Suchergebnisse

Summary English policy and practice guidance recommends local authorities offer personal budgets to all adults eligible for social care support using transparent and equitable allocation systems which maximise choice and control for users. This includes family and other unpaid carers as carers in England are entitled to their own personal budget. The Care Act 2014 strengthens carers' rights and places duties on authorities to assess and meet carers eligible support needs. However, little is known about how authorities assess and allocate resources to carers. This article explores this information gap drawing on data from a survey of English local authorities in two regions completed by carers lead officers and complemented by follow-up telephone interviews with a sub-sample of these officers. Findings Survey and interview results demonstrate wide practice variations around how social workers assess, calculate and distribute resources to carers. There is little uniformity across authorities. Carer eligibility criteria are used but thresholds vary and are often unclear. Most grants/personal budgets are allocated as single annual payments but how the level of these grant/personal budgets are calculated varies with little standardisation. Applications The article develops the evidence base surrounding resource allocation to carers through carer grants/personal budgets. Findings are timely as the Care Act 2014 will strengthen carers' rights alongside the continuing personalisation of adult social care. Discussing local authority policy and practice around key objectives of equity, transparency and carer choice, implications for future social work practice and its development are considered in light of the Care Act 2014 .

Summary The policy of personalisation in English adult social care prioritises choice and control by service users over the support they receive. Carers also have rights to assessments and support, but these rights have developed separately, so interdependencies between carers and service users may be overlooked. Moreover, it may be difficult to reconcile these divergent policies in routine practice. This article reports findings from a study examining the roles played by carers in England in the processes of assessment, support planning and management of personal budgets for disabled and older people. The study was conducted between January 2011 and February 2013. It involved a survey of 16 adult social care departments across 2 English regions, and interviews with personalisation and carers lead officers in three local authorities. The Framework approach was used to manage the data, and analysis was done thematically. Findings Practice was fragmented and inconsistent. Carers were reported to be involved in service users' assessments, and also asked about their willingness and ability to continue caring, but not necessarily about their own needs. Separate carers' assessments were reported to be usually offered, but take-up was low and lead officers' opinions about their value varied. Any help given by carers reduced the level of service users' personal budgets, but there was no evidence that carers' own needs (as identified in carers' assessments) were taken into account. Applications Greater clarity and consistency is needed, especially the linking of service users' and carers' assessments and finding appropriate ways to meet both. These changes will become increasingly urgent with the implementation of the 2014 Care Act.

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to report on the introduction of individual personal budgets for older people and people with mental health problems in one local authority (LA) in 2011.


Design/methodology/approach
– Jenny Weinstein is a Hon Senior Lecturer at Kingston University, Professor Ray Jones and Rick Hood are based at the Joint Faculty of Health and Social Care, St George's, University of London and Kingston University, London, UK.A qualitative study is described in which structured interviews were carried out with participants belonging to each service user group. The study aimed to explore the following issues: first, service users' experiences of the assessment process, second, whether service users wanted full control of their budgets and third, if personal budgets make a difference to quality of life.


Findings
– xService users (n=7 older people and carers; n=7 people with mental health problems) found the personal budgets system and assessment process difficult to understand and its administration complex. Older people in particular were reluctant to assume full control and responsibility for managing their own personal budget in the form of a Direct Payment. Participants in both groups reported their continued reliance on traditional home care or day care services. These findings were reported back to the LA to help staff review the implementation of personal budgets for these two user groups.


Research limitations/implications
– Study participant numbers are low due to difficulties recruiting. Several potential participants were not interviewed due to their frailty.


Practical implications
– Studies of this type are important for constructing local knowledge about national policies such as the implementation of personal budgets in social care.


Originality/value
– Studies of this type are important for constructing local knowledge about national policies such as the implementation of personal budgets in social care.

Personal health budgets are an important new tool to improve the lives of people living with long-term conditions and disabilities by giving them greater choice and control over their healthcare.This is the first step-by-step guide to their implementation. Using current evidence and best practice identified by pilot sites, Delivering personal health budgets contains everything there is to know about the purpose and history of personal health budgets, the evidence for their effectiveness and the challenges they pose to traditional healthcare systems. It describes the essential infrastructure needed for personal health budgets and includes implementation checklists.The book focuses on how personal health budgets can be implemented to achieve the best possible outcomes for individuals, while real life stories from personal health budget holders bring their potential vividly to life. Delivering personal health budgets is essential reading for commissioners, healthcare providers, clinicians and policy makers who are looking for an informative and authoritative guide

'Die Versorgung in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe ist durch eine staatlich-zentrale Bedarfs- und Kapazitätsplanung, Subventionen im Rahmen der Investitionsfinanzierung (Objektförderung) und die Vergabe der Dienstleistung als Sachleistungsanspruch der Hilfebedürftigen gekennzeichnet. Das personengebundene Budget (PGB) entfaltet demgegenüber einen Geldleistungsanspruch. Es kann als wesentliches marktlich-wettbewerbliches Steuerungsinstrument - neben der Ausschreibung und einer Gutscheinvergabe - einen Systemwechsel hin zur Subjektförderung begleiten. Der Beitrag zeigt Gründe auf für eine Einführung des PGB und damit verbundene Erwartungen. Er benennt Voraussetzungen und Grenzen und stellt das Ver- sowie seine Ausgestaltung dar. Eine Diskussion möglicher Gefahren und Probleme sowie die Einbindung in einen Systemwechsel mit der Notwendigkeit einer Neuordnung der staatlichen Kompetenzen beschließen die Ausführungen.' (Autorenreferat)