The Care Act
The Care Act received Royal Assent on 14th May 2014
From April 2015:
• Duties on prevention and wellbeing • Duties on information and advice (including paying for care) • Duties on market shaping • Assessments (including carers’ assessments) • National minimum threshold for eligibility • Personal budgets and care and support plans • Safeguarding • Universal deferred payment agreements
From April 2016: Extended means test; Care accounts; Capped charging system
The Care Act
National Assistance Act 1948
NHS and Community Care Act 1990
Chronically Sick and Disabled Person Act 1970
Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995
Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996
The Care Act
The Care Act
Assessment and eligibility
Charging and financial assessment
Care and support planning
Personal budgets and direct payments
Review
Key processes
Prevention
Integration, partnerships and transitions
Information, advice and advocacy
Diversity of provision and market oversight
Safeguarding
General responsibilities and key duties
Wellbeing
Underpinning principle
The Care Act – well being principle
Wellbeing is a broad concept, and the statutory guidance defines it as relating to nine areas in particular
The core purpose of adult care and support is to help people to achieve the outcomes that matter to them in their life... the need to focus on the needs and goals of the person. Local authorities must promote wellbeing when carrying out any of their care and support functions in respect of a person.
The Care Act – prevention
Local authorities (and their partners in health, housing, welfare and employment services) must now take steps to prevent, reduce or delay the need for care and support for all local people.
investing in preventative services
fully utilising any existing community resources, facilities and assets to prevent people’s needs escalating unnecessarily.
see both information & shaping the market
The Care Act – shaping the market
• requires local authorities to help develop a market that delivers a wide range of sustainable high-quality care and support services, that will be available to their communities.
• engage with local providers, to help each other understand what services are likely to be needed in the future, and what new types of support should be developed.
• authorities should engage with local people about their needs and aspirations.
• protection from market failure; CQC overview
The Care Act – personal budgets
• The Care Act places personal budgets into law for the first time, making them the norm for people with care and support needs.
• The overall cost must be broken down into:the amount the person must pay (following the financial assessment) the remainder of the budget that the authority will pay
• Record kept of care cost met by the person – 100% if self-funder – to be calculated towards capped care costs in future. (Care accounts 2016)
• The final budget should be agreed at the end of the planning process if the plan is within the indicative budget (or justifiably above it) the proposed use of the money is:
•appropriate•legal •meets the needs identified in assessment
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