(11-18-2009 11:44 AM)sleepless Wrote:  Hi

My social worker has recommended direct payments for myself and my son as a better way of meeting care needs, its the second time now, first was earlier this year but i definitely wasn't ready for it then, i am now more open to the idea although im still finding it daunting.
Im told that once i get into the swing of it, it will all be fine. Guess im just after some reassurance! So if anyone has some that would be great

Hi sleepless,
I have been using Direct Payments for my son's respite for over 3 years.
I know different areas offer varying levels of help. I live in Newcastle and I got this bit from their website -

Can I have help to manage Direct Payments?
Most people find the prospect of Direct Payments quite daunting but you can have support to help you arrange, manage and use Direct Payments. You can ask for support from your social worker or Newcastle Direct Payments Support Team. If you need someone else to help you manage your Direct Payments, you can get help from your family, friends, Trust and Power of Attorney.

I use a payroll service. So every month I phone them to tell them the name of the employer, hours worked and their rate of pay. They then do all the paper work.
I get sent a copy of the paperwork and retain that for my files. They send me the employers payslip and a slip to send to the tax people.
I write a cheque (from my direct payments bank account) to both the employer and tax man. And that is me done for the month. Yearly I need to write a cheque for insurance and every 3 months I write a cheque for the payroll service.
You need to keep the paper work altogethor as you are audited by the council on a yearly basis. But this doesn't mean extra work for you, it is just to make sure the money they give you is being spent as it should.

When I first started with Direct Payments I too found it quite daunting. The direct payments team came out to explain it all to me but I didn't take any of it in.
If you don't already have someone in mind to employ they help you advertise for someone, interview them, write up job descriptions etc.
I am quite lucky in that I was able to hire my mum so didn't need to do all that. My son sleeps over at her house once a week to give me a break.

Hope that is of some help x

---

(11-28-2009 08:18 AM)Daniel Wrote:  This is the problem.
Social services agree payments on a regional/national average and they expect you to meet needs for this cost.
Are there any other options slightly out of area?
Or would you consider employing somebody to offer respite in your home enviroment or where they could take him out for the day?

we were told that they were going to look out of area for respite but it looks like they are now not bothering as they want to do the cheapest option possible so trying to rush me into accepting the 16 hours,
we have been looking at employing somebody but as the need for us is the catching up on sleep and having time as a couple means we really want the overnight/weekend breaks. our social worker is doing a new core assessment which has run over the 35 days it should have been done in but she is positive it will not come down to any lower than the 42 nights i was already allocated but the manager of the social team/respite centre says that he doesnt get funding per child and that it is for the unit so any money he allocates to matt is taking money from the rest of the children
corinne

That manager sounds rude!!!
Dont feel rushed and do whats best for you and your family.
I know what you mean though about getting some peace and quite.
It can be hard just running and running in overdrive.
Me and Lucy know that feeling well.

(11-28-2009 07:37 PM)Daniel Wrote:  That manager sounds rude!!!
Dont feel rushed and do whats best for you and your family.
I know what you mean though about getting some peace and quite.
It can be hard just running and running in overdrive.
Me and Lucy know that feeling well.

well i am going to have to wait until monday before i can call disability solutions as they hopefully are impartial though it seems that people that work in the unit are not supporting the manager in his comments which made me feel a bit better.
thanks for the comments
corinne

How did you get on Corinne?