Glossary

We’ve tried to make our information as easy to understand as possible but we realise that if you’re new to the idea of social care and Direct Payments there may be some words and phrases which you’ve not come across before... These words will be highlighted with a link on each page to this 'Glossary'.

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• Assessment
• Care Co-ordinator
• Carer
• Care Plan
• Charging Policy
• Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)
• Deafblind
• Direct Payments Support Team
• PDF
• Payroll and Payroll Provider
• Sensory Impairment
• Social Care
• Social Care Direct
• Social Worker

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Assessment

An assessment is a way of helping to look at your needs and involves you in working out how these can be met. It can be very simple and quick or take more time depending on your needs. The main people involved in the assessment will be yourself and possibly any people who may be involved in caring for you. At all times you will be helped during the assessment process by a member of staff. We will look with you at ways of meeting your needs and agree a way forward with you.

You might want to think about your needs before you have an assessment. Some people find it helpful to keep a diary for a week before the assessment, recording what they do, how long it takes, and what help they receive just now, as well as what they would like to be able to do if they had the necessary help. More information about assessments.

Care Co-ordinator

You will have one practitioner / member of staff who will who will take overall responsibility for your case. They are known as your Care Co-ordinator or Care Manager.

Carer

A carer is someone who provides unpaid care looking after an ill, frail or disabled family member, friend or partner. This includes people who have parental responsibility for a disabled child.

Care Plan

Following your assessment you and your Care Co-ordinator will look at ways of meeting your needs and then discuss a plan of action. This is known as a care plan and you will receive a written copy. It will give details about the services that are being arranged for you, the name of your Care Co-ordinator and a date to review how the plan is working.

Charging Policy

The government assumes that all councils charge and reduces the amount of money it gives to us on this assumption. It’s therefore essential that we charge to make sure that we can keep up the amount of services that we provide to our users. You may have to pay a contribution towards some of these services, but some of them are free. The amount you pay depends upon your income and your savings and capital. We will discuss this further and in more detail at your assessment.

Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)

You may wish your prospective personal assistant to have a Criminal Records Bureau check. This will check whether they have any criminal record. The Direct Payments Support Team will help you with this.

The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), an executive agency of the Home Office, provides access to criminal record and other information to organisations in England and Wales through a service called Disclosure. Its specific purpose is to help organisations make more informed decisions when recruiting people into positions of trust, perhaps working with children or other vulnerable people.

Find out more on the Criminal Records Bureau website.

Deafblind

People who are deafblind have a combined sight and hearing loss, which leads to difficulties in communicating, mobility, and accessing information. Deafblindness is also sometimes referred to as dual sensory impairment. You can find out more on the Deafblind UK website.

Direct Payments Support Team

This is Durham County Council’s team of staff who are on hand to help guide you through the process of Direct Payments. When you’re first looking into receiving Direct Payments a member of the team can visit you at home to explain how they work and go through all of the things you need to know. Following that they’re just a phone call away if you need any help along the way. We usually find however, that people manage their Direct Payments really well themselves!

Portable Document Format (PDF)

Saving documents in this way means that they are accessible by all as they can be easily accessed using a product called Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is available free online from Adobe Acrobat Reader

Payroll and Payroll Provider

You must make sure that your employee’s wages are calculated correctly and that relevant payments are made to the Inland Revenue every month or every quarter, depending how this needs to be done. This is called payroll and the Direct Payments Support Team will advise you about who can do this for you if you want some help with this. They will then become your Payroll Provider.

Sensory Impairment

People with a sensory impairment have visual or hearing difficulties.

Social Care

For all sorts of reasons and at all stages in their lives people need help coping with the day-to-day business of living. Durham County Council’s Adult and Community Services (formerly Social Care and Health Services) department provides this practical support, which is often termed ‘social care’.

Social Care Direct

This is Durham County Council’s ‘one stop shop’ for all of your questions about Social Care. More information about Social Care Direct.

Social Worker

Social workers work with individuals, families, groups, organisations and communities helping people to live more successfully within their local communities by helping them find solutions to their problems.