In the past people and families have largely had to rely on services that were purchased or organised for them by government (although not always, as many people got together to organise systems of shared support). Since direct payments started to be opened up to people with learning disabilities and their families this has given people more control. However, in general this has required families to take on a much greater role and to develop DIY support systems. What seems to have been largely missing are service providers willing to really change how they work to become flexible and supportive partners with people and families. For better or worse I’m calling this Personalised Support? We have real and very positive examples of this - but they seem scattered and small.
The Centre for Welfare Reform is trying to understand what has blocked progress in Personalised Support. You might want to comment, here on the Choice Forum.
We’ve also published a survey which aims to help us discover who is offering personalised support. The link to the survey - plus some more information is available here: