Toolsets

Strengths-based Toolset for Adult Social Care

A suite of integrated tools aligned to adult social care workflow and the Care Act, which focus on identifying and encouraging the use of strengths and community assets to maximise independence.

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Tools for adults with care needs

Contact and Actions Tool (CAT)

This tool supports an initial, open conversation with an individual or their representative exploring their situation, needs, and personal outcomes, and identifying the best course of action to improve things.

It focuses on identifying strengths, community resources, and other solutions such as reablement, assistive technology, or small one-off payments – before looking at progression to a full assessment.

Preventative SANA

Where completion of the CAT has highlighted potential to improve the person’s independence, the preventative support version of the SANA can be used. The preventative version of the SANA supports exploration of different areas of need and risk with a focus on how the person’s strengths as well as resources such as enablement/reablement, equipment, adaptations and assistive technology might help increase independence.

Strengths and Needs Assessment (SANA)

This is the statutory assessment tool within the Toolset and is completed where initial conversations have not fully resolved an individual’s needs and outcomes through short-term actions and provisions.

It is an open-ended and flexible tool that remains focused on enablement and strengths - facilitating determination of Care Act eligibility in a structured format adhering to the principles of the Act.

Needs Profile

The Needs Profile is the tool that facilitates calculation of an estimated budget and other accompanying outputs via Imosphere’s Formulate solution - and is therefore only used by local authorities who have purchased Formulate.

The questions in the tool are quantitive rather than qualitative, as the answers are designed to be used by an algorithm.

The Needs Profile follows the same domain-by-domain approach as the SANA and has been designed to be proportionate, so that where a Care Act outcome area was not found to be eligible in the SANA, questions about this area do not need to be completed in the Needs Profile.

Care & Support Plan

This tool guides the care and support planning process following determination of eligibility and an estimated budget.

All relevant Care Act principles have been reflected to promote local compliance and the right conversations.

Care & Support Plan Review

Where a person goes on to have a Care and Support Plan, the SANA contains an optional ‘Review supplement’ at the beginning of the form which can be completed following a review to capture how well their support is working. The review process can then either stop there, or the SANA assessment questions can be opened where the review has indicated the need for a reassessment

Self-assessment

New in Version 9 of the Toolset is the Self-assessment. The content of this tool has been designed to be replicated within a ‘Citizen portal’ for LAs who will be using one (or are implementing one).

The Self-assessment tool has been developed in two parts:

  • Part One: Consideration of strengths and community assets and determination of eligible needs (including screening of financial assets level, capturing whether needs appear eligible for each Care Act domain, and capturing of personal outcomes)

  • Part Two: Citizen-facing Needs Profile (the questions required to calculate an estimated Personal Budget)

Note: Imosphere does not supply an electronic system in which the self-assessment can be used.



Tools for carers

The Strengths-based Toolset also caters for unpaid carers - including the following:

  • Carer’s Strengths and Needs Assessment (SANA)
  • Carer’s Needs Profile
  • Carer’s Support Plan
  • Carer’s Support Plan Review