Guidance for Supported Lodgings Providers
Scope of this chapter
This chapter provides guidance for Supporting Lodgings Providers.
See also Accessing the Supported Lodgings Service Procedure, Supervision Guidance for Supported Lodgings Providers Procedure, Assessment Process for Supported Lodgings Providers and Supported Lodgings Panels Procedure.
Supported Lodgings provides a safe and supportive environment to young people aged 16+ where they can receive the guidance and support needed to prepare for living independently.
The young people may be eligible, relevant, former relevant or qualifying as defined in the Leaving Care Act (2000), or aged 16+ assessed as vulnerable and in need.
The Supported Lodgings Provider should have the ability to:
- Give the young person a bedroom of his/her own, which is warm, and in a secure and friendly environment;
- Give emotional and/or practical support to the young person if and when needed;
- Engage and work with the young person to prepare them for independence;
- Commit to the service;
- Attend relevant training;
- Commit to all Supported Lodgings policies;
- Safeguard the privacy of the young people and adults by not disclosing any information about them to anyone other than those involved in their care without the agreement of the young person or someone who is authorised to act on their behalf.
Appendix 1: Role of the Provider details the main tasks and responsibilities of the Supported Lodgings Provider.
The Assessment Process enables the Supported Lodgings Service to find out what the Supported Lodgings Provider is able to offer and what kind of training or support they may need. Checks and references are carried out and relevant agencies contacted. A report is sent to a Supported Lodgings Panel who will make recommendations. The final decision is made by the Agency Decision Maker. See Assessment Process for New Supported Lodgings Providers.
The Supported Lodgings Provider is accountable to the Project Co-ordinator and Supported Lodgings Officer, and will have a named Supported Lodgings Officer who will provide support, supervision and training as necessary.
For newly recruited Supported Lodgings Provider, training is compulsory and they will be expected to attend all sessions as offered in the first 12 months as a Supported Lodgings Provider.
Core sessions cover the following areas:
- The Role of the Supported Lodgings Provider;
- Safeguarding;
- Safe Care;
- Confidentiality;
- Health and Safety;
- Independent Living Skills;
- Employment and Training Opportunities;
- Equal Opportunities.
This is not an exhaustive list. When any issues are raised by staff or Supported Lodgings Provider, the Service will endeavour to provide training to cover the issue.
There are 5 stages of the Induction Process:
Stage One
- The assessment process;
- Requests from potential providers regarding further training or information;
- Policies and procedures induction.
Stage Two
- Panel recommendations including specific training and matching process.
Stage Three
- Matching process;
- Introduction to the young person;
- First placement for a provider (respite or unplanned placement).
Stage Four
- Levels of support for the young person and Supported Lodgings Provider.
Stage Five
- Monitor and review of the placement(s) and the Supported Lodgings Provider.
Placements are funded from different sources depending on the young person's status. Arrangements are made for payments to be made to the Supported Lodgings Provider on a weekly basis. A breakdown of the charges and the money the provider receives will be given to the potential provider at the beginning of the process. The young person's Young Person's Advisor or Social Worker will work with the young person and the Supported Lodgings Provider to ensure the correct benefits/finances are in place. Payments for unplanned placements are paid differently but the amount is the same. This will be explained during the assessment process and then again before a placement is made.
Rent will be paid by Housing Benefit, the young person or the Service. This will be agreed in the Placement Agreement Form (see Accessing the Supported Lodgings Service Procedure). In addition Board may be paid by the young person depending on what arrangements are agreed.
The Supported Lodgings Provider must inform their own home insurance company that they are taking on the role of a Supported Lodgings Provider as some companies will not offer cover if there are lodgers within the household.
The Supported Lodgings Service has insurance cover for malicious damage. If any claims are to be made the Supported Lodgings Provider swill should ensure:
- Insurers are notified of any claim within 30 days of the date on which the damage was caused – failure to so could result in a claim not being covered;
- Damaged items should be photographed, where possible, and not be disposed of until approval has been given by the insurer to do so;
- They are aware that the limit for jewellery cover under the policy is £2,000.
The Young People's Service have financial procedures that are applied to Young People living in Supported Lodgings. Finances are reviewed in the Pathway Plan, Finance Panel, Support Plan review and whenever the Young Person's circumstances change.
The Young Person's money is their own to manage as they wish with advice and support from their Supported Lodgings Provider, Young Person's Advisor or Social Worker. Budgeting is often a large part of the work carried out within supported lodgings.
Where it is felt that the young person is too vulnerable to manage their money alone they are referred to the Financial Protection Team.
