At a glance 02: Improving outcomes for people in Shared Lives arrangements

Published: April 2009
Updated October 2009

Key action points for care managers and commissioners

  • Keep up to date on policy and regulatory requirements
  • Work with schemes to make good placements – provide a copy of the care plan, do joint assessments, especially in complex circumstances
  • Manage risk with the user and the shared living scheme – review and update risk assessment plans
  • Involve and update commissioners in all decisions about placements to help them determine local need.

Introduction

Shared Lives schemes are one way of providing more personalised services. Schemes recruit, assess and support Shared Lives carers who offer accommodation and/or care and support to people who use services, older people, people with mental ill health and those with learning and/or physical disabilities, in their family home. Shared Lives carers can support a maximum of three adults at any one time and are self-employed. Shared Lives schemes may be directly managed by the local authority/Northern Ireland health and social care trust or by an organisation independent of the local authority/Northern Ireland health and social care trust (usually a charity) and are regulated by the Care Quality Commission. (Note: Shared Lives schemes were previously known as adult placement schemes.)

This At a glance is a summary of SCIE Guide 14: Improving outcomes for service users in adult placement – Commissioning and care management.

What this means in practice

Keep up to date – knowledge about Shared Lives

Work with the schemes to make good placements - assessment and referral

Practice examples can be found in SCIE Guide 14: Improving outcomes for service users in adult placement – Commissioning and care management.

Care managers need to be aware of the potential for Shared Lives as a major lever for the promotion of choice.

Manage risk with the user and Shared Lives scheme - care planning, risk assessment and review

Practice examples can be found in SCIE Guide 14: Improving outcomes for service users in adult placement – Commissioning and care management.

Involve and update commissioners

Practice examples can be found in SCIE Guide 14: Improving outcomes for service users in adult placement – Commissioning and care management.

Policy and legislation

The Commission for Social Care and Inspection has introduced changes to regulations, including registration and inspection of shared living placements. From April 2009, the new Care Quality Commission (CQC) will take over CSCI’s responsibilities.

Independence, wellbeing and choice (DH, 2005) – acknowledges the ability of shared living to deliver small, local, individualised services and promoted expansion of this area.

Our health, our care, our say (DH, 2006) and Putting people first (DH, 2007) – both acknowledge the use of and encourage the expansion of individual budgets.

You can find out more about current legislation in Northern Ireland by visiting:

The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) has responsibility for the registration and inspection of Adult Placement Agencies (which includes Shared Lives schemes) placements.

Northern Ireland legislation:
The Adult Placement Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007.

About this summary

SCIE’s At a glance guides have been developed to help you understand as quickly and easily as possible the important messages and practice advice in SCIE’s guides. The At a glance guides will give you an overview of the messages or help direct you to parts of the main guide that you may find most useful. You can also use them as training resources in teams or with individuals.

Links

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