REPORT – Evaluation of personalised support and accommodation in disability and mental health services

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Context

Internationally, increased attention is focused on the provision of personalised supports to people with disabilities and enduring illness. Personalised or individualised supports are those which address the unique needs of the individual focusing on their strengths and abilities, which are chosen by the person and which are delivered in the community fostering inclusion and participation. Recent Irish policy documents have also described and recommended a way of supporting people with disabilities which involves a reframing of provision from services towards individualised supports. The Value for Money and Policy Review of Disability Services recommends that the goal of full inclusion and self-determination for people with disabilities be pursued “through access to the individualised personal social supports and services needed to live a fully included life in the community”.

Aims of the evaluation

In this context this evaluation was concerned with identifying the outcomes for people with disabilities and mental health difficulties receiving individualised supports; particularly on indicators of social inclusion and quality of life but also in relation to their individual aspirations, including;

  • the processes which have led to effective change and transition in terms of personal outcomes and the delivery of individualised supports.
  • the direct costs of providing the personalised support for people using services and how these costs have changed as a result of the changes in support provided.
  • the implications for the further development of personalised services in an Irish service context.

 

Follow-up study

A further data uplift by Prof. Roy McConkey and colleagues, Ulster University (UU) is taking place on this study. This will enable the longer-term impact of a move to independent living to be established as well as the impact on those individuals who had only just moved at the end of the initial study.

 

Key Points
  • Personalised supports for people living in their own homes produce better outcomes than congregated care/group homes.
  • Quality of Life improvements are clear for those who move from congregated care.
  • Personalised housing and support options are feasible to implement in Ireland across people with a variety of disabilities/mental health difficulties.
  • Personalised supports can save on costs for most people.
  • Group homes do not offer personalised accommodation or support – this has implications for how future deinstitutionalisation should be carried out.

Summary available here.

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How personal budgets are working in Ireland – A Research Brief


Title
How personal budgets are working in Ireland: Evaluating the implementation of four individualised funding initiatives for people with a disability in Ireland.

Research team
Prepared by Pádraic Fleming, Mental Health and Social Research Unit, Maynooth University Department of Psychology.

Download report here.

This report presents an evaluation of the implementation of personalised budgets in four Genio-supported projects for people with a disability. The evaluation includes a summary of the main lessons learned according to the key people involved in these initiatives, including individuals with a disability who participated in the initiatives; family members; paid and unpaid advocates; and staff members from within the four organisations.

This document is aimed at anyone who is interested in the practicalities, successes and challenges of implementing individualised funding initiatives in Ireland. Those who may be interested include:

    • People living with a disability.
    • Those providing informal supports for people with a disability, such as family members, friends, members of the wider community.
    • Personal assistants / key workers and other paid support for individuals with a disability.
    • Staff members currently implementing individualised funding initiatives.
    • Service providers considering moving to an individualised funding model or incorporating an individualised funding arm into their current service model.
    • Researchers.
    • Funders.
    • Policy makers/drivers such as civil servants and elected members of government.
    • The Health Service Executive (HSE) and other health service staff.

For individualised funding to be successful in Ireland, it is important to focus on an individual’s abilities, passions and interests and to encourage independence and personal responsibility. It is essential to provide an easy and transparent access route from the outset for people who wish to avail of individualised funding and targeted training for support workers / personal assistants etc.

New community-based friendships should also be encouraged and facilitated, while existing contacts and friendships are maintained for the people supported. Sharing stories and celebrate achievements by using social networks, blogs, print, video and other media can highlight success stories and help grow momentum.

Ensure that senior staff members within organisations implementing individualised funding positively champion and promote individualised funding, particularly during challenging periods and develop collaboration and build a unified network of advocates in order to strengthen the national presence. It is important that these people engage and network in order to share ideas, top tips and pitfalls whilst focusing on shared goals rather than organisational differences.

A number of recommendations are made at the end of the briefing document. These are based on the key lessons presented and are intended to inform, challenge and promote discussion among the readership.

Key Points

    • For personal budgets to work effectively, the focus should be on each person’s abilities and interests, along with encouraging independence and personal responsibility.
    • The process of implementing personal budgets must be clear and easy to access.
    • Training for all parties is essential in order to access and utilise personal budgets effectively.
    • Sharing stories and celebrating achievements via social networks, video and other media can highlight success and grow momentum.

HSE National Office for Human Rights and Equality Policy Newsletter

HSE National Office for Human Rights and Equality Policy Newsletter (Issue 2, Winter 2020)

Read it here: National Office for Human Rights and Equality Newsletter

WELCOME!
It has been a busy couple of months since our last newsletter. We completed our autumn / winter webinar series on Assisted Decision Making, Consent and tools for Practice. Over 3,000 people from across health and social care services, advocacy, other public services and from the legal profession attended the four webinars. The webinars were really well received and we are developing an FAQ resource to address the hundreds of questions which were submitted over the four sessions. We are currently putting the finishing touches to our spring / summer series in 2021—more information will be circulated on this early in 2021. If you missed any of the webinars in this series, you can watch them on

Work has commenced on the development of an e-learning programme on supporting decision-making, advance care planning and undertaking the functional assessment of capacity. Details will be circulated as it becomes available. We also sought your views on consent through a staff survey. Over 2,000 people took the time to complete this which will provide us with invaluable information to support the implementation of the revised National Consent Policy which will be launched with the National Consent E-Learning Programme in early 2021. Sincere thanks to all of you who completed the survey. The results will be released early next year.

We are delighted with the announcement that Professor Gerard Quinn, former Director of the Centre for Law and Disability Policy at NUI Galway has been appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of People with Disabilities. This comes at a critical time as the clock ticks slowly towards the commencement of the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (the 2015 Act). It is now 5 years since the 2015 Act was passed. In those intervening five years there are many people who fought and lobbied for the 2015 Act who have since passed away and did not benefit from the fruits of their labour. Professor Quinn was central to keeping the 2015 Act on the policy agenda over many years buoyed by the strength and vision of these people. In spite of delays in commencement, there is increasing evidence of the spirit of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the 2015 Act filtering into the daily practice of Health Care Workers across a diversity of services. Through our work we strive to ensure that we are constantly building the capacity of staff to work with the spirit of national and international human rights law. The message is simple- keep the person at the centre. Always. Nothing about me without me. We look forward to 2021 being the year where real commitment to full commencement of the 2015 Act will be realised. Thank you all for your continued support and for your commitment to the people who use your services.

I hope you all have a peaceful Christmas and wishing you all the best for 2021.

Caoimhe Gleeson,
Programme Manager

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