The FACE RAS: A Scientific Approach to Individual Budgets
In broad terms, the Individual Budget process may be represented as follows:
There are a wide range of potential methods that could be used for each step in the initial processes that lead to the establishment of an individual budget: Assessment, Scoring (based upon the assessment) and Resource Allocation (based upon the scoring system). To date there has been little technical or generalisable work undertaken to determine the most appropriate and robust methods for this purpose. It is this particular issue that the FACE RAS development programme plans to address.
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The FACE RAS programme is using the FACE assessment tools as the basis for modelling the relationship between scores generated by the assessment process and the appropriate resource allocation. Anonymised data is being collected across a group of participating authorities. This will be supplemented by consensus data produced by stakeholder workshops.
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The programme is open to both authorities who are already using FACE tools and authorities who wish to access the FACE RAS development but have no previous engagement in the use of FACE tools. Authorities not currently using FACE tools will be able to collect prospective data using 'RAS' versions of the FACE assessments developed specifically to support individual budgets.
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The FACE approach to individual budgets has been designed to support individual budgets within healthcare as well as social care. PCTs and Trusts are therefore welcome to join the programme.
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The collated data will be analysed to identify the best method of modelling the relationship between assessed needs and circumstances (such as availibility of carer support) and resource allocation. Additionally, the analysis will explore specific issues such as the respective strengths and limitations of self-assessment compared with joint assessment; and the merits of developing a single generic allocation model compared with the production of different models for each care group.
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Participants will also be provided with the 'best fit' model based upon analysis of their local data, thus permitting local flexibility in application of the model to local circumstances.
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The programme is a collaboration between FACE and the PSSRU - Personal Social Services Research Unit.
For further information click here to download the Briefing Paper or contact Hugh Reynolds hugh@intermation.ltd.uk.