Self Directed Support (SDS Scotland)

The Self Directed Support Bill (SDS), provides you with more choice & control over how you receive your care and support services.

More and more people are looking at taking control of their own support arrangements and more options are availabe through the implementation of the Self Directed Support Bill 2013.

Self-Directed-Support can help people have better lives by making sure that:

• People have the same freedom and choices as others at home, at work or in the community.
• People get the kind of support they want, and where and when they want it.
• People get supported at the right time, before a crisis or emergency happens.

The SDS Bill is for both Children and adults.

It tells local councils that they need to listen to what people want so that people are able to get support that is just right for them.

It also wants to change the way people think about their support. It wants people who get support to be equal citizens with both rights and responsibilities.

There are 5 principles that will guide everyone when they use the new law.

1. Involvement

The local council will assess people first to decide if they can get support. But when it does this people must be involved and able to say what they think they need. This will help when they go on to the next stage and agree on a plan and how the person will use self-directed support.

2. Information and choice

Local councils must make sure that people can make real choices and have enough information to do this.

It will be important to have good information and advice services.

3. Collaboration - working together

Professional staff and the person must work together to make a plan for the person's care and support.

They will agree on outcomes for the person - what they want to see happen in the person's life. The plan will help the person work towards this.

When someone gets a payment or budget for support, they must work with the local council to decide how the money will be used. Both the person and the local council must use the money in the best way.

4. Dignity

The local council must respect the dignity of the person.

This means that the council must think about a person's dignity and treat them with respect

• when it assesses someone for support
• when it tells someone about the different options and helps them choose
• when it works with the person to develop a care or support plan.

5. A right to take part in the life of your community

The council must make it possible for a person to use support to take part in the life of their local community. It must do this as far as it is reasonable.

Some examples are:

• using local services and facilities
• taking part in local groups
• going to college or classes
• going to church.

The main choices people will have

The local council has to assess a person's care needs. This will not change.

But there are some new things the local council must also do. The local council must:

• Give people different choices to meet their care and support needs
• Give people information and advice so they are able to choose the best things for them
• Help people who find it hard to make decisions so they can get support with choosing and deciding.

The SDS Bill defines in terms of four options that local councils will have a duty to offer.

The 4 options for self-directed support

There are 4 options or choices for self-directed support. A person can choose to have lots of control over their care and support or they can leave most of the decisions and work to the local council. Or they can have a mix.

Option 1: Direct payment: Your local authority will decide how much money can be spent on your support. You take this money and arrange your own support, employ care staff or buy a service from a care organisation.This way you have the most choice and control. You also have the most responsibility for arranging things.

Option 2: You decide and the local authority arranges spport:The local council will decide how much money can be spent on your support. You can choose a care organisation that you want to provide your support and the local council will arrange it for you.

You and the care organisation can then work together to help you achieve the things that are in your support plan.

This way you have choice and control but you do not have to manage the money in your account.

Option 3:After talking to you, the local council decides and arranges support: The local council will decide how much money can be spent on your support. You ask the local council to choose and arrange the support that it thinks is right for you.With this choice you have the least responsibility for arranging things. But you also have less choice and control over what support you get.

Option 4: You use a mixture of ways to arrange your care and support:  Some people will want to control some parts of their care and support but not other parts. Option 4 lets you pick the parts you want to decide about and what parts you want to leave to the local council.

Review: If something in your life changes, then you or the local council can ask for your care and support to be looked at again. You can look at all the options again and choose a different one.

In short, you can now be more involved in your care support and you have the right to be consulted on who will deliver your individual care package.

For further FAQ's (frequently asked questions) on Self-Directed Support please see the link attached below from the Self-Directed Support Scotland web site.

www.selfdirectedsupportscotland.org.uk