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Rater bias and the measurement of support needs
- Authors:
- GUSCIA Roma, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 31(3), September 2006, pp.156-160.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The development and use of support need instruments for funding disability services is a relatively recent initiative. Although the use of these measures appears at face value to provide an objective measure of support needs, little is known about their psychometric properties, particularly with respect to rater bias and purpose of assessment. A measure of support that has been developed in Australia to provide estimates of service needs and associated funding is the Service Need Assessment Profile (SNAP). This study investigated whether SNAP scores obtained for different assessment purposes – research and funding – are affected by rater bias, by comparing SNAP to 3 other measures of support from 29 people with intellectual disabilities.The authors found that SNAP scores completed for funding purposes showed an individual's support needs to be much greater than comparison scores on both SNAP and the 3 other measures obtained for research purposes. The results suggest that support measures such as SNAP may significantly overestimate support needs when raters know the assessment is being used for funding purposes
Independent living for disabled people
- Author:
- ASPIS Simone
- Journal article citation:
- Housing Care and Support, 8(4), December 2005, pp.34-36.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The Government’s 2005 Green paper on Adult Social Care put forward a vision of ‘independence, well-being and choice’. While the notion of independent living was central to the vision and to the substantive policy proposals presented in the Green Paper, there was no definition of what ‘independent living’ actually means. The British Council of Disabled People (BCDP) supports many of the ideas in the Green Paper, such as the proposed introduction of individualised budgets. It also has concerns about the continuing lack of basic rights to receive support and to live independently in one’s own home, and about the way in which the new vision will be financed and implemented. This article looks at some of the concerns of the BCDP.
Reliability of the Service Need Assessment Profile (SNAP): a measure of support for people with disabilities
- Authors:
- GUSCIA Roma, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 30(1), March 2005, pp.24-30.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Measures for estimating costs associated with the provision of disability services in Australia have not previously been available. Because such instruments are scarce worldwide, decisions about funding services have relied more on historical precedent and less on individual need. Recognising the necessity for an objective measure, Gould (1998) developed the Service Need Assessment Profile (SNAP), a scale for estimating the support needs and associated costs for people with disabilities.This study examined the technical properties of SNAP using assessment data from 318 adults (190 males and 128 females), mean age 43 years, with a range of disability types and levels of severity, residing in supported accommodation around metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. Results suggest that SNAP's reliability varies across different sub-groups and across domains. The study concludes that using SNAP assessments as a method for allocating funds/resources across the disability sector should be approached cautiously, bearing in mind the reported limitations.
Time for direct action
- Authors:
- VALOIS Natalie, ASPIS Simone
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 19.09.02, 2002, pp.30-31.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
The take up of direct payments is highest among disabled people, which is unsurprising considering it was the physical disability movement that pushed so hard for the scheme.However, practical problems and prejudicial attitudes within local and central government still present barriers to the uptake of direct payments for people with learning difficulties.
A matter of choice
- Author:
- HAWKER Maurice
- Journal article citation:
- Care Plan, 6(3), March 2000, pp.16-19.
- Publisher:
- Positive Publications/ Anglia Polytechnic University, Faculty of Health and Social Work
The author describes his recent study into housing and support needs of people with learning disabilities and the steps local authorities need to take to widen the choice and supply of suitable accommodation. Argues that local profiles of need, information on urgent case and priorities, maps of existing services and aims for the future are essential for proper planning.
Social services law: judicial review, financial resources and legitimate expectations
- Author:
- SCHWEHR Belinda
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 2(3), July 1997, pp.23-30.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
In the context of a recent judicial review case, the Court of Appeal has delivered, on the one hand, a powerful weapon for people with disabilities who need social services, but, on the other, managerial implications which are bound to be keeping budget holders awake at night. The final outcome of the case - due for hearing before the Lords at some point in the next year - may well have wider implications for changes to social services legislation generally. Considers the significance of this case for local authorities, practitioners and users of community care services. Goes on to look at the interplay between the concept of statutory discretion and the emergent legal doctrine of substantive legitimate expectation, and its significance for social service attitudes and practice is articulated.
Not just about the money: reshaping social care for self-determination
- Author:
- DOWSON Steve
- Publisher:
- Community Living,|Emprise International Training and Consultancy
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 48p.
- Place of publication:
- Bury St. Edmunds
Direct Payments should be regarded as the first step towards a system in which all the functions are allocated logically and clearly, avoiding conflicts of interest. Systems which follow this model, generically termed Individualised Funding (IF), already exist. Some fifty programmes are under way in several countries. Evaluations of these programmes are only now emerging, but reveal outcomes that are strikingly positive. Although the evidence is not, as yet, conclusive, there are also strong indications that a comprehensive IF system would be more effective in supporting selfdetermination, especially for people with learning difficulties, than the current Direct Payments provision. The development of Direct Payments into a comprehensive system of Individualised Funding would involve: permitting people who require support services, and wish to use IF, to develop and cost their own support plans, reflecting their own life aspirations ( this would replace community care assessment); creating a system in which the limitations of public funding are balanced against the requirements of the individual through a process of open negotiation between the person and the council, based on the plan prepared by the individual; providing funding to individuals who require assistance in developing their plan, so that they are able to purchase this help from a source that is independent of Social Services and service providers, and who is accountable solely to the disabled person; ensuring that help is available to people who receive IF in the administration of their funding, and, if required, in meeting the legal responsibilities as employer of personal assistants; encouraging the development of a market of support provider agencies who are willing and able to provide services tailored to the requirements of individual IF recipients; and authorising and funding an agency in each locality to regulate the supply of independent service brokers, and to provide an access point for people requiring brokerage services.
Commissioning at the interface
- Author:
- WIGGAN Christa J.
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care Management and Planning, 4(5), October 1996, pp.157-163.
- Publisher:
- Pavillion
Examines how joint commissioning has been implemented in Oxfordshire in relation to learning disability services. Describes the context in which joint commissioning has developed, the Oxfordshire model for this care group, and the financial and human resources structures which support the model. The case study analyses some of the positive outcomes of this approach alongside areas of particular challenge.
Occupational therapy and mental health
- Editor:
- CREEK Jennifer
- Publisher:
- Churchill Livingstone
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 615p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
- Edition:
- 3rd ed.
Offers a comprehensive introduction to the theory, techniques and practice of occupational therapy in the fields of mental health and learning disability. The first part looks at the theory and framework of occupational therapy. The second focuses on the skills used by the occupational therapist in mental health practice, the needs of the client groups with which they work and the organisation and management of services. Contents include: philosophy and theory base; the occupational therapy process; the context of occupational therapy; media and methods; client groups; organisation and management.