THE CARE ACT What`s in it for social workers

THE CARE ACT
The Statutory Guidance
What’s in it for social workers
Pete Feldon
Independent Workforce Development Consultant
[email protected]
What I am going to talk about
• A bit about myself
• Finding out what you know
• Overview of the Care Act
Guidance
• What the Guidance says about
the role of social workers
• Time for discussion and questions
A bit about myself
• Workforce development consultant and trainer
• Background of working in many sectors of social care
as a social worker, trainer, manager and policy
developer
• Worked for local authorities and the NHS in north
and east London
• Member of the Board of Skills for Care (November
2012 - November 2014) – nominated by BASW
• Currently working with local authority clients of the
Institute of Public Care (IPC) on various aspects of
Care Act implementation, including training
How much do you know??
• Nothing
• Know it is to come into force in
April 2015
• Read the some of the Act
• Read some of the Statutory
Guidance
What are the most important changes?
• Independent advocates
• National eligibility criteria
• Statutory requirement for
prevention
• Cap on care costs
Care & Support Statutory Guidance
• Published in late October
• Over 200,000 words
What the Guidance says about the
role of social workers
• managing complexity
• safeguarding
• providing advice to other staff
• debt recovery
Providing Social Work Advice
• Information and advice – staff undertaking
this role should have “access to the support
of registered social work advice”
• Person-centredness – “In ensuring that the
(care and support planning) process is
person-centred, the local authority should
ensure that ..there is sufficient local
availability of …access to social work
advice.”
Debt Recovery
• Positive resolution through use of
social work skills
• Mediation
• Debt indicative of a wish to leave
a care home or depression,
mental ill-health or dementia
Managing Complexity
• Eligibility
• Prevention
• Safeguarding
• ‘Substantial difficulty’ in
involvement
• ‘Sufficiency’ of the personal
budget
National eligibility framework
 After completion of the assessment process, the local authority will
determine whether the individual has eligible needs
 The Act introduces a national eligibility threshold:
- whether the person has needs due to a physical or mental
impairment or illness
- whether those needs mean that they are unable to achieve two
or more specified outcomes
- as a consequence there is, or is likely to be, a significant impact
on their wellbeing
11
Interpreting the eligibility criteria
The specified outcomes are:
 Managing and maintaining nutrition
An adult meets the
eligibility criteria if:
 Their needs are caused
by physical or mental
impairment or illness
 As a result of the adult’s
needs they are unable to
achieve two or more
specified outcomes
 As a consequence there
is or is likely to be a
significant impact on the
person’s well-being
 Maintaining personal hygiene
 Managing toilet needs
 Being appropriately clothed
 Being able to make use of the home safely
 Maintaining a habitable home environment
 Developing and maintaining family or other
personal relationships
 Accessing and engaging in work, training,
education or volunteering
 Making use of necessary facilities or
services in the local community including
public transport and recreational facilities
or services
Carrying out any caring responsibilities the
adult has for a child
12
Interpreting the eligibility criteria
An adult meets the eligibility criteria if:
 Their needs are caused by physical
or mental impairment or illness
 As a result of the adults needs they
are unable to achieve two or more
specified outcomes
 As a consequence there is or is
likely to be a significant impact on
the person’s well-being
An adult is to be regarded as being unable to achieve an
outcomes if the adult:
 is unable to achieve it without assistance;
 is able to achieve it without assistance but:
 doing so causes them significant pain, distress or
anxiety;
 doing so endangers or is likely to endanger health
or safety;
 takes significantly longer than would normally be
expected.
13
Eligibility threshold
An adult meets the eligibility criteria:
 Their needs are caused by
physical or mental impairment or
illness
 As a result of the adults needs
they are unable to achieve two
or more specified outcomes
 As a consequence there
is or is likely to be a
significant impact on
the person’s well-being
An adult is to be regarded as being unable to achieve an
outcome if the adult:
 is unable to achieve it without assistance;
 is able to achieve it without assistance but doing so
causes the adult significant pain, distress or anxiety;
