Adult Social Care and Direct Payments – Notes from BF@home 12.01.26

Why might it be of interest?

Most of our young people will be eligible for support from Adult Social Care (ASC).  This @home session covered the key aspects of the transition into ASC:

• how ASC become aware of a young person having social care needs
• the conditions that have to be met
• how the assessment is conducted
• how parents can prepare and be ready to support their young person
• the financial assessment and disability related expenses
• Direct payments – support and responsibilities

These are the detailed notes from that session that I used to deliver the information.

There are links in this document to further articles on the information hub relevant to the topic with more information.

Care Act 2014:  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/contents

Statutory Guidance:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidance

Hft guide:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-guidance

BF @home 12 Jan 2026 – ASC and DP

This is the process in LB Richmond and LB Wandsworth

List of topics we are going through

• How ASC know about your young person
• Eligibility
• The assessment
• Preparing for the assessment
• Condition 2 – what can a young person do for themselves
• Condition 3 – Wellbeing and what this means
• What to think about
• Further preparation and examples – getting specific
• Supporting your young person at the assessment
• What comes next
• Outcomes
• Financial assessment
• Disability Related Expenses
• Direct Payments – Support and Responsibilities

How does ASC know about your young person?

LBR&W track young people with EHCPs from about year 9, age 14

Basic details kept on a spreadsheet – referred to as the tracker

• • Basic details such as name, dob, diagnosis
  • Key team(s):  case worker, social worker, school
  • Likely care package, panel
  • Other relevant info, comments, eg independent traveller, college arrangements
  • Current status, eg referred, assm underway, complete
  • Which team – LD, MH, locality teams – or CHC

Having an EHCP does NOT mean your young person will automatically be eligible for ASC; but most on the Bright Futures mailing list will be.  The majority of young people have EHCPs purely for educational support

Tracker kept up to date via regular meetings involving:

• Pfa
• CwDT
• Family support
• Adult social care

Likely also one of these teams referred the young person to the tracker initially – or another team working with the young person – nothing much actually happens!

Same eligibility criteria used everywhere – Care Act lays out a national framework – but there will still be local interpretations

I’ll talk more about the 3 conditions that have to be met in a bit

At age 16 a young person considered likely to need support from ASC should be referred to ASC:

• Parents should know this – ie be informed
• We think this happens maybe as part of the Annual Review as I haven’t yet come across a parent who has been aware of giving consent as a specific action

At this stage it’s just a matter of ASC becoming aware of upcoming young people

At about 17 ½ the young person should be allocated to a social worker

Young people with complex needs should have the process started by age 17

In LBR&W a transitions social worker from the Learning Disability transitions team do the assessments for young people with physical, sensory or LD

Young people with mental health needs will be assessed by the Adult Mental Health team

A young person with primarily medical needs may be referred to the ICB (NHS) for a continuing care assessment

If they meet the criteria – very high bar – then their care and support will be funded by the NHS and you won’t be involved with ASC

If assessed and don’t meet the criteria then ASC will pick them up – ASC may do an assessment alongside the continuing care assessment anyway

It doesn’t matter if your young person has a package from children’s services or not

The size and provision might be a starting point but may not have any relevance

Children’s packages are typically very small – a few hours a week at most

You can self refer to ASC – so if you don’t hear anything from social care once your young person has turned 17.5 – and a parent, from experience suggests earlier – then you can contact ASC and request an assessment

I have a short overview document about the Care Act Assessment:  https://ruils.co.uk/article/care-act-assessment-overview/

 

Eligibility

Condition 1:

Needs are due to a physical or mental impairment or illness, including physical, mental, sensory, learning or cognitive disabilities or illnesses, brain injuries or substance misuse

Equality Act definition of disability:

You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ adverse effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

Whether a person is disabled for the purposes of the Act is generally determined by reference to the effect that an impairment has on that person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

I have included this as not all disabilities are disabilities under the Equality Act and therefore for ASC.

For some of our young people – they may have a diagnosis and while the effect of their impairment is going to be long term it may not be having a substantial negative effect on their ability to carry out normal daily activities.

Substantial is not defined anywhere beyond not being minor or trivial.

As a result of this we will find that young people with specific learning difficulties – for example, ADHD; dyslexia; dyspraxia – are very likely to find that they do not meet the definition of disability under the Equality Act and therefore will not be eligible for ASC.  There will be other impairments that won’t meet this criteria.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-guidance

Condition 2

As a result, you are unable to achieve two or more of the outcomes specified in the Care Act, such as being able to prepare your own meals, getting around your home safely, washing yourself or maintain good relationships with family and friends

• We’re going to talk about these outcomes in more detail next as this is where the bulk of the assessment focuses

Condition 3

As a consequence of being unable to achieve these outcomes, there is, or there is likely to be, a significant impact on your wellbeing

No absolute definition of ‘significant impact’

• Two people can have a similar level of needs or tyoung persone of needs, but these needs may have very different impact on their wellbeing due to different priorities, personalities, personal and network resources and/or personal outcomes

 

What’s going to happen?

• A young person is referred to ASC for an assessment
• A social worker meets with the young person and anyone supporting them
• In depth to determine if the young person has unmet needs in a number of daily living areas (condition 2)
• And if a young person’s needs are unmet does this lead to a negative impact on their wellbeing (condition 3)

You can think of this in 2 parts:

• the assessment is to determine the young person’s needs
• followed by a conversation to determine what help they will need
• which will include establishing what help they currently have and are likely to continue to have
• a financial assessment to see if they have to pay for or contribute to their package (you could think of this as a 3^rd part)

If your young person is not automatically referred to ASC you can request an assessment yourself

• It may start with a phone call or completing an online form

The young person does not have to meet with the social worker on their own – you can support them – but as far as possible the young person should be involved in the assessment

There’s going to be a lot of questions which may feel quite intrusive

The full assessment may take up to 2 hours

It is basically a conversation to help the social worker understand what help and support your young person might need

A social worker cannot determine that there is no need without an assessment – as long as there is an appearance of need a full assessment should be carried out

The young person doesn’t need a diagnosis

A young person’s needs are unmet if they need help – so a social worker can’t (and isn’t going to do this!) say that a young person’s needs are met because you are providing the support needed

The 3^rd condition is whether the young person’s wellbeing is affected by their unmet needs

All 3 conditions need to be met for a young person to be eligible for ASC

The social worker will write up a report to go to panel to agree a package

• This is why it helps to be have given some thought to what support you want for your young person
• The social worker will submit this to panel

 

Preparing for the Assessment

I think it’s pretty obvious that you’re going to have a more effective assessment if YOU are prepared for it.

Let’s assume we meet condition 1

Although this might not be a given for some of our young people

Condition 2 is all about a young person’s ability to carry out normal daily activities

This is one area of preparation:

• What can they do for themselves without any support
• What support do they need
• How much support
• What do you think – what does your young person think
• How much support are you actually providing now
  • (hint – it’s probably more than you think!)

These are the daily living activities assessed:

• managing and maintaining nutrition
• maintaining personal hygiene
• managing toilet needs
• being appropriately clothed
• being able to make use of the adult’s home safely
• maintaining a habitable home environment
• developing and maintaining family or other personal relationships
• accessing and engaging in work, training, education or volunteering
• making use of necessary facilities or services in the local community including public transport, and recreational facilities or services
• carrying out any caring responsibilities the adult has for a child

the young person needs to have needs in 2 or more categories

These categories are not dissimilar to PIP and you might want to think about them in the same way

Unable to achieve without assistance

This means what it says but it also includes:

• can achieve without assistance but doing so causes the adult significant pain, distress or anxiety
• is able to achieve it without assistance but doing so endangers or is likely to endanger the health or safety of the adult, or of others
• is able to achieve it without assistance but takes significantly longer than would normally be expected
• also includes unable to achieve even with assistance

• assistance also includes prompting

 

What can a young person do for themselves?

Let’s use some examples – these are not exhaustive – just an attempt to help you think through the wider situation around a need – the answer is rarely a simple yes or no

Managing and maintaining nutrition

Unless they can create a balanced weekly menu; shop and prepare all necessary meals I think they have some needs here

• does the young person have access to food and drink
  • is it available in the home; can they shop for what they need
• can they prepare and consume the food and drink
• they may have a restricted diet, eg they only eat toast
  • only eating ready meals could be considered a restricted diet?
• they may be able to prepare food but have swallowing problems

Maintaining personal hygiene

Even if your young person can go to the loo or shower on their own do they need some help or prompting?

