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

Practice

'[Local authorities should] review their formal safeguarding procedures with [risk] issues in mind as they think about the role and remit of their workforce' (Tyson et al, 2010)

Self-directed support and staying safe: the In Control perspective

In Control has suggested that consideration of positive risk taking and safeguarding needs to be an integral part of the self-directed support process, including support planning and review and decisions on how best to manage a personal budget.

The organisation has argued that self-directed support has the potential to make people safer than traditional social care and support services. This is because it:

While risk enablement as part of support planning and review is critical, In Control recommends that local authorities should also review their formal safeguarding procedures with these issues in mind as they think about the role and remit of their workforce.

They also recommend the following points for risk enablement and safeguarding and particularly highlight the importance of the social worker role:

The In Control 'Supporting safely' guide for all those involved in supporting people using self-directed support and personal budgets outlines some key things to consider:

Further reading

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