Safeguarding and personal budgets: the experiences of adults at risk

Fiona Jane Aspinal, Martin Stevens, Jill Manthorpe, John Woolham, Catherine Rachel Baxter, Kritika Samsi, Shereen Hussein, Mohamed Ismail

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present findings from one element of a study exploring the relationship between personalisation, in the form of personal budgets (PBs) for publicly funded social care and safeguarding. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 people receiving PBs who had recently been the focus of a safeguarding investigation. Participants were recruited from two English local authority areas and data were subject to thematic analysis. Findings: The analysis identified three main themes: levels of information and awareness; safeguarding concerns and processes; and choice and control. Many of the participants in this small study described having experienced multiple forms of abuse or neglect concurrently or repeatedly over time. Research limitations/implications: This was a small scale, qualitative study, taking place in two local authorities. The small number of participants may have had strong opinions which may or may not have been typical. However, the study provides some rich data on people’s experiences. Practical implications: The findings suggest that adults receiving PBs may need information on an ongoing and repeated basis together with advice on how to identify and address poor quality care that they are arranging for themselves. Practitioners need to be aware of the influence of the level of information received and the interaction of organisational or legal requirements when responding to safeguarding concerns when care being supplied tries to reflect the benefits of choice and control. Originality/value: This paper reports original research asking adults with care and support needs about the interaction between two key policies of safeguarding and personalisation.

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Adult Protection
Volume21
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 May 2019

Bibliographical note

© 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.

Keywords

  • Abuse
  • Cash-for-care
  • Direct payments
  • Personal budgets
  • Personalization
  • Safeguarding

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