Contents
Direct Payments for Disabled Children and Young People
What are Direct Payments?
Direct Payments give families more choice and control over how a disabled child or young person's care and support needs are met.
If your child has been assessed as needing social care support, you may be able to receive funding through a Direct Payment. This allows you to arrange support that best meets your child's individual needs, rather than receiving services arranged directly by Cornwall Council.
Direct Payments can be used to:
Arrange and pay for your own support and services.
Employ a Personal Assistant (PA).
Purchase support from an independent provider.
Access community activities and opportunities that support agreed outcomes.
Fund short breaks where these have been identified as an assessed need.
Direct Payments are available for disabled children and young people under the age of 18.
Benefits of Direct Payments
Direct Payments can:
Give families greater choice and flexibility.
Provide more control over how support is arranged.
Help children and young people access activities in their local community.
Promote independence and develop life skills.
Enable support to be tailored to individual needs and family circumstances.
There is no charge for receiving Direct Payments, and they do not affect entitlement to welfare benefits.
Who can receive Direct Payments?
A Direct Payment may be provided when:
The child or young person is under 18 years of age.
A social care assessment has identified eligible needs.
Direct Payments are considered an appropriate way to meet those needs.
The parent or carer has parental responsibility for the child or young person (where applicable).
The level of funding will be based on the child's assessed needs and the outcomes identified within their Child Plan.
What can Direct Payments be used for?
Direct Payments must be used to meet the needs identified through assessment and included within the child's Child Plan.
Examples include:
Employing a Personal Assistant.
Accessing social, leisure, or community activities.
Building independence skills.
Providing support in the home or community.
Funding short breaks.
Purchasing support from approved organisations or providers.
Families are responsible for ensuring that Direct Payment funds are used only for the purposes agreed within the Child Plan.
The Child Plan will be reviewed regularly to ensure the support continues to meet the child's needs. If circumstances change, funding may increase, decrease, or stop.
Please inform your social worker if your child's needs or circumstances change.
Employing a Personal Assistant
Some families choose to use Direct Payments to employ a Personal Assistant (PA).
A Personal Assistant can help a child or young person to:
Access activities and social opportunities.
Develop independence skills.
Increase confidence.
Participate in community life.
Achieve outcomes identified in their Child Plan.
If you employ a Personal Assistant, Cornwall Council must ensure they are suitable to work with children and young people.
We will arrange and pay for an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
How do I apply for Direct Payments?
Your child or young person will need a social care assessment.
If the assessment identifies eligible needs, you will be offered information about the available options for meeting those needs. One option may be to receive Direct Payments.
Choosing Direct Payments is entirely voluntary. You can continue to receive services arranged by Cornwall Council if that is your preference.
Request an Assessment
If you are the parent or carer of a disabled child and would like a social care assessment, please contact our Multi-Agency Support and Safeguarding Hub (MASSH).
Direct Payments Resources
Already receiving Direct Payments?
If your family already receives Direct Payments, you can access:
Forms and guidance
Employer information
Direct Payment procedures
Rescue medication policies
Support resources and documents
Information, forms, guides and rescue medication policies
Personal Budgets
What is a Personal Budget?
A Personal Budget is the amount of funding identified to meet a child or young person's assessed needs.
The funding may come from:
Social Care
Education
Health services (where appropriate)
The NHS may also provide a Personal Health Budget for children and young people who are eligible for Children's Continuing Care.
Personal Budgets are designed to give children, young people, and families greater choice, flexibility, control, and independence.
What's the difference between a Personal Budget and a Direct Payment?
A Personal Budget is the amount of money allocated to meet assessed needs.
A Direct Payment is one way that the Personal Budget can be managed, where the funding is paid directly to you so that you can arrange support yourself.
You do not have to receive a Personal Budget as a Direct Payment. Other options include:
The Council arranging services on your behalf.
A third party managing the budget for you.
A combination of different arrangements.
Who can have a Personal Budget?
To be eligible, a child or young person must:
Require social care support and/or have special educational needs.
Have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), or be working towards one where appropriate.
Live in Cornwall.
What can a Personal Budget be used for?
A Personal Budget can only be used for services and support identified as necessary within the child or young person's care plan.
Following assessment, a Person-Centred Support Plan will be developed. This plan sets out:
The support required.
The outcomes to be achieved.
How the Personal Budget will be used.
Families can:
Develop the plan themselves.
Work with a support broker.
Choose another trusted person or organisation to assist them.
Services can be commissioned from a range of providers, including:
Cornwall Council services.
Independent providers.
Voluntary and community organisations.
You can combine services from different providers to create a package of support that best meets your child's needs.
Receiving a Personal Budget does not affect welfare benefits and is not treated as additional income.
Further Information
Guide to Personal Budgets and Personal Budget Statements
For independent advice about Direct Payments and Personal Budgets, visit Contact, the charity for families with disabled children.