• would they wash properly or just stand under the shower
• can they reach everywhere
• can they launder their clothes – do they even understand the need to do so
• can they use a washing machine

Managing toilet needs

• This doesn’t have to mean your young person is incontinent
• Do they use the loo as needed – can they get to it in time
• Do they wipe
• Wash hands
• Flush the loo

Being appropriately clothed

• This is not the same as being able to dress themselves
• Do they wear weather and situation appropriate clothing
• Are things on in the right order
• The right way round
• Wearing clean clothes
• Buying new clothes as needed
• All done up properly

Being able to make use of the adult’s home safely

• can they move around the home safely
• climbing stairs
• using kitchen facilities
• using the bathroom / toilet
• if they can’t access certain rooms they may not be using the home safely
• or they may be unreasonably restricted
• can they use home appliances properly and safely
• can they come and go from their home

Maintaining a habitable home environment

• is the home clean and maintained and has essential amenities
• does the young person require support to sustain the home – would they report damage or something broken
• can they pay their utility bills or their rent
• is the home in good repair, ie not damp
• does the young person hoard

Developing and maintaining family or other personal relationships

• is the young person lonely or isolated
• do their needs prevent them from developing relationships
• maybe their physical or psychological state prevents them
• can they communicate easily – and regularly
• perhaps they can’t use the phone or a computer

Accessing and engaging in work, training, education or volunteering

• does the young person have the opportunity or wish to work or volunteer
• is physical access a barrier
• for example, if the young person can’t leave their home safely or communicate well they may not be able to access the above
• can they access information about opportunities to work/volunteer

Making use of necessary facilities or services in the local community including public transport, and recreational facilities or services

• can they use public transport and local shops or recreational facilities
• this includes the need for support when attending health care appointments
• For example, if the young person can’t use public transport unattended or find an alternative (getting a lift) and no money for a taxi they may not be able to access local services
• This includes health care appointments and more casual needs – going to the library, meeting a friend in a café

Carrying out any caring responsibilities the adult has for a child

• If the individual is not able to take care of others, or feels overwhelmed because of their condition, they may not be able to carry out their caring responsibilities for a child

 

Wellbeing

If needs are not met is a young person’s wellbeing negatively affected?

Wellbeing can be affected by a single need not met or it can be a cumulative affect

• a number of low level unmet needs added together have a detrimental affect whereas taken individually would not appear to be particularly negative

No absolute definition of ‘significant impact’ – interpretation depends on the individual – their circumstances and priorities

• Two people can have a similar level of needs or type of needs, but these needs may have very different impact on their wellbeing due to different priorities, personalities, personal and network resources and/or personal outcomes

Wellbeing

• personal dignity (including treatment of the individual with respect)
• physical and mental health and emotional well-being
• protection from abuse and neglect
• control by the individual over day-to-day life (including over care and support, or support, provided to the individual and the way in which it is provided)
• participation in work, education, training or recreation
• social and economic well-being
• domestic, family and personal relationships
• suitability of living accommodation
• the individual’s contribution to society

Wellbeing is a holistic term – no one area more important than another

If your young person has clear needs in 2 or more categories you probably won’t have to prove that their wellbeing is affected but if your young person has lower level needs but added together they have a detrimental affect then you may need to demonstrate the negative impact.

Words like frustrated or struggling don’t really demonstrate a significant impact on wellbeing.  Try to link the needs, eg:

• an individual could have identified/assessed needs around their difficulty to maintain relationships with their family and in making use of facilities or services in the local community
• but currently does not have any clear problems with managing and maintaining their nutrition, personal hygiene, toilet needs or a habitable home environment
• however, the young person is depressed, affecting their ability to interact socially
• as a result, their emotional situation is deteriorating, and you can see evidence that they are being less conscientious – maybe they’re ordering take out rather too often, drinking too much, wearing clothes one day too many, not showering as often as they used to

 

What to think about to prepare

It can be hard to work out what your young person can do for themselves without your help

• Can you think what might happen in specific instances if you weren’t there to help
• Can you ask at school or at clubs/activities they attend

For example:

• you might be able to leave your young person for an hour or two in the house on their own

But what would happen if you were away for the whole day?

• Would they go out on their own
• Would they prepare food and eat
• Would they start doing things around the house that weren’t safe
• Would they be unhappy – or scared

For example:

• Your young person may be able to put Weetabix in a bowl and eat it
• Get dressed for school

But:

• If you didn’t wake them up – would they be able to set an alarm and get up at appropriate time
• If you’d run out of Weetabix would they be able to make anything else
• Would they be able to replace the Weetabix
• Would they go on to get dressed if you didn’t remind them
• Would they have appropriate clothes if you didn’t launder them and make sure they were available
• If you didn’t do that would they be able to

Our typical young people, especially teenagers, might not manage all this without prompting and supervision so we do need to think through whether some of this is just typical behaviour for their age.

