You will now start planning the support you need to meet your needs and achieve your outcomes. This is all recorded on your Support Plan.
A support plan will show:
- What your needs and outcomes are.
- How the support will meet your needs and outcomes.
- What support you receive from family, friends, community networks and other services.
- Who will provide your ongoing support.
- What support you want to buy with your indicative budget.
- Who will manage your Personal budget.
- A breakdown of the costs of your support.
We will make it as easy as possible for you:
- You can write the plan yourself, with help from your family and your friends 'your circle of support'.
- You can ask an organisation such as Age Concern, The National Autistic Society or Bury People First.
- Adult Care Services can help.
- You can use the Adult Care Services Care Directory to look for services and providers.
There are many examples of what people use their budgets for. Some people choose to employ their own support worker called a Personal Assistant. You could purchase practical help at home or in the community. Some people have used their Personal budget to join a local club or sports group to meet their agreed outcomes.
And you can come up with ideas of your own!
There are certain things that you cannot use your budget for:
- Everyday expenses like food or rent
- Equipment or services that the NHS can provide
- Anything that doesn't meet one of your needs and outcomes
- Anything which is against the law
- Gambling
Once you are happy with your support plan, your care manager will take it back to Adult Care Services, who will need to agree and sign off the plan. They will look at your Assessment to identify your needs and then ensure that your Support Plan can meet these needs and the outcomes you want to achieve. They will also check your risk Assessment to ensure any risks associated with your Support Plan are managed. Then we will tell you the final amount of money you will get for your care and support. We call this your personal budget. But don't forget this includes the contribution you have been assessed as paying too.
Reviews
Within 12 weeks after your support has started, your care worker will check with you that everything is going well and that your needs are being met. This is called an Initial Review. Your care manager will check the quality of the services you are receiving and that things are working for you. They will also check how the budget is being managed and if this is working.
At the review, you will need to show how you have used your budget to meet your care needs and outcomes.
You will have a review at least every 12 months after this or more frequently if required.
If you are managing your Personal budget yourself, a worker from our Finance Team will audit your account and check in detail what your budget has been spent on and if this matches your support plan.