1. Adult social care and ‘Self Directed Support’

2. Adult social care is changing In the future more people are likely to need to access help from adult social care.

3. Increasing pressure on public finances We want to ensure that the public money made available to everyone who needs care or support is: o focused on promoting independence o shared more fairly

4. Promoting independence

5. Continue living in your own home Most people tell us that they want to keep living safely in their own home. We want to help them: o avoid institutional care o reduce the need for longer term care provision o have a more fulfilling life.

6. Identifying ‘Your Circle’ Through ‘Your Circle’ we want to enable people to identify their trusted people, places and services to build their own circle of support. This will help them to life safely and happily at home, wherever possible.

7. Building ‘Your Circle’ You may already have a circle of support – a sister, son or neighbour; your GP, help with personal care or the laundry; a dog walker... Some people have a big support network, whilst others it may be very small or non-existent.

8. Building ‘Your Circle’ For some people, our support services will already be part of their circle – a Village Agent or a Drop In Centre. For others, according to their needs and eligibility, our support services may become part of their circle.

9. Enhancing ‘Your Circle’ Whatever their situation, we want to encourage people to enhance that circle of support and we have developed some tools to help

10. Better access to information & advice Our website, www.yourcircle.org.uk can help link people with the support they might need – both formal and informal.www.yourcircle.org.uk From community groups to help in their own home, equipment to volunteering opportunities...

11. Better access to information & advice We are working with our partners so people know where and how to access this information: Village and Community Agents Voluntary and Community organisations District, Town and Parish Councils Drop In Centres Advocacy Groups Libraries Family members and friends can access the website on your behalf

12. Better access to advocacy Advocates can help people speak up and express their wishes. They make it easier for people to make choices and decisions about their support. Working closely with them, they can help make sure that other people know and understand what is important to them. To find the right advocacy organisation call 0800 644 6448.

13. Getting people back to independent living

14. Focusing on ‘re-ablement’ Working closely with health partners, we offer a period of free short term support or ‘re-ablement’. This helps people where possible to: o recover quickly from illness or an accident o regain the skills of daily life o maximise your independence.

15. What is ‘re-ablement’? We will work with people in their home for up to 6 weeks, to support them to: o re-learn how to carry out the tasks they need for daily living, such as cooking o support them in practical ways to help regain mobility, life skills and self-confidence o help them gain the maximum degree of independence.

16. With a bit of help and time, people can and often do reclaim some independence again.

17. Learning new skills For younger people with disabilities, we want to promote opportunities to learn new skills that will give them more independence.

18. Introducing ‘Self Directed Support’

19. A new approach to social care ‘Self Directed Support’ (SDS) is a totally new way to provide adult social care. SDS promotes independence and gives people greater say and more control over the support services they receive.

20. Improving fairness and equity One benefit of these changes is to improve fairness amongst people who use our services, particularly in these tough financial times. With more people using our services, we want to ensure that people with similar levels of needs will get similar levels of support.

21. Recognising individuals’ needs SDS recognises that ‘you are the expert on your own needs’. People can design and tailor their own support package to meet their own unique requirements, with help if they want.

22. Personal Budgets Where eligible, they will be offered a personal budget to spend on their identified support needs. They will know the true market cost of services, so they can choose what support to receive.

23. Calculating how much money During assessment we will work together to identify what needs people are eligible to have support for and also help them work out what they want to achieve. A computer system will then generate an estimate of money, which will be an indication of their personal budget. This will be a reasonable and fair amount to meet those identified support needs.

24. Contributing to the costs We will undertake a Financial and Benefits Assessment to determine how contributions to the personal budget are made up. This takes into account an individual’s financial circumstances (income, savings and financial commitments). It also provides an opportunity to check that they are receiving the right benefits.

25. Offering choice Where previously people might have been limited to traditional social care options such as visits to a day care centre or home help, SDS offers greater choice. People will have more freedom to choose alternative services available in the community, not just those offered by the council.

26. How to spend the personal budget Everyone will want to do things differently –whether that’s continuing with conventional social care support (with us arranging services for them) –or considering other services such as employing a personal assistant –or a combination of the two.

27. Choice is bounded To be approved by council, care and support arrangements must: –meet those needs identified in their assessment –be legal –keep them safe –offer value for money We will work with individuals to discuss and agree their options.

28. Guiding you through Adult Social Care We have developed a series of information sheets to guide people through adult social care, including how we work out if they are eligible for support and how to create a personal budget and a support plan.

29. Information sheets

30. For further information If you, or someone you know, needs additional support through longer term adult social care, then you need to contact us. Visit www.yourcircle.org.ukwww.yourcircle.org.uk Contact the Adult Social Care Helpdesk: 01452 426868