Person-Centred Support Planning

An exploration of a casework support planning process for the refugee & migrant sector. Covering the need for support planning to be person-centred and empowering, using an asset-based approach. It also addresses the importance of accountability, transparency and review in support planning. Includes a downloadable Casework Support Plan Template.

This blog has been adapted from one originally written for RESET in the context of refugee resettlement and can be applied to various forms of casework support planning.

Person-Centred & Empowering

When providing casework support to migrants and refugees, it is important that everything we do is genuinely helpful and empowering; i.e. person-centred. A person-centred approach places the individual or family at the centre of conversations and decisions relating to their support. The focus is on what they want, rather than them fitting into a prescribed model or process of what we think is best. In order for support planning to be effective, the family or individual needs a sense of ownership. We can promote this by involving and collaborating with them in the support planning process.

Our goal in support planning is to remain focussed on what the person wants and what their goals are. We must focus on their aspirations, goals and priorities which will enable them to live life as fully as possible. We can encourage them to articulate these and then help them to think through and implement the appropriate next step for them.

Casework support must be empowering and so we should not do things for people that they can do for themselves. We should not work harder on someone’s problem than they are willing to themselves.

Our support needs to be focused on empowerment to help prepare people for independent living once our assistance has ended. When casework support commences, it may often be intensive and frequent, with a focus on practical help. As things start to stabilise for the individual or family, the focus of our support should become more about helping them to identify and pursue their aspirations and goals. As they start to progress towards their goals, the focus of our support needs to be more about coaching them to manage life in the UK independently.

For the family or individual to manage life independently, there needs to be a change in the type of support we offer, from ‘doing things for the family’ early on, to ‘coaching the family to do things for themselves’. Examples of this type of coaching could be; supporting them to book a GP appointment over the phone for themselves rather than doing it for them, or assisting them to report maintenance issues directly to their landlord rather than passing the message through us.

Asset-Based Approach

Everyone has skills, experience, knowledge, interests, friendships and relationships that can help them resettle and re-start their lives. An asset-based approach recognises this and avoids starting with and focusing on problems and needs. We need to consider; what their interests may be, what they are good at, what strengths and resources they have which will help them to resettle successfully.

It is really important to build a strong, professional working relationship with the people you will be supporting; to understand their background, skills, experience, places they’ve lived, the work they’ve done, education, family make-up, etc. We mustn’t make assumptions about what people will want and so we must listen carefully to understand their perspective and plan our support appropriately.

Using the Casework Support Plan Template

The purpose of support planning and the use of a support plan template is to outline the actions necessary to bring about the things that the family or individual wants to happen. Though it may seem formal, using a support plan template helps to structure the conversation around what each party is working on together and clarifies who is responsible for each action.

Support plans should be created early on in the support relationship. We should create the support plan in conversation with the individual or family, and it is important that each adult member of the family is meaningfully involved in the support planning process and that all children are considered as part of it. High quality, professional interpreting must be used to ensure everyone is included, understands and is happy with what is decided.

In order to be comprehensive, considering all aspects of life, the casework support plan covers 9 different areas:

Housing
Benefits & Money
Education & Training
Employment & Volunteering
Physical & Mental Health
Social & Leisure
Feeling Safe
Family, Friends & Contacts
Self-Care & Life Skills

For each area, we need to consider and ask the person we are supporting:

What are your hopes, dreams and ambitions for this area of your life?
What do you already have in this area which is a strength to build upon (skills, experience, relationships, resources)?
What obstacles might prevent you from reaching your goals in this area?
How can you use what you already have to overcome these obstacles? What can you do?
What might you need some help with? Who is best placed to help?
What would a realistic timeframe be for achieving each goal?

Sometimes it can be hard to articulate what we want from a certain area of life when we are not sure what the possibilities are in a particular context. Because of this, we need to do all we can to make opportunities known and genuinely accessible for those we support. A key part of our support is sharing accurate, up-to-date information about people’s rights, entitlements and responsibilities. Aim for 1-2 goals for each area but remember that these may overlap, so don’t worry if there isn’t a goal set for every single area. It is more important that the goals we do set are appropriate and realistic, not overwhelming either the people we support or us.

In the Casework Support Plan template which can be downloaded below, there is a column with actions we will do and a column with actions that the individual or family will do. This helps to reinforce empowerment and an asset-based approach emphasising what people can do to help themselves rather than us doing all (or the majority) of the work.

It is also very important to recognise and acknowledge (for everyone’s benefit) that we don’t have all the answers; often, the expertise and innovative solutions will come from other organisations, the local community, people and places we know, etc. we don’t need to know everything but we can always go and find out the answer. If it’s not appropriate or possible for us to provide a particular form of support then we can still facilitate this by working closely with voluntary, statutory, and other agencies.

Accountability, Transparency & Review

Accountability and transparency are important principles of person-centred support.

One way of ensuring this is that the Casework Support Plan template has columns for the intended date by which each action will be completed. This helps to focus minds and resources upon the required activities and gently adds some accountability for us and those we are supporting.

Reviewing support plans is another way to ensure clear, helpful communication so remember to put the date the document is created on the support plan. We must also include an appropriate review date to update it together with the family or individual to ensure it’s still representative of what we are all working on together.

Once the support plan is completed, give the individual or family a copy (retaining one for us) and talk through it to check they understand and are happy with the contents. For transparency and accountability, it would be good to ensure colleagues review one another’s support plans to verify their appropriateness and help support the process. Once everyone is happy, the support plan can be signed by us and also by those we support to confirm agreement on the listed actions.