For example:

• My daughter can now get a simple breakfast, afterwards take a shower and then get dressed
• However, she needs prompting for each stage and will continue to need it
• She will learn the routine but she won’t be able to carry it out without the prompting
• This isn’t just teenage laziness – she knows her routine but she needs the prompts
• A typical teenager would eventually do all this without constant prompting
• She can be very independent in her own home but only with the cradle of support she has – without it she’d live in her pyjamas, go hungry, and not wash

Examples are good – what does work, what doesn’t work, benefits and detriments

 

Further preparation

What help will actually help?

• this is very individual and what works for one family may not be what another family needs
• What difference will the help make?

Have a look at the Prep for a car act assessment 2 document for ideas:  https://ruils.co.uk/article/prep-for-a-care-act-assessment-2/

For example:

When Sophie turned 18 I asked for support for someone to pick her up from school 3 days a week

I was doing the pick up 5 days a week which meant I had to finish work before 3pm each day to get to school in time – which meant an earlier start to the working day to fit my hours in

What help will actually help:  3 hours 3 days a week of PA time to do the school pick up

What difference will the help make:  less pressure on my working day – and greater flexibility with my working hours.

By the age of 18 it is also important that your young person starts separating from you – this means introducing other people into their network to provide the support you provide now – it’s good for them and for you.

Supporting your young person at the assessment

• You absolutely can be involved in the assessment
• How much you contribute will depend on what your young person can contribute
• And how much of that is accurate!
• You potentially have a problem if your young person states that they don’t want you involved
• Or if they don’t want information shared with you
• You should include your young person as much as they can be included
• But if they are non-verbal or don’t want to talk to the social worker there’s no reason why you can’t talk for them
• If there’s any way they can express an opinion then they should be supported to do so as much as possible

Mental Capacity

If your young person is deemed to have the mental capacity to decide to cut you out you can’t override that – try to address this well before the assessment

You may have to tell the social worker things they would not – can you prepare them for this and why you have to do it?

If your young person wants you there and to be kept in the loop the social worker should respect this.

 

What comes next?

The next part comes when it has been determined whether a young person has eligible social care needs or not.

If not:

• You will be given information and advice about local services
• You should understand why you are not eligible

If your young person is eligible:

• Detailed care and support plan
  • What do you want to change
  • What will stay the same
  • How you will spend your budget
  • What the young person’s needs are and how they will be met
• What support do they need
• How many hours
• Type of support
• How much will you continue to do
• What will the local authority pay for

The LA doesn’t have to pay for existing support – but you have to be not just able to provide support but also willing to provide support

They are trying to keep costs of packages tight so expect some push back on what costs they will meet

We’re not looking to get the biggest package we can get – we want a package that meets needs – packages can increase or decrease depending on circumstances.

For example:

When Sophie lived at home we had 20 hours a week

When she went to residential college we only had 20 hours in the school holidays

When she left college and went into supported living her package increased to 24/7

 

Outcomes

Outcomes are what the young person wants to achieve – see the examples in the link.  Good outcomes don’t just say ‘I want to do this’ – it will go on to say what benefit doing ‘this’ brings.

For example:

I want to go to the pub each week is not an outcome

I want to go to the pub each week to meet friends as this helps me feel included and happy is an outcome

Outcomes are not just an action – they include the benefit

https://ruils.co.uk/article/social-care-outcomes-good-and-bad-examples/

 

Financial Assessment

• The LA will carry out a financial assessment on your young person
• Family finances are irrelevant
• Only your young person’s benefits, income and savings are counted
• Your young person cannot receive local authority funding for their care package without completing a financial assessment

The financial assessment will disregard:

• Your minimum income guarantee (MIG)
• Housing costs the young person contributes towards – rent or mortgage, council tax, buildings insurance, some bills such as water and gas
• Disability Related Expenditure (DRE) – these are costs that you have due to having a disability – they need to be evidenced (with receipts, for example)
• Some local authorities have a flat DRE rate where you don’t need to provide evidence
  • LBR, for example, allows £20 automatically
• More about DRE shortly

Who pays?

If your young person has assets in excess of £23,250 the LA will not pay for the package.  Assets under £14,250 are disregarded; a taper is applied for anything inbetween.

