| Why individualised funding? |
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Individualised funding (IF), coupled with support brokerage, offers
many benefits to people who depend on social care services. It makes
a clear and powerful link between person-centred planning and the
delivery of supports, and so enhances choice and control at all
stages. It is also likely to increase the use of ordinary communities
opportunities and strengthening social inclusion. For councils,
this represents more efficient use of public funds, delivering improved
outcomes within current budgets. IF is also now a key element of
government policy to increase the take-up of Direct Payments and
to develop personalised services based on individual budgets.
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| What does it involve? |
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Support brokers are the most visible element of an IF programme,
and one that is very important. But to work effectively, individualised
funding has to be implemented ‘across the board’. It means
changes in roles, relationships, and procedures to achieve a funding
and service delivery system that consistently supports the self-determination
of people who use services, while at the same time upholding the
council’s responsibilities for resource allocation and to protect
adults who are vulnerable.
The specific changes in procedures can, of course, be kept within
the boundaries of the IF programme. On the other hand, experience
suggests that an IF programme will generate spin-off benefits for
other Direct Payment recipients, and for service users as a whole.
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| Successful design and
implementation |
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All this adds up to a major, and perhaps daunting, agenda for action.
However, it is entirely achievable – especially with the assistance
of an organisation that understands what needs to be done. The National
Development Team has a unique set of resources to support the design
and implementation of an IF programme, drawing on the NDT’s
long experience in working with councils, practical experience of
developing IF programmes in the UK, plus direct involvement in IF
development in other countries.
This expertise is now available as a
combined package of consultancy, training, and supporting materials
that include guides for the various stakeholder groups and templates
for revised procedures. The package provides an overall framework
and a set of resources that can be adapted, in collaboration with
local partners, to achieve an IF programme that meets local requirements
and conditions.
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| Elements of the package |
| The package includes assistance
in the four areas where action is required to deliver a coherent IF
system: |
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1
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Support to social services to review and (within the boundaries of
the project) adapt their roles and procedures, particularly in relation
to community care assessment and resource allocation |
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2
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The recruitment, training, and accreditation of support brokers. |
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3
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Work
to stimulate and facilitate a group of users, carers, and community
allies to act as the local regulatory body for support brokers. |
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4
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Encourage
the growth of a market of social care providers willing and ready
to contract directly with disabled people. |
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Although the main training component of the package is focused
on the brokerage element, additional training and awareness-raising
events will be required for care management staff, providers, users
and carers.
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| Implementation Timescale
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There are multiple strands of work which need to be completed (by
the NDT and/or local organisation) before the programme can become
operational. Development of brokerage resources and revision of
council procedures are critical, but some work with providers is
also desirable at this stage. Experience has shown that it is likely
to take around six months to achieve an operational project.
The group that provides the local regulatory function over brokers
is not likely to emerge until after the project has become operational.
Until that point is reached, supervision of brokers can be provided
by the NDT.
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| Costs |
| Many factors will affect the
level of NDT input required, and hence the costs. These include – |
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The level of assistance that
can be provided locally (most obviously from the council) with coordination
and administration |
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The extent of local networks
that can be used to recruit brokers |
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The number of awareness-raising
events required for the various stakeholders. |
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For this reason the budget that will be required can only be identified
on the basis of individual requirements and circumstances. Please
contact Steve Dowson, sdowson@ndt.org.uk,
or phone the NDT national office on 01473 836440.
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| The expertise on offer |
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The NDT has a wealth of experience
in supporting positive change in local services, by the delivery
of training and through consultancy. This work covers
issues closely linked to individualised funding, including
Direct Payments, person-centred planning, and social inclusion.
The NDT’s work on individualised funding is led by Steve
Dowson, who brings practical experience of developing
IF programmes in the UK and the U.S., as well as being a significant
contributor to thinking on IF at the international level.
In 1990 – as a response to the proposal to introduce
care management - he published a paper* arguing that a better
system would be based on service brokerage. Work on this topic
expanded during the 1990s and included a review of the service
broker role for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and led to
a working partnership with Brian Salisbury, one of the brokers
in the original IF pilot in British Columbia and a leading
advocate of IF.
This partnership was formalised as Emprise International
Training and Consultancy. They jointly organised the programme
for the First International
Conference on Self-Determination and Individualised Funding,
in Seattle (2000); were keynote speakers; and wrote the conference
report, which remains the only comprehensive account of
IF from an international perspective.
Emprise provided consultancy, over a three years,
to assist the development of the San
Diego IF programme, and trained the
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brokers for the programme. Other work included consultancy,
training, and conference presentations on IF for several agencies
in Australia.
Research for the Roeher
Institute in Canada on global innovations in disability
policy included visits to Sweden and Italy to explore and
compare IF developments.
Steve Dowson is also the author of Not
Just About the Money (2002), which argued for the introduction
of IF and brokerage in the UK. He is the NDT’s lead consultant
for the Life Planning projects
in Brent and North Somerset.
The NDT’s work on implementation of IF has been strengthened
by contributions from Alison Short.
Alison, a member of Helen
Sanderson Associates, is a skilled person-centred planning
facilitator and trainer, and the lead author of Families
Leading Planning; a resource pack to enable families to take
the lead in person centred planning with and for people with
disabilities that they love. She also has a longstanding
interest in support brokerage. This has included training
as a broker, attendance and presenting at international conferences,
and practical experience of the role. In collaboration with
Steve Dowson, Alison designed and delivered the broker training
for the Life Planning projects,
and has a continuing role to monitor and support the practice
of the brokers. She also is taking a lead role in supporting
the development of Support Brokerage for the In
Control programme
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*Dowson S. (1990) "Who Does What?:The
process of enabling people with learning difficulties to achieve
what they need and want" , Values Into Action
An online version of this paper (Acrobat, 344Kb)can be downloaded
HERE. |
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