 is able to achieve it without assistance but doing so
endangers or is likely to endanger the health or safety
of the adult, or of others; or
 is able to achieve it without assistance but takes
significantly longer than would normally be expected.
The specified outcomes are:
 Managing and maintaining nutrition
 Maintaining personal hygiene
 Managing toilet needs
 Being appropriately clothed
 Being able to make use of the home
safely
 Maintaining a habitable home
environment
 Developing and maintaining family
or other personal relationships
 Accessing and engaging in work,
training, education or volunteering
 Making use of necessary facilities or
services in the local community
including public transport and
recreational facilities or services
 Carrying out any caring
responsibilities the adult has for a
child
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Wellbeing includes the following…
• personal dignity (including treatment of the individual with
respect)
• physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing
• protection from abuse and neglect
• control by the individual over day-to-day life (including over
care and support
• provided and the way it is provided)
• participation in work, education, training or recreation
• social and economic wellbeing
• domestic, family and personal relationships
• suitability of living accommodation
• the individual's contribution to society
National carers eligibility framework
 After completion of the assessment process, the local
authority will determine whether the carer has eligible
needs
 Carers can be eligible for support in their own right
 The Act introduces a national carers’ eligibility threshold:
- whether the carer’s needs are due to providing
necessary care for an adult
- whether those needs puts the carer’s health at risk or
means that they are unable to achieve specified
outcomes; and
- as a consequence there is, or is likely to be, a
significant impact on their wellbeing
16
Prevention
• Preventing or delaying the development of needs for care
and support, and also reducing needs that already exist –
can help people maintain independence for longer
• Information and advice to be given regardless of eligibility
• Assessments to consider whether the person “would
benefit” from preventative and other services
• Should be evidence-based?
• Preventive services could result in a person no longer
meeting eligibility criteria
• Recognised that training is needed to extend skills in
prevention
Safeguarding – what’s new
• Section 42 – statutory duty to “make enquiries”
• Three conditions to be met :
– the adult has needs for care and support
– reasonable cause to suspect that the adult is experiencing or at risk of
neglect
– as a result of those needs is unable to protect him or herself from the
abuse, or the risk of it
• The LA must make (or cause to be made) whatever enquiries it
thinks necessary to enable it to:
– decide whether any action should be taken
– if so, what and by whom
• Likely that many enquiries will require the input and supervision of a
social worker
‘Substantial difficulty’ in involvement
• Consider if a person might have substantial difficulty
in being involved with the care and support process
or safeguarding
• Areas of difficulty:
– understanding the information provided
– retaining the information
– using or weighing up the information as part of the process
of being involved
– communicating the person’s views, wishes or feelings.
• Areas of difficulty are the same as those listed in
section 3 of the MCA when considering capacity
Supporting a person’s involvement
Might this
person have
difficulty in
being
involved?
Do they still
have
‘substantial
difficulty’ in
being
involved?
Yes
Can they be better
supported to
enable their
involvement?

Yes
Provide
support and
make
adjustments
Yes
Agree
‘appropriate
individual’
No
Duty to
arrange for
independent
advocate
[Reasonable
adjustments under the
Equality Act 2010]
Yes
Is there an
‘appropriate
individual’ – a
carer, friend or
relative – that can
facilitate their
involvement?


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‘Sufficiency’ of the personal budget
 The personal budget must:
– always be sufficient
– reflect the cost to the local authority of meeting
the person’s needs
 Direct payments are not intended to be less
than is required to purchase care and support
on the local market
Will you get training?
• Plenty more to learn.
• Only touched on roles and tasks specific to social
workers
• Local authorities have been given £4m additional
funding for training
• Learning materials available:
– http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/careact
– http://www.scie.org.uk/care-act-2014
Thank you for listening
Questions welcome