There is no expectation that gifts can be exchanged between Supported Lodgings Provider and the young person. It is acknowledged that when sharing a house, the relationship between them may be different to that of a worker and client. As such it is recognised that there may be occasions such as Birthdays, Christmas, etc., when they may wish to exchange gifts.
Gifts should be of a token amount and not used as a means of control or inducement. The purpose of the gift should be clear. The gifts, once given, should become the property of the intended recipient.
Under no circumstances should there be an exchange of money between the young person and Supported Lodgings Provider, other than authorised and recorded financial transactions, if applicable. Further information on the Council's Code of Conduct Policy is available on request.
Supported Lodgings Provider provide accommodation to young people on behalf of Durham County Council. The Council has a responsibility to ensure the environment in which a young person is placed is, as far as possible, free from hazard or where hazards exist that actions are taken to minimise any risk involved.
The Supported Lodgings Provider is expected to ensure:
- Supported lodgings accommodation is comfortable to accommodate all who live and visit there and who are proposed to live there;
- Supported lodgings are adequately furnished and decorated and is maintained to a good standard of cleanliness and hygiene;
- The young person has his/her own bedroom;
- Accommodation reflects the young person's assessed need for privacy and space or for any specific need resulting from a disability;
- The home and immediate environment are free of avoidable hazards that might expose the young person to the risk of injury or harm.
See Appendix 2: Health and Safety Induction Guidance.
The Supported Lodgings Officer / Young Person's Advisor are expected to:
- Undertake a Health and Safety Risk Assessment of every room in the house including the garden, outside buildings and grounds. This should be reviewed annually by the Supported Lodgings Officer when completing the Supported Lodgings Annual Review or prior to the commencement of a new placement;
- Identify hazards which may cause potential harm or injury;
- Assess the risk, judging the practical likelihood of injury or damage occurring. Injury can be physical or psychological;
- Introduce precautions implementing affordable and practical measures to minimise risk;
- Where risks are identified, discuss with the Supported Lodgings Provider ways of rectifying or minimising the risk to an acceptable level.
In situations where the supported lodgings or its environment would pose considerable risk to the young person and no action can be taken to remove or minimise the risk then the Supported Lodgings Officer/Young Person's Advisor may not recommend the Supported Lodgings Provider as a suitable provider.
If the Supported Lodgings Provider refuses to take advice about risks or the risks are recurrent then these concerns would be addressed at the Placement Review.
The young person is expected to:
- Be responsible for his/her own health and safety;
- Take reasonable care of the supported lodgings accommodation;
- Co-operate with the Supported Lodgings Provider and respect the property and its belongings;
- Not attempt to repair any damaged or faulty equipment and report all damages or faults to the Supported Lodgings Provider.
There is no obligation for Supported Lodgings Provider to transport young people placed with them, however, there may be occasions when this will happen. The young people placed in Supported Lodgings are of an age and understanding to make the choice to be transported and give consent themselves.
No young person should be transported under the influence of alcohol or any other substance. A Supported Lodgings Provider should not transport a young person if they have consumed any alcohol or taken any medication that may affect their driving.
Should there be a perceived risk to transporting a young person on their own a Risk Assessment should be carried out at that time and if the risk cannot be managed the young person should not be transported.
No young person should be transported without wearing a seat belt.
Any vehicle used to transport young people must be suitably insured, taxed and have an up to date MOT where applicable. This would be checked during the health and safety assessment and yearly thereafter. The driver should have a full and current driving licence.
See the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain policy “The Handling of Medicines in Social Care” (requirements for supported living arrangements, 2007: p40) and the appropriate sections of National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Younger Adults (standard 20, 2001: p 30).
The Supported Lodgings Provider should, if appropriate, prompt/remind the young person to take their medication. They have no responsibility for the young person taking the medication if they choose not to, nor should they take any role in the preparation or administration of routine medication. If there are any known risks these should be included in the risk assessment prior to placement or as soon as the issue arises and a risk management plan clearly set out.
If a young person has a medical condition then any support necessary should be addressed within the placement support plan and if necessary within the risk assessment.
Supported Lodgings Provider must store their own medications within a locked cupboard not accessible to young people. Each young person should have access to either a lockable cupboard or locked fridge to store their own medication; this will depend on the storage requirements for specific medications.
The only exception to this is for Epipen, Hypostop and Midazolam. These should be stored in a place accessible to all trained to administer and in the case of emergencies. Arrangements for this should be discussed and planned prior to placement.
There are three medications which may be required to manage an emergency:
- Epipen – this is a medication for an extreme allergic reaction which may be life threatening;
- Hypostop – this is a medication used to reverse a hypoglycaemic episode;
- Midazolam – this is medication to manage an epileptic seizure.
