An Introduction to the Care Act (2014)

Overview

This programme is a full comprehensive day covering the key principles and duties of the Care Act 2014, in relation to assessment, eligibility and care and support planning. The training is tailored accordingly to accommodate a mixed group of staff, including social workers, social care officers/support workers, occupational therapists and students. The training is supported by a comprehensive workbook comprising all slides, many with additional notes, plus case studies and a list of suggested Strengths Based Questions. The course will cover the person with care and support needs and carers equally throughout the day. The programme begins by looking at the background of the Care Act - a consolidation Act and covers the key philosophy and spirit of the Act including the emphasis on maximising choice and control harnessing the existing strengths within a person’s life and focusing throughout on what is important to that person. It continues with coverage of the core principles of wellbeing, the strengths based approach and personal outcomes, the key duties of Prevention, Information and Advice and Advocacy and Assessment, an emphasis on Think Family and how involvement can be maximised. Exercises include two quizzes, one on assessment, the other on eligibility and a case study to test out a range of strengths based questions and to reinforce the importance of identifying the person/carer’s personal outcomes. The eligibility section covers the 3 stage test for eligibility, focusing on significant impact. It includes unpicking some of the eligibility outcomes, working through specific and recent Ombudsmen cases and considering what questions need to be addressed. This section concludes with the importance of accurate recording, professional opinion and providing evidence. The remainder of the afternoon session will cover the essential components of the Care and Support Plan and include a quiz, refining the personal outcomes, clarifying what the Indicative Personal Budget is and the suggested conversation around it, understanding support options and the range of ways a Personal Budget can be taken, including how Direct Payments can be used, the three key principles (transparency, sufficiency and timeliness), Public Law Principles and adopting creative solutions through completing the case study from the morning session

Who is An Introduction to the Care Act (2014) aimed at?

Adult SC Staff

Course Length

1 day

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course delegates will be able to:-

• Recall the key principles of the Care Act and the duties and powers relating to assessment
• Identify the nine aspects of wellbeing
• Highlight the key aspects arising from the Prevention and Information and Advice duties, emphasising the importance of early resolution and pausing the assessment and the Advocacy duty
• Define a strengths based approach and consider community and support networks more readily
• Distinguish between personal and eligibility outcomes
• Demonstrate that all aspects related to involving the person as fully as possible have been explored
• Understand and adopt the minimum eligibility threshold for the person with care and support needs/carer
• Strengthen understanding of the term significant impact
• Ensure that clear evidence to substantiate the eligibility decision is included in all assessments
• Identify the essential components of a Care and Support Plan
• Refine the personal outcomes identified during the assessment at the care and support planning stage
• Understand support options, explore the range of ways needs can be met and the different ways a Personal Budget can be taken and how Direct Payments can be used
• Ensure the three key principles of the Personal Budget are adhered to
• Adopt creative solutions in care and support planning