financial contribution to the cost of my care? A You may have to pay a contribution towards the cost of your care services, depending on how much money you have coming in. Your care assessor will make a referral to a specialist worker who will make sure you are receiving all the benefits you are entitled to and let you know if you will need to pay. If you are not eligible for financial support Norfolk County Council can still help you find support for your social care needs, such as giving you details of other organisations or services who are able to help.

5 Q Can my social worker refuse to agree my support plan? A Yes but your social worker will provide you with guidelines to show you what is required in your support plan. If you have followed these guidelines, your plan should receive approval. Q How can I use my Personal Budget? A You can use your budget in the way that suits you best. This may include: Money to arrange and buy your own support (i.e. direct payments) OR You can ask your social worker to buy a service on your behalf. This includes services provided directly by Norfolk County Council or purchased from other service providers. OR You can have a combination of both of the above. People receiving direct payments as part of their personal budget take responsibility for choosing and providing their own support services. If you choose to employ your own staff you will be put in contact with the organisation Independent Living Norfolk who will be able to give you advice, support and information about your legal responsibilities as an employer. Q If I receive support already will the money pay for the support I am receiving at the moment? A Not necessarily. Your needs will be re-assessed and your personal budget calculated on the basis of your current circumstances. This amount may be more, or less, than you get at the moment. The council still has a duty to provide enough resources for your eligible needs to be met.

6 Getting information Norfolk County Council Our website ( has lots of information including links to relevant organisations and voluntary agencies who may also be able to offer you support. If you don t have access to the website, or can t find the information you need, you can call us free of charge on where one of our trained customer service advisors will be on hand to talk through any questions you might have. Or you can us: [email protected] Tel: [email protected] Independent Living Norfolk 15 Manor Farm Barns Fox Road Framingham Pigot Norwich NR14 7PZ Tel: [email protected] Age Concern Norfolk 300 St Faith s Road Old Catton Norwich NR6 7 BJ Tel: [email protected]