Social Care Support – Adult Social Care

This family recommended guide would be really helpful for families who want to know more about their rights in relation to the Care Act, which includes getting the right support for your family member from social care.

Luke Clements a renowned solicitor with expertise around the rights of people who experience social exclusion, including disabled people and their carers has written this overview of the care act, which is kept relevant and up to date. He also has a website Luke Clements – Social and health care rights

CASCAIDr describe themselves as “an online specialist advice charity, expert in the legal principles that are supposed to govern how adult social services operate in England and Wales, and which intertwine with rights to NHS services. Our professional and charitable mission is supporting the sound administration of justice for anyone who, due to mental ill-health, physical or sensory impairments, deterioration or disability, needs access to care and support to enable them to work, study, stay safe or develop social networks.” They also provide a private online legal framework ADVOCACY service more information can be found on their website.

‘What you need to know about your adult social care and support’ – An Essex County council document

The care act 2014 has an eligibility criteria in order to be eligible for social care support for both the cared for and the family carer. This document is a quick reference for the criteria.

Carers UK have produced a helpful factsheet for family carers about having a carers assessment.

As an individual employer you can apply for the individual employer funding to train yourself and your personal assistants (PAs) via skills for care.

This funding can be used to cover training costs to develop your skills as an employer, direct costs of completing training/qualifications, hiring replacement support whilst your usual PA is attending training courses and travel.

Applicable to people who employ their own care and support through a personal budget from social care or health (personal health budget) or using your own money (‘self-funder’).

A personal budget is the amount of money Essex County Council will pay towards the care and support people need following an assessment.

You have three different options on how you receive your personal budget. These are:

• a direct payment
• an individual service fund
• a council managed fund

Penderels Trust are the NEW Direct Payment support service in Essex. Their website has updates, information, video guides, and template forms. It also has the contact details should you need to email or speak to someone.

(Please note that users of a Personal Health Budget will still be using WeArePurple to manage their payments)

ADASS the Directors of Adult Social Care Eastern Region has worked with Curators of Change to set up Over a Brew Virtual Coffee Sessions. A chance for people who use adult social care services and support, those who commission the services and providers to come together and talk about issues and topics relating to social care and support.

More about ‘Over a Brew’

We want time to get alongside each other over a brew, to share and test out ideas that will improve people’s experiences of requesting and accessing adult social care. Therefore, the region alongside Curators of Change (people who access care and support) have set up virtual “Over a Brew” coffee sessions to provide an open, honest space for people who draw on care and support, commissioners and providers to come together to talk about what’s working well and not so well. The key findings from each session, which is run every last Friday of each month (except August and December), will feed back into the “Putting People at the Heart of Care and Support” working group which will develop actions for the year ahead with a “we said”, “we did” approach.

A personal health budget is an amount of NHS money that is allocated to support your health and wellbeing needs. If you’re eligible for it, you (or someone who represents you), will work with your local NHS team to plan how you spend the money and get the care you need.

For families caring for young people under 18yrs information will come from the Childrens and families team or the Young People Transitions team

If you support someone with a disability or health condition, there could be extra expenses to help them manage, these could be classes as disability related expenses.

If people pay towards their care, then by claiming for disability related expenses to be included in the financial assessment these could reduce the cost to the individual.