Concerning brokerage

Author:
DUFFY Simon
Journal article citation:
Community Connecting, 23, November 2009, pp.10-12.
Publisher:
Community Connecting

In this article, the author discusses independent professional brokerage, arguing that it is a flawed model and that the broker has a conflict of interest with the disabled person they are there to serve due to an incentive to make the person dependent upon their services because the income of an independent professional broker is dependent upon creating a relationship of dependency. The article looks at 5 elements important to the quality of a service design - motivation and passion, understanding the person, understanding the community, understanding support, and understanding money - suggesting that these are among the reasons why evidence from early testing of Self-Directed Support showed that it was the least effective form of support. The author asserts that if brokerage is introduced it will lead to increased cost and waste and fewer resources available for direct support, and argues that a more effective and efficient community-based system of support could be created with more attention paid to making it easy for people to do more for themselves through information networks, peer support, community services, support providers, and social workers, and that through such an approach most people would be able to organise their own support with the help of family, friends or peers.

Subject terms:
private sector, self-directed support, service brokerage, service users, social care professionals, voluntary sector, cost effectiveness;
Location(s):
United Kingdom

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