SCIE Report 36: Enabling risk, ensuring safety: Self-directed support and personal budgets

Practice

'a major inhibiting factor in achieving good outcomes is a regime where there exists a fear of putting the organisation at risk, financially, in terms of reputation or in breach of the law.' (Essex County Council 2009)

Introduction

This section describes several practice examples showing how enabling risk while ensuring safety is being approached in local authorities and at different organisational levels.

The examples given are emerging practice and have not yet been evaluated, but they still show how promoting independence, choice and control and enabling positive risk taking can be balanced with duty of care and ensuring people stay safe. They demonstrate how local authorities can approach the implementation of self-directed support and personal budgets in ways which empower individuals while ensuring risks are managed and responsibility is clear.

As well as outlining the structure and function of the risk enablement panel, some core principles have been identified as important for underpinning practice. These include the development of innovative approaches to support both staff and people using services.

In addition a 'safeguarding and personalisation framework' is introduced and the importance of role of the social worker is discussed.

Further reading

• Supporting safely guide (In Control) (307kb PDF file)