What the words mean
Advocacy/ Advocate
Advocacy is support to help you be understood and have your voice heard.
An advocate can speak for you if you cannot speak for yourself.
Adult Carer Support Plan (ACSP)
A plan for an adult who looks after a friend or family member.
The plan says what impact being a carer has on the person’s life and what support they need to have a life outside their caring role.
Assessment (of need)
A conversation to find out what you need support with.
Community Brokerage/ Brokerage
Community Brokerage is a way of helping people take control of their own support.
It helps people make decisions about what help they need and how they want to be supported.
Community Brokers work in a range of organisations across Scotland.
Capacity
The ability to make and understand decisions.
If someone lacks Capacity it means they are unable to fully make or understand decisions.
Care or support agency
An organisation that provides workers to support people with their everyday life.
Agency workers change often.
If you get support from an agency, you are likely to be supported by different people each time.
Care or support provider
An organisation that provides workers to support people with their everyday life.
Carer
A carer or unpaid carer is someone who looks after a family member or friend who would not manage without their support.
Carers can be parents, partners, siblings, grandparents, other family members, friends or neighbours.
Centre for Inclusive Living (CIL)
An organisation run by disabled people for disabled people.
They help disabled people have more choice and control over their lives.
Child’s Plan
A plan that says what a child needs to be able to have a good life.
Clawback
If someone is not able to spend all their support budget, their council may take some of it back.
This is sometimes known as clawback.
Contingency budget
Spare money in a budget to cover emergencies or unexpected things.
Direct Payment
Money given directly to a person for them to pay for support.
A Direct Payment may go into a bank account or be put on a pre-payment card.
Eligibility criteria
Rules that your local council uses to help them decide who can get social care support through them.
Financial assessment
A test to find out how much money someone has.
This is used to decide if they should pay any of their own money towards their support, and if so, how much.
Framework
A list put together by a local council of organisations which provide care and support.
Organisations on the Framework are ones that the council has decided are suitable for people to choose from.
If there is an organisation you want support from that is not on the Framework, you should not be prevented from choosing them.
Find out more here: Option 2
Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC)
A way of working in Scotland to make sure all children and young people are able to reach their full potential.
Good conversation
A good conversation is what conversations about social care support are meant to look like.
It means social work professionals listening to you, being respectful, building trust with you and being honest.
It means taking time to find out about you and your life.
Guardianship order
A way for someone to get the legal power to make decisions for someone who is unable to make decisions.
Find out more here: Helping someone make decisions about social care support
Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP)
A Health and Social Care Partnership is where the NHS, local council and other organisations working together in an area.
They manage the money that pays for health and social care for adults in that area.
Hospital discharge
When someone is leaving hospital it is often known as hospital discharge.
Independent Living
Independent Living means people of all ages having freedom, choice, dignity, and control.
It means fulfilling your rights to be part of society and live a full life.
It does not mean living by yourself or fending for yourself.
Independent Living Fund (ILF)
Money to help disabled people pay for the support they need in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Find out more: Independent Living Fund
Independent Support
Help you can get from an organisation that is separate from the council.
Independent support can help you understand, set up and manage the support you need.
Indicative budget
The rough amount of money you will have to pay for your support.
You should find this out once you have had an assessment.
Individual Service Fund
Money set aside to pay for your support.
The money is managed by your local council or another organisation.
They manage the money but you make the decisions about your support.
Integration Joint Board (IJB)
A group of people set up by the NHS and local council who help plan health and social care services in a particular area.
Lead Professional
The main professional working with you and your child, if your child needs support.
Local Authority
Another name for your local council.
Outcomes or Personal Outcomes
The things that are important to you in life.
For example, staying healthy, staying safe, maintaining good relationships.
Peer Support
People using their own experiences to help each other.
Personal Assistant
A person you employ directly to support you.
Personal care
Anything you need help with that is of a personal nature.
Examples are help to get washed, change clothes, go to the toilet.
Personal care also includes other things.
Find out more: Free personal and nursing care
Personalisation
A word used to describe the way that support should be built around a person and what is important to them.
Personal Outcome Plan
A plan that says what support someone needs to meet their Personal Outcomes.
These are the things that are important to the person in their life.
Power of Attorney
If someone has Power of Attorney it means they have the legal power to make some decisions for another person.
Find out more: Helping someone make decisions about social care support
Re-ablement or Re-ablement care
If you are leaving hospital and need help for a short time afterwards, this is sometimes called re-ablement care.
Resource Allocation System
A system that is used by local councils to decide how much money each person in the area should get, to pay for their support.
It is meant to help councils treat people fairly and make sure there is enough money to go around.
Review
The process of looking at the support you have and discussing whether it is working for you or needs to change.
Find out more: Reviewing your support
Section 23 Assessment
A discussion to find out what a child needs support with.
It is sometimes called a Section 23 Assessment as this is the name that is used in the law about support for children in Scotland.
Find out more: Assessment of your child’s needs
Self-directed Support/ SDS
The name used to describe how social care support should be delivered in Scotland.
Self-directed Support is about giving people as much choice, control and responsibility as they want to have when it comes to their support.
SHANARRI
Seven areas that are looked at to find out what a child needs to live a good life.
The letters stand for Safe, Healthy, Active, Nurtured, Achieving, Respected, Responsible and Included.
Social care support
Care or support to help you live your life.
Social work practitioner or professional
Local council social work teams are made up of people who have different job titles.
Social work practitioner or professional is the phrase used to mean any of these people.
It may include social workers, assessors, family support workers, care managers, social work assistants or others.
Support plan
A plan that says what support an adult needs and how the support will be delivered.
Find out more: Your Support Plan
Transition
Transition is most often used to talk about when a young person’s support moves from Children’s to Adult’s services.
Transition can also mean other times when someone moves from one type of care and support to another.
For example, moving from being treated in hospital to getting support at home, moving into a care home, or moving to another part of the country.
Underspend
When you are not able to spend all of your support budget.
Unpaid carer
A carer or unpaid carer is someone who looks after a family member or friend who would not manage without their support.
Carers can be parents, partners, siblings, grandparents, other family members, friends or neighbours.
Young carer
A Young Carer is someone under the age of 18 (or 18 years old and still at school) who looks after a family member or friend who would not manage without their support.
Young Carer Statement
A plan for a child or young person who looks after a friend or family member.
The plan says what impact being a Young Carer has on their life and what support they need to have a life outside their caring role.