Where these medications have been prescribed for the young person the Supported Lodgings Provider will be consulted prior to the young person's placement with them and training/support will be provided.
If the Supported Lodgings Provider has to administer one of these medications they should:
- Dial 999 for an ambulance prior to administering the medication;
- Record the time of administration;
- Ensure the information is passed on to the ambulance crew on their arrival;
- Ensure the information is passed to the young person's social worker/young person's advisor and the Supported Lodgings Team, or if out of hours to the Emergency Duty Team as soon as possible.
All Supported Lodgings Provider must have a commercially bought first aid kit without any additions (it should not include medication of any sort).
If the young person is found to be unwell the Supported Lodgings Provider should:
- Encourage the young person to seek medical advice;
- If it is clear that a young person is in no condition to seek medical help, the Supported Lodgings Provider should either contact the GP or emergency medical services as appropriate and notify the Young Person's Advisor/ Social Worker and the Supported Lodgings Service, or if out of hours the Emergency Duty Team.
The Supported Lodgings Provider should notify the Service of any significant changes in their family and household and ensure that this is recorded by the Supported Lodgings Officer / Young Person's Advisor/Social Worker using the Reporting of Significant or Notifiable Incidents and Complaints Form (Appendix 3: Reporting of Significant or Notifiable Incidents and Complaints).
Changes the Supported Lodgings Service considers to be significant include:
- Planning to/or moving house;
- Going on holiday;
- Major alterations made to the house;
- If a family member dies;
- If a family member, friend or relative joins your family, or visits or comes to stay even for a brief period - it may be necessary to make a police check;
- Changes to working hours for example part-time or to evening and weekend work;
- Change in working status, for example if you start or stop work;
- Severe marital difficulties, including one partner leaving home - even temporarily;
- Serious deterioration in the health of any family member;
- Diagnosis of a serious illness;
- The birth of a child to any family member;
- Anyone leaving the family;
- Any member of the family who is charged with a criminal offence;
- Any pets introduced into the household;
- A dog owned and kept by you becomes registered under the Dangerous Dogs Act;
- If the young person moves on before planned;
- If there is a change to the young person's economic status, for example work, training and education, job seeking.
This list is not exhaustive and if there is any other significant event which the Supported Lodgings Provider thinks is important they must contact their Supported Lodgings Officer who will visit the Supported Lodgings Provider to discuss the change and its impact.
This will then be discussed with the Team Manager who will decide whether a review will be necessary.
Supported Lodgings Providers have the right to express their views and have these taken seriously. They have the right to make a complaint about the young person placed with them and can complain on their own behalf in respect of the service provided to them from the Service. It is hoped that Supported Lodgings Provider will be able to discuss any concerns with their Supported Lodgings Officer first, depending upon the nature of the concern.
When a complaint is received from the Supported Lodgings Provider by the Project Co-ordinator, the Supported Lodgings Provider will be informed how their complaint will be dealt with.
If attempts to resolve the issues are unsuccessful then the Supported Lodgings Provider may wish to have their complaint dealt with through the Corporate Complaints Policy, by submitting their complaints verbally or in writing. Go to Durham County Council Website for more information.
The Project Co-ordinator, where appropriate, will work with the Supported Lodgings Provider to resolve the issue being raised at Stage 1 of the process. If a resolution cannot be agreed the complaint will progress to Stages 2 and 3 of the Complaints process where appropriate.
The Supported Lodgings Service promotes equality and diversity. The Service is committed to eliminating discrimination and seeks to introduce positive measures to promote equality of opportunity.
Supported Lodgings Staff and Supported Lodgings Provider must strive to create an environment that promotes cultural diversity and values difference for those requiring or receiving services.
Staff must ensure that no individual will be discriminated against for any reason and denied a service on the grounds of disability, religion, age, gender/sexual orientation etc.
Staff and Supported Lodgings Provider need to be aware of the Service's advice available and the services provided to enable service users to access these provisions. Appropriate documentation is available to the Supported Lodgings Provider on request.
The Supported Lodgings Service strives to achieve excellence in the quality of its service to provide a safe and supportive accommodation option as a stepping stone towards independence by:
- Having clear specific standards, performance targets, and procedures for the organisation and delivery of services;
- Auditing, reviewing and self-evaluating the delivery of procedures to improve the systems in place;
- Adopting good relevant practice from other agencies and services;
- Staff development and training;
- Defining roles for all involved;
- Having reviews and procedures in which the Supported Lodgings Service is able to monitor its performance;
- Having complaints and appeals procedures.
Last Updated: November 14, 2023
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