Individual Budget

Description

What is an Individual Budget?

Individual Budgets are a new way to organise the support you need. They bring together all the money you are entitled to and let you control how to spend it on the support you need.

An Individual Budget could include:

Social Care Money;
Independent Living Fund;
DLA;
Supporting People Money;
Your own money.

How do Individual Budgets work?

Support Assessments

First we need to check if you are entitled to an Individual Budget. A Care Manager will help you find this out. Then you will have the opportunity to tell us about yourself in a supported assessment.

How Much?

You will decide what you want to achieve - these are called outcomes. then we will tell you how much money you have for the year using the new system called a Resource Allocation System.

Support Plan

You will the need to write a plan to show how you would spend your Individual Budget - lots of people can help with this. A Care Manager needs to agree that your plan says how your outcomes will be met and that you will be safe.

Managing Money

There are lots of different ways to manage your money and we will help you with this. You can manage the money yourself, or the money can be managed for you.

Arranging Support

You get support in a way that makes sense to you - it might be a person to help you or a piece of equipment. We can help you think what would be best for you and help you arrange it. You will need to keep records of how you have spent the money but we can help you with this as well.

Review

We will keep in touch with you to make sure everything is ok and that you have enough money to pay for the support you need.

Why are Individual Budgets different?

The big difference with Individual Budgets is that you know how much money you will be entitled to at the beginning. This means you van choose the support that you want, instead of being offered what's already there.

What else?

There will be a lot of people who can help you get and to manage your Individual Budget, such as social workers, advocates, friends and families, and people who can help you with support plans. You will need a financial assessment to see if you have to pay for this service.

Who can try Individual Budgets?

Individual Budgets are available to anyone who is eligible for a service from the Council's Adult Social Care department.

Address

Care Central, Howbury Centre, Slade Green Road, Erith DA8 2HX

Contact

For more information about Individual Budgets please contact Care Central on

Tel: 01322 356 363

Or Bexley Council on: 0208 303 7777