Self-directed Support: Draft Guidance on Care & Support - Easy-Read Summary

Section 4 Eligibility and assessment

Why assess people?

Good assessment helps to make sure that:

• the person gets the best support they can get
• it is clear how decisions are made
• decisions are fair and made in the same way for everyone.

a) Deciding if you are eligible

The local council or health service must decide first if you are a "person in need".

This can be because of your age, mental disorder, illness, disability, using drugs or alcohol, or leaving prison.

They must also decide if you have enough support needs to be eligible for a support service.

The local council will look at the level of risk to you if you do not get support.

There are 4 bands of risk.

Critical risk

There are lots of risks to your independent living or health if you do not get care and support.

Substantial risk

There are quite a lot of risks to your independence or health if you do not get care and support.

Moderate risk

You may need some care and support now or you may be able to manage by yourself or with some help from family and friends.

Low risk

You are not likely to need care and support services now but may need some information and advice.

The professional who does the assessment must think about

• all of your needs and the risks
• if your needs and risks will change in future
• what will happen if no support is given
• if you have any needs that may not be easy to see at first.

The local council can look at how much money and other resources it has when it decides the eligibility rules.

Once the council decides that a person is eligible and needs care and support, it cannot refuse to provide support due to money reasons.

The council should publish its eligibility rules so it is easy for anyone to get a copy and to understand them.

b) Deciding a person's needs

Assessment is very important.

Sometimes an assessment can be done badly or not given enough time. This can make the person feel that they have no say about what happens.

A good assessment is based on what the person can offer and what they want to do.

Then the assessment can be very helpful - whether the person moves on to the next step in the pathway or not.

A good assessment

In a good assessment the professional is open and honest and has good skills in talking with people.

They needs to tell the person about all the options and also listen to the person and encourage them to say what they think.

The social care laws give professionals the power to take decisions and to provide any kind of support that will meet someone's needs.

The professional should use these powers to work with the person to find new ideas and ways to deliver support that helps the person achieve positive outcomes for their life. It is not just about the person's needs.

Personal outcomes

A full assessment will involve the professional, the person, their carer and any relevant organisation talking together. Together they will work out personal outcomes for the person as part of support planning.

An outcome is something that happens as a result of something that you or someone else does. Some examples are being as well as possible or having friends and relationships. To make these things happen, the person may go for a walk every day, or join a local social club.

It is very important that professionals and organisations do not have the same ideas for everyone or try to give everyone the same kind of support.

Self assessment

Sometimes self- assessment is used before a full assessment. It is a way that a person can start to think about their own needs and what they want to do.

It should not be used instead of the full assessment with a professional.

The assessment process has 3 main things.

1. The assessment.

If the answer is YES, then there will also be:

2. The support plan.

3. The support.

Think about the information in Section 4. Is it clear?