The assessment process is one of the most important elements of the care and support system. It is the first contact many people have with the system, and this must be a collaborative process that involves the person concerned.
This relates to the needs assessments and carer's assessments section of the regulations and guidance for implementation of part one of the Care Act in 2015/16.
Support for practice and culture change
Assessment and eligibility practice examples
A selection of examples, take direct from practice, to help practitioners explore complex assessment and eligibility. They cover: physical health, mental health, carers' support, fluctuating needs, specialist support, strengths-based approaches and supported self-assessment.
Provider: Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)
Assessment and eligibility practice examples
Assessment and eligibility process map
A flowchart of the processes involved in assessment and eligibility. A detailed narrative which sets out core duties and describes the process that accompanies each stage.
Provider: Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)
Assessment and eligibility process map
Ensuring assessment is proportionate and appropriate
This guide provides an overview of key elements to consider in order to ensure any form of care assessment undertaken – for the adult requiring care or their carer – is proportionate and appropriate. It should be read in conjunction with the Care and Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014 and Chapter 6 of the statutory guidance.
Provider: SCIE
Ensuring assessment is proportionate and appropriate
Supported self-assessment
This guide provides an overview of key elements to consider in recommending a supported self-assessment for the adult requiring care or their carers. It should be read in conjunction with the Care and Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014 and Chapter 6 of the statutory guidance.
Provider: SCIE
Supporting product: Supported self-assessment
Using a strengths-based approach
The Care Act says that it's important to "look at the person's life, considering their needs and agreed outcomes in the context of their skills, ambitions and priorities." This is called taking a strengths-based approach. This guide and accompanying film show how using a strengths-based approach should put people at the centre of understanding their own needs. It means looking at what people can do with their own skills and resources, and what the people around them can do to support them, so that they can be active in their communities.
Provider: SCIE
Guide to strengths-based approaches
Film on strengths-based approaches
Assessment and eligibility: fluctuating needs
This guide provides an overview of key elements to consider in order to ensure any form of care assessment undertaken for the adult requiring care and support or their carer with support needs takes full account of the extent of fluctuating needs.
Provider: SCIE
Assessment and eligibility: fluctuating needs
Fluctuation needs: short film
Assessments should reflect more accurately a comprehensive picture of people's needs, including how they change over time. In this film two people, one with mental health needs, the other with a physical disability, talk about their conditions, assessment, how their needs can fluctuate and the impact this has on the level of care and support they need.
Provider: SCIE
Fluctuation needs: short film
Eligibility guide
The aim of this guide is to build on the Care Act statutory guidance by outlining what local authorities need to consider when making an eligibility determination, using the national eligibility criteria. This is a living document and will be updated to highlight good practice in using the Care Act eligibility criteria as it develops. At present, the guide summarises the process and key elements to consider in relation to making an eligibility determination for an adult requiring care.
Provider: SCIE
Eligibility guide
Carers and the whole family approach
The Economic Case for Investment in Carers
ADASS have led the production of The Economic Case for Investment in Carers, a short factsheet for local authorities to use in considering whether to put in place a policy of charging carers. It sets out the evidence that charging would be a false economy because it would lead to increased "carer breakdown" and the costs of replacing the care provided by those carers would outweigh the income from charging.
The Care Act and whole family approaches
The Care Act and Whole-Family Approaches sets out best practice approaches to thinking "whole family" in assessment, planning and review processes – as well as the combined legal framework with children's legislation that underpins this.
Provider: Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) Carers Policy Network
A guide to efficient and effective interventions for implementing the Care Act 2014
The ADASS carers policy network has led on developing a guide to efficient and effective interventions to fulfil the new duties around carers enshrined in the Care Act. The document summarises the key elements of the statutory guidance that apply to carers and sets out relevant good practice in each case.
Learning and development resources
Assessment and eligibility slides
Provider: Skills for Care
Assessment and eligibility slides
People who are deafblind
The Care Act 2014 goes into detail about particular requirements for people who are deafblind. This handout defines what the law means by deafblind and explains what local authorities must consider when meeting the needs of those who are deafblind. It also provides some general points which are applicable to other individuals who have complex but relatively rare conditions.
Provider: Skills for Care
People who are deafblind
Substantial difficulty
The Care Act 2014 requires that local authorities involve people in decisions made about them and their care and support. This handout explains the concept of involvement as set out in legislation, provides a comparison with the Mental Capacity Act, offers tips on assessing whether someone has substantial difficulty in being involved and explains when the duty applies. It also features a case study.
Provider: Skills for Care
Substantial difficulty
Other support and linked projects
Skills for Care / Carers UK resources on assessment
Skills for Care have developed resources for councils to plan the implications of different configurations of their workforce to assess carers.
Provider: Skills for Care
www.skillsforcare.org.uk/carers
Advice, information and assessment
Nottinghamshire is putting significant effort into the development of a new social care offer which proactively targets people who may be at risk of requiring social care services in order to inform them about ways in which they can make themselves more resilient to any risk to their independence and improve their overall wellbeing.
Local practice