MIG

• This will vary depending on circumstances
• It is the amount of money set by the government to ensure that you have enough money for your daily living expenses – food, toiletries, entertainment
• There’s a basic rate for under 25s and a higher rate for over 25s
• There are other allowances which your young person may or may not be eligible for

If a young person’s income is below the MIG then there will be no contribution to make towards their care package.

If it is higher than the MIG – having taken into account all the allowances – then the young person will have to make a contribution towards their care package.

This is likely to be the difference between their total benefits and the amount of their MIG plus other allowances

• If your young person only receives PIP their benefits income will be below the MIG
• If they also receive UC their total benefits might be above the MIG
• Unless you can demonstrate other expenses – rent, disability related expenses – they will have to make a contribution towards their care package

https://ruils.co.uk/article/2025-2026-benefit-and-minimum-income-guarantee-rates/

 

Charging rent

You can charge your young person for living in your home!

The DSA generally recommend that families use a Lodger Agreement rather than a tenancy agreement as this is less formal but will do the job for you: https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/about-downs-syndrome/lifes-journey/housing-and-support-for-adults/support/charging-adult-children-rent/

https://ruils.co.uk/article/sample-lodger-agreement/

The key is that whatever amount is agreed MUST be paid

It is not a notional amount – payments must be made to you

As a rule:

• Be specific about the amount
• Be clear about what the contribution is for
• You can evidence the payments

You can ask the council to allow this amount either as eligible housing costs or as Disability Related Expenses.

The council might be reluctant to make the allowance!  The DSA info will help you make your case if necessary.

Example of young person’s income and social care contribution

(these are approximate figures)

High rate PIP	£110
UC standard + LCWRA under 25	£170
Total	£280 pw

 

High rate PIP	£110
UC standard + LCWRA under 25	£190
Total	£300 pw

 

Allowances

MIG under 25	£89
MIG over 25	£112
Disability premium (would be eligible for Income Support)	£50
Enhanced disability premium (enhanced PIP daily living)	£24

Additional allowances

Disability Related Expenses
Automatic allowance by the LA
Contribution to household costs

Disability Related Expenses

A young person is allowed to make a case for certain expenses to be disregarded in the financial assessment if they can demonstrate that they are due to their disability and would not be incurred by someone without a disability.

If your young person’s benefits are below the MIG they will not have to make a contribution – all of this is for young people whose income is over the MIG – to reduce their contribution to the LA towards their care package.

It helps to have the need for these expenses included in the Care and Support plan but it is not essential.  Being in the Care and Support plan indicates a need.

If the personal budget pays for these expenses as part of the Care and Support plan you cannot also claim them as DRE.

Very good app from Inclusion London:  https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/chat-bot/

To be counted as DRE the cost must be additional to what a non-disabled person might expect to spend.

Example: 

• paying for a mobile phone contract probably wouldn’t cut it – everyone has a phone
• but if your young person breaks their phone every few months then the additional cost of replacing the phone so frequently would be allowable

It’s not all about specialist equipment but that probably does make it easier to justify the expense and the additional cost

Examples:

• specialist shoes are far more expensive than you might usually pay – therefore the difference in the cost would be allowable
• my daughter doesn’t need specialist shoes but the shoes that fit her best are very expensive – I could probably make a case for the cost of these shoes
• maybe your young person doesn’t need specialist clothing but they go through their clothes far more quickly than most young people would – maybe they pick holes, tear at the clothes – so the additional cost of replacing more frequently would be a DRE

 

• a friend has her young person’s Zumba classes allowed as a DRE because she can provide medical evidence that the young person has to undertake this form of exercise for her health and wellbeing.
• most of us would not get this through as it would be considered hobby – ie a personal choice or preference – but the medical evidence makes the difference

We could go on forever with examples!

 Direct Payments

A direct payment is basically one way for the LA to provide your young person’s care package.

Alternatives could include the LA providing support directly or commissioning a local organisation to provide the support.

