an international perspective on self-directed support

Dr Simon Duffy ￭ The Centre for Welfare Reform ￭ 25th June 2013 ￭ Sydney

Avoiding the complexities

Two things to remember:

a) the goal is citizenship

b) the way is citizenship

• always improves outcomes

• always increases demands

• sometimes reduces costs

• design is very important

40 plus years of self-directed support

We’re not standing on giants’ shouldersWe’re not standing on giants’ shoulders

systems struggle to give up control

note for system designers

avoid fixing the details too tightly

allow lots of experimentation

a system with lots of local variations is more likely to throw up valuable lessons for the future.

Control first, plan second - if at all

Control first, plan second - if at all

“It’s my life, my human rights”

note for system designers

avoid trapping people in plans

avoid ‘person centred planning’ craze

focus on giving people real control, flexibility and the ability to make immediate changes to their own plans

It’s people’s money,not government

money

It’s people’s money,not government

money

the government money fallacy...

...money can’t always be theirs

note for system designers

avoid treating money as a gift or privilege - which can be just taken away or defined from ‘above’

avoid obscuring entitlements and complex assessment systems

create a robust legal framework of rights and responsibilities

It’s not marketsit’s communityIt’s not marketsit’s community

note for system designers

don’t means-test love and community

don’t restrict money to services

let people use their money flexibly and pool it with their other resources

If it movesindividualise it

If it movesindividualise it

note for system designers

don’t stop providers from innovating

don’t encourage negative stereotypes

at their best providers are community organisations and can play a number of useful roles

Only connect:What you need is

there

Only connect:What you need is

there

O’Brien’s five basic tasks of support

note for system designers

don’t make community difficult

don’t punish communities for inclusion

ensure there are positive incentives for communities to invest in inclusion

Not brokeragebut social workNot brokeragebut social work

note for system designers

avoid institutionalising ‘brokers’

avoid new professional roles & structures, instead open up existing framework of supports

look beyond the ‘professional world’ for good support s

Peer Power:the best money

can’t buy

Peer Power:the best money

can’t buy

The Help and Connect Model

note for system designers

avoid the ‘bias to professionals’

respect people with disabilities and their families

build in peer support at every point

Control controlto keep people safe

Control controlto keep people safe

We don’t know enough about abuse; but we do know institutions increase the risk of it and having relationships

reduces the risk of it.

note for system designers

avoid the ‘ever-plausible regulation’

focus on who controls the budget

get control as close as possible to the person and focus on real outcomes - not ‘process controls’

Be the best that you can be

Be the best that you can be

note for system designers

don’t join in the ‘blame game’

don’t close off roles and systems

it is the unconcious constraint we place upon ourselves which causes most of the damage - “We do what we don’t believe in - because the system says that’s what we’re meant to do.”

We remain free to be the best that we can be and to do the right thing.

the goal is citizenship

so, be a citizen

Lots of free resources on all these topics and more:

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