adult supported living

[Juno64]

Our son has been living in supported living since around the age of 18 he is now 32 .He is waiting for a move as he is has very challenging behaviour which has included 2 serious incidents as part of the conditions he has and police are always being called out . aHn ddnit need eto look at more has had an overnight stay at the police station on one occasion. Around a couple of months ago his social worker said he had to move him urgently as he couldn't stay where he was as he was putting others in danger. We were given 4 supported living providers who assessed him .I looked at the cqc reports for all 4 and ruled them all out except for 1 which had a very good report .We visited it and spoke with the deputy manager with the focus on behavior and are confident they can meet his needs and they say they can. I've told Social care this is where we want him to go .We are now being asked to look at 4 more and I've Said no both we and our son have made a decision Social care are telling us it's not a suitable provider etc and we've said it's money they said no but they are now saying he can't go there it's more expensive than others. So what happened to it being urgent .Had a phone call Friday he can go there if we agree to pay a 3rd party top up which we can not afford to do . Have emailed our MP if that's no good intend to put official complaint in with veiw to going to omsbudman. My question is I thought their was a social care choice framework and that these days it was all about giving the service users personal choices .Also I thought urgent ment you had to act quickly not take weeks / months

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this .Thanks.

[Jofisher]

Have you considered having an independent mental capacity advocate so they can support your son and you as well, I would also consider having a consultant social worker whose independent and knows the law inside and out and you can use your sons money to pay for it as it’s for him.

[Juno64 in reply to Jofisher]

Thank you for your reply Jofisher my son has capacity to make his own choices and decisions which he has done with our support but because the placement is more expensive than the other placements they said he couldn't go there but until Friday they were saying it wasn't about Money.They told me all health professionals were in agreement it wasn't the right service for him but then when we had a recent review with his consultant we found she had been on annual leave for a few weeks so couldn't have been in agreement with anything.

[Jofisher in reply to Juno64]

Ummm ok well then a consultant social worker might be the best way to go, I can’t think of anything else so sorry. I do hope you get what you feel is right for your son. I would also want a full explanation on why the place you fell is right why are they saying it isn’t. Once you know then you can challenge them.

[SpeedyH]

I think the reality of adult social care is that there is no choice framework. I think their remit is to meet assessed needs in the least expensive way. So, they believe that your son’s needs can be met at one of the cheaper establishments. By offering you the option to ‘top up’ it shows that they think that home is a bit of a luxury and offers more than is needed to meet his basic needs. I personally would never agree to top up - they suggested the home to you and if it is the best home to meet his needs they should pay for it. Unfortunately, the onus is on you to prove that this home is the best option and offers facilities, expertise or services etc that your son needs that the others don’t. From social care’s viewpoint CQC reports are irrelevant as they tend to be not recent and the homes have action plans to improve - so you need more specific reasons why the other homes won’t do. I suggest you visit all places they suggest and document exactly why they are not suitable specifically related to his needs. Things like, he gets anxious and lashes out if people get too close and the communal rooms in property are therefore too small. Be clear that the other homes don’t meet his needs and that by sending him there you are putting him and others at risk. Good luck.

[Juno64]

Hi SpeedyHthanks for your reply yes I agree they want the cheapest option but as our son has already had alot of moves we don't want the cheapest option we want the right place that meets his needs and we are certain the one he / we have chosen will do that. I have said no to top up's we can't afford that as on state pension and our son already pays the monthly contributions they have assessed he can afford .All the cqc reports I've looked at for the first 4 offers are up to date 3 of them require improvement in the safe and well led areas.The one we want him to go to is good in all areas plus they seem to understand how to handle behavior. Of the first 4 offers 2 are out of area when we specifically asked for him to stay in our area and one assessed him even though they hadn't even got placements . The one we want him to go to is in an area he knows and not far from us and other family . I've already told them that as this was meant to be an urgent move We will hold them responsible if he does anyone a serious injury. I don't understand why they would offer a place and get them to assess our son if you don't want him to go there. Just waiting now for them to get back to us