Individual Budgets: Lessons from Early Users' Experiences

TY - JOUR

T1 - Individual Budgets

T2 - Lessons from Early Users' Experiences

AU - Rabiee, P

AU - Moran, N

AU - Glendinning, C

N1 - This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in the British Journal of Social Work following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version: Rabiee, P., Moran, N. and Glendinning, C. (2009) Individual Budgets: lessons from early users' experiences, British Journal of Social Work, 39, 5, 918-935. is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcm152 doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcm152 BJSW Advance Access originally published online on March 17, 2008

PY - 2009/7

Y1 - 2009/7

N2 - Within the context of modernization, there has been a trend towards 'cash-for-care' schemes designed to bring choice and control closer to the service user. In England, Individual Budgets (IBs) are being piloted, with the aim of promoting personalized support for disabled people and other users of social care services. This paper reports on the experiences and outcomes of early IB users two to three months after first being offered an IB. The users included adults with physical/sensory impairments, learning difficulties, mental health problems and older people. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with nine service users and five proxies. The findings suggest that IBs have the potential to be innovative and life-enhancing. However, achieving this potential in practice depends on a range of other factors, including changes in the routine practices and organizational culture of adult social care services and ensuring users have access to appropriate documentation and support. Any conclusions drawn from the experiences of these early IB users must be treated with caution. The findings nevertheless indicate some of the issues that will need to be addressed as IBs are implemented more widely to replace conventional forms of adult social care provision.

AB - Within the context of modernization, there has been a trend towards 'cash-for-care' schemes designed to bring choice and control closer to the service user. In England, Individual Budgets (IBs) are being piloted, with the aim of promoting personalized support for disabled people and other users of social care services. This paper reports on the experiences and outcomes of early IB users two to three months after first being offered an IB. The users included adults with physical/sensory impairments, learning difficulties, mental health problems and older people. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with nine service users and five proxies. The findings suggest that IBs have the potential to be innovative and life-enhancing. However, achieving this potential in practice depends on a range of other factors, including changes in the routine practices and organizational culture of adult social care services and ensuring users have access to appropriate documentation and support. Any conclusions drawn from the experiences of these early IB users must be treated with caution. The findings nevertheless indicate some of the issues that will need to be addressed as IBs are implemented more widely to replace conventional forms of adult social care provision.

KW - ageing and older people

KW - flexible services

KW - disability

KW - empowerment

KW - Individual Budgets

KW - DIRECT PAYMENTS

KW - CARE

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=68349154451&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1093/bjsw/bcm152

DO - 10.1093/bjsw/bcm152

M3 - Article

SN - 1468-263X

VL - 39

SP - 918

EP - 935

JO - British Journal of Social Work

JF - British Journal of Social Work

IS - 5

ER -