Jennie’s personal budget story (Individual service fund user)Feature length 4’45”
Jennie and her mother read together: “ Sometimes people go to live in a different house, this different house or flat is called a new home,... well done.
Jennie’s mother Suzi: Jennie has Autism, and learning difficulties. Her Autism affects her in certain ways and obviously her learning difficulties have an impact on that as well. Basically having Autism means to Jennie that she has difficulties communicating with people and making her needs understood.
(Off camera, step dad’s voice asks) OK Jennie, it’s time to go and see to Jennie’s new home, ok switch the DVD off, and put on your socks and your trainers and we’ll go out in the car ok? Jennie: laughs
Suzi: The future’s always been something that’s a massive concern to me as I watched Jennie growing up. Services for children are difficult to come by but even more difficult for adults with Autism and Learning difficulties.
We’re in Jennie’s flat. Jennie is about to move in, in about 2 weeks time. So we’ve just been spending the last couple of weeks furnishing the flat it was completely empty a couple of weeks ago so now we’ve got carpets and flooring and furniture in.
Helen: This is monumentous isn’t it, Suzi: You look really well, Helen: Thank you.
Helen Sanderson: We worked for this for such a long time haven’t we, and initially we were thinking of buying a support for Jennie, with her personal budget, and Jennie staying at home – and for lots of reasons this felt like a really, really good time to make this kind of move.
Suzi: I had to have a really big think about what I thought was best for Jennie, but also, what we needed as a family, and we’ve been caring for Jennie for 18/19 years now and it’s been a really tough journey at times. You know trying to have a life, and balance that with working, being a wife and a mum to my son Matthew as well. So we really had to make some tough decisions about what was going to work for everybody, but obviously, first and foremost it had to be the right thing for Jennie.
Suzi: It’s lovely isn’t it Jennie, is this going to be your art and craft room? Jennie:Yes. Suzi: And we’re going to get a computer and printer set up in here for you. Jennie: yeah. Suzi: It’s gonna be good,... and you can listen to music.... Jennie: yeah.
Suzi:And we use her person centre plan to help us make decisions for her future
Suzi: is Jennie happy?Jennie: Yeah.
Suzi:Well basically the local authority have given us Jennie’s Individual budget, and what we’ve done is appoint, or commission a local service provider to provide Jennie’s service. We have a contract with them to provide 24 hour care for Jennie, 7 days a week. Unfortunately, Jennie won’t be able to work, but she will be able to do some voluntary work. You OK babe? Do you want to do some colouring and sticking Jennie?, or do you want to stay in here and watch the DVD? Jennie: No, no. Suzi: its alright you can choose.
Jennie: Can I have a drink, fizzy water in the Eeyore cup,
Suzi: you want a fizzy water drink, ok that’s not a problem.
Suzi: It’s got a nice atmosphere, it s a nice feel, and we spent a lot of time trying to choose the right place for Jennie to live, it was really important that we had to bear in mind the needs that Jennie’s got and thinking about the sensory difficulties she got, and how important environment is to her, so it was agreed sometime ago, that Jennie could have a personal budget. And what we decided to do with that as her circle of support was to use her budget to provide an individual service fund.
I want to be Jennie’s mum, I want to have a relationship with her that isn’t going to be fraught with managing staff and the difficulties that that can entail really, so and we looked around at local providers we looked at four different organisations that provide support services for people who have disabilities, and they were all very good, but we actually came to choose a local provider in Stockport called Independent Options. And they provide support for people to live in their own homes but in a very person centred way. We’ve all worked together to make sure that Jennie’s individual service fund is gonna be a service that works for her.
I feel it’s the absolute right thing to do for Jennie, which has motivated me on really which although its hard because Jennie’s moving on, and she’s my baby you know in a sense, she probably won’t thank me for saying that – although its tough it makes it easier in a sense to do what we’re doing for her, you know to let go and to see her in a flat.”
ends