I met up with two members of the council on Friday to discuss possible support for Jude because I’ve managed to get myself into a confused mess over what is and isn’t possible, how to use our hours and what the differences are between SPLO hours and Direct Payments (I can’t remember what SPLO stands for!)
I’ll film a video about the possible differences later as it isn’t massively simple (surprise surprise) but in a nutshell we decided the following:
Jude’s 95 SPLO hours will be changed to 55 hours of direct payments and 40 hours with Jubilee House. Whilst Jude adores his time at Jubilee House, consistency is a massive issue there as they are constantly undergoing staff changes. For example, this weekend Jude was unable to see his Support Worker there as she isn’t available. It’ll be another two weeks until he can see her again or spend any time at Jubilee House which is a massive shame as he is always asking when he’s next there. Since being allocated his new Support Worker, Lucy, he has only seen her once but two other people he isn’t used to on other occasions. This isn’t really good enough for the reason we want it – social interaction and going out and about with a “friend” as most boys his age would do independently. The direct payments will allow us the chance to employ a Support Worker ourselves so he always sees the same person and they can develop a relationship and routines of their own.
Another thing we are being put forward for is a scheme called Shared Care which means getting to know another family (who want to be involved in social care) and after a while of getting to know them, if we feel confident enough the Jude can start spending a few hours with them on his own. The reasons behind this notion are so he gets used to another way of living, a different household and set of people. It would be great for him to have something almost like a second family and if Shared Care works successfully then this is what it pretty much becomes.
So that’s it really. I ended the meeting feeling happy that I FINALLY UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM!!! I also have a list of groups and activities he can attend using his SPLO hours but realistically I want them only for Support Work.
Video coming later for all those interested in SPLO and Direct Payment differences! Thrilling topic, I know…
