Conference Proceedings Report - Final Draft - National Federation ...

Parallel Workshop 8 – How can people get their money?
Session Director: Dr. Bob McCormack
Rappateur: Brendan Sutton
Co-ordinator:BredaCasey
Thought Provocateur: Ms. Karina Wallis
Speakers:
Ms. Margeret Culliton
Mr. Phil Madden
This workshop explored how people can be empowered by having control over their
money. The thought provocateur for this session was Ms. Karina Wallis, Head of
Evaluation & Person Centred Training at the Sisters of Charity of Jesus & Mary. As the
thought provocateur, Ms. Wallis talked about the current Irish experience of the
individual with a disability obtaining funding for services from the State and the role of
the service provider in the securing of funding. With the idea of empowerment in mind,
the thought provocateur focused the presentation on the inclusion of the individual with a
disability in the processes involved in obtaining and securing funding. Ms. Wallis also
gave an outline of how funding for services is allocated and the decision making
processes for such allocations. The final part of the presentation examined how the
individual’s money is spent and what governs such spending, and more importantly, how
can people have control over their money.
Next to speak was Ms. Margeret Culliton, Project Director with Aontacht Pobal Teoranta
(APT) in the Midlands region. Her paper, entitled ‘Planning, Designing and Delivering
your Own Services – The Microboards Approach’, gave an overview of the Microboard
project. Ms. Culliton explained how the Microboard approach is aimed at empowering
people with disabilities, and their families, to plan, design and deliver their own services,
to meet their individual needs, and thus giving them control over their finances. The
overall aim of this project was to pilot a model of practice for individualised services for
persons with a disability which is person-centred and uses direct payments to
provide/purchase such services. Ms. Culliton described a Microboard as a group of
committed family & friends (5 – 7 approx.) who work with and around a person with a
disability (focus person) to create a small, not-for-profit association to address the
individual’s needs in an empowering and customised fashion. The project also focused on
developing the capacity and expertise of the Microboard Association of Ireland (MAI), a
critical second level support service that will provide procedural guidance and advice on
the formation of individual Microboards and ongoing assistance in a wide range of areas.
In her conclusion, Ms. Culliton explained that the Microboards are not a “service
provision” solution, but are linked to the growing awareness of the need to work with
people with a disability in a holistic and respectful way.
The second presentation of the session was given by Mr. Phil Madden, Director of Policy
and Quality in Homefarm Trust UK, a national voluntary organisation for people with
learning disabilities. This presentation was entitled ‘Direct Payments – The UK
47