For expert advice on social care commissioning, personal budgets and housing and support options.
We are delighted to welcome a new member to our team, Chris Watson. Chris provides specialist advice to parents, family members and practitioners about how to get the right support for an adult who has Down’s syndrome.
Chris’s areas of knowledge include:
- How local authorities commission services for people with intellectual disabilities (and their rights within these often very complex arrangements)
- LA’s statutory Care Act responsibilities around assessments and designing packages of support
- Personal Budgets – what these are and how these are (or should be) calculated
- Direct Payments and Individual Service Funds – how they can be used to meet outcomes and what good looks like
- How to choose or broker a support provider – what to look for and how to check quality
- Housing options for people (tenancy arrangements, financing options, types of landlords, housing benefit issues)
- Cost of care – understanding what is or isn’t good value for money and how to broker support services and plan support
- Challenging local authority decision making and who can support with this
As with our other highly specialist advisers, you can access Chris’ advice through our helpline. Please call us on 0333 1212 300, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. or email at info@down-syndrome.org.uk if you need advice or support.
The information officer who takes your will help in the first instance and can arrange a free telephone or email consultation with Chris.
We look forward to hearing from you.