There is no right or wrong option – whatever works best for you

Pros:

• You have choice and control
  • eg you can choose your PAs, activities, days and times
• You have some flexibility
  • eg if you don’t use all the hours one week you can add them to the next
• You can use a care agency rather than recruit and employ PAs yourself
• You can use the Ruils FriendBee service

Cons:

• You have to manage the show – you have responsibilities

It could be as simple as paying the invoice for an activity your young person attends

Or it might involve employing PAs, managing the rota, paying the PAs

• who covers if a PA can’t make it
• your PAs may need to work regular hours
• you may need to consider sick pay, holiday pay, etc

You can have a mixed package

• some provision is commissioned directly by the LA, eg day care or overnight respite
• you can have some hours as a direct payment

Example

When Sophie turned 18 and lived at home we had 20 hours a week of DP

I employed 3 PAs to pick her up from school; take her out at weekends; do occasional overnights

This was very manageable as we had:

• a small pool of PAs (and as it happens already known to us)
• clear uses for the DP
• it generally wasn’t a problem if a PA couldn’t do their hours – I could cover

Once Sophie moved into supported living I was not going to manage her DP

• we needed more PAs
• we needed 24/7 cover – and I couldn’t step in to cover
• she shares with 2 young people and they share some hours – the rota would be complicated!
• it would have been a full time job to manage the provision

 

Support and Responsibilities

If you take a DP it comes with responsibilities

But there is support – at least in Richmond and Wandsworth!

It does appear that the range of support varies between LAs

When you take a DP you can use it to pay for:

• care support – eg carers, PAs, befrienders
• activities
• domestic support – eg a cleaner, help with the garden

Ideally you need reference to these things in the Care and Support plan

• things don’t have to be in the Care and Support plan to be a reasonable way to spend the DP
• but what you spend the DP on must meet the outcomes

I would recommend you check anything not in the Care and Support plan with your social worker

You are responsible for making payments, whether that’s for:

• agreed activities
• paying PAs you employ
• paying care agency fees

You must keep records

In Richmond and Wandsworth the LA sets up a bank account specifically for the DP and you can login to keep an eye on it, make payments, etc.  If your young person is making a contribution towards their care package it’s this bank account they pay into.

In LB Richmond and Wandsworth Ruils has the DP contract to support adults in receipt of a DP.  They can:

• discuss support options
• explain employer responsibilities and help you set up as an employer with HMRC
  • not as onerous as it sounds
  • PAs are rarely self-employed so you have to be the employer
• run the payroll
• help you recruit PAs
• help to work out the hourly rate you can offer
• support with the job description, contract, DBS checks, references

Ruils can manage your DP for you – you still have to be the employer but they can manage the day to day running of the DP

It is essential to ‘do things properly’

• without a job description and contract it’s difficult to manage things when they go wrong
• you can’t pay PAs with your DP unless they are employed – no cash in hand!

 

Living Independently

This is not really part of the ASC / DP workshop but as it’s often the long term aim for parents I’m including some summary notes.

For a young person to be eligible for support from ASC to live independently they must be eligible for an ASC care act support package – basically what we have been talking about.  If a young person has an assessment and is deemed not eligible then you are pretty much on your own with supporting them to live more independently.

There are a range of options for more independent living including:

• Supported living in a shared household – ie like friends sharing a house
• Supported living in a shared household – but living more separately
• Supported living in a house with individual rooms but shared bathrooms / kitchens
• Supported living in a self contained flat in a block for disabled people
• Residential care
• Living independently in a flat in the community – via the housing register
• Living independently in a flat in the community – private renting
• Buying your own home – shared ownership via a Housing Association

Supported Living

There’s no hard and fast rules about which young people are eligible for supported living or the options that are appropriate for them.  In Richmond and Wandsworth supported living tends to be for young people with higher support needs – maybe needing 25 or 30 hours of support a week up to 24/7.

What this means is that our more able young people who need, maybe, a few hours of support a week probably wouldn’t find a supported living option appropriate for them.

In supported living the arrangements can be more individual – eg self contained flat – or more like family living.

Residential Care

This is an option, again probably for our young people with higher support needs.

Living independently in the community

Our more able young people – those who need some support but perhaps not every day or only a few hours a week – are more likely to live in their own flat in the community.  If they are eligible for ASC support they may be able to source a flat via the housing register and if not that route they may rent privately.

Either way they can receive floating support from ASC.

This can work well for young people who want to live alone – the homes available via the housing register are only for one person.  If young people want to live together then they are probably going to have to rent privately.

Buying your own home

This is a shared ownership scheme whereby a person buys a percentage of their home (20% or 25% is quite common) and then rents the remaining percentage.

This works best for individuals or maybe 2 people together.  An organisation called MySafeHome:  https://mysafehome.info/ can support with getting a mortgage but you have to find your home through a local housing association.