Customer Journey Easy Step Guide Adult Social Care | Direct Payments Information

There are a variety of ways to access support and assessment but the best place to start is with a referral to adult social care. This will enable you to get help and advice and to begin the assessment process.

Find out how to get help from adult social care

Whichever route you choose to take you will have a conversation with someone to help make a plan to live well as part of a needs assessment.

Local authorities must undertake an assessment with any person with an appearance of care and support needs. A member of the social work or Occupational Therapy team will have a conversation with you to understand what support you night need. They must also carry out a carer's assessment for anyone who provides or intends to provide care for an adult and appears to show signs of their own support needs.

Find out what to expect when you have a needs assessment

If you are eligible for support we will work with you to make a plan to help you live well. Within this plan you may decide to use a direct payment to pay for the support you need. The amount you receive will depend on the outcome of your assessment as well as a financial assessment which works out how much you will pay towards the cost of your care.

Find out about different types of care and support plans

If a direct payment is identified in your support plan your social care or health professional will discuss with you the ways you can receive and use your direct payment.

The options include:

Pre-Paid Card

Pre-paid cards put you in control of the account to make payments in accordance with your support plan and can be;

set up quickly by Adult Social Care
managed online or by phone
easily audited by Leeds City Council
managed by an approved representative such as a family member

Customer Own Account 

A dedicated account owned and managed by you or an approved representative and gives you even more control over the direct payment process as well as giving you responsibility for managing your own finances including;

you complete all payments using BACS transfer
you are responsible for ensuing that all payments are made in accordance with the support plan
you are responsible for maintaining records for auditing processes

Managed Bank Accounts

A managed bank account is opened and managed by Leeds Centre for Integrated Living (CIL) on your behalf. This options means that you are still the employer and responsible for making sure that money is used appropriately but that;

Leeds CIL opens account on behalf of the customer
Leeds CIL completes all BACS payments
Leeds CIL undertakes financial audits

Your social or health care professional will make a referral to the Direct Payment and Personal Assistant Support Hub.

There is a wide range of training and development opportunities available to help you understand your role as an employer. You will also be able to access support from the DP and PA Support Hub.

Find out about the training and development offer for employers

The Direct Payment Audit team will audit your direct payment from time to time, with the first usually being within three months of the start of the first payment. This is to ensure that you feel supported in the running of the direct payment account and that the funds are being used in line with your support plan.

You will be given information on what records and paperwork you need to keep as part of your Direct Payment when it is set up.

We will send you a full explanation of how we have audited your direct payment. Following the audit, any surplus funds or funds that have not been used in accordance with your support plan will need to be repaid.

Your support plan will also be reviewed as a whole every twelve months, unless you notify adult social care that your needs have changed.