F05J 04 (MHG3) Enable individuals with mental health needs to administer their

financial affairs

About this Unit

This Unit is about supporting individuals in managing their financial affairs by enabling them to make payments and claim and collect any allowances and benefits due. The support provided is appropriate to the individual and their abilities, with the aim of helping the individual to be as self-managing and independent as possible.

The importance must be stressed of respecting individuals’ wishes as to how their finances should be managed (for example, their decision to claim or not to claim benefits). You must be aware of your own feelings about the appropriateness of such decisions and manage these feelings in a way that still enables you to offer support to the individual. The Unit also requires you to be able to respond appropriately to situations which may arise when the individual wishes to take actions which are illegal or against agency policy.

In providing support to individuals to administer their financial affairs, the individual concerned must be capable of understanding what is happening and must agree to the arrangements made. Any such informal arrangements will cease to be valid if and when the individual loses capacity. Where you are involved in handling money for the individual, therefore, it is essential to check first whether anyone has been given legal authority to deal with the individual’s finances. If an appointee, attorney or receiver has been appointed, they will have authority to deal with the individual’s personal financial affairs within the scope of the power given to them and all related discussions must be discussed with them.

Scope

The scope is here to give you guidance on possible areas to be covered in this Unit. The terms in this section give you a list of options linked with items in the performance criteria. You need to provide evidence for any option related to your work area.

Benefits and allowances including:

  • statutory and social allowances
  • wages and salaries
  • discretionary and non-discretionary grants
  • maintenance payments

Encourage individuals - enable individuals to administer their financial affairs by encouraging them to:

  • exercise informed choice and control their own budget
  • pay bills by their preferred method
  • obtain and keep receipts for bills for later reference
  • query any discrepancies in bills with those concerned and find a solution to the problem that is acceptable to them
  • find out about and claim benefits and allowances they may be entitled to
  • claim and collect any benefits and allowances themselves
  • keep their money in a safe and secure place

Method - payment methods including:

  • cheque
  • standing orders and direct debits
  • giro and postal orders
  • cash
  • HP and credit cards

Payment - type of payment may be:

  • one-off
  • ongoing

Records - could include details of any benefits and allowances collected, or payments made, on the individual’s behalf

SPECIFIC Evidence Requirements for this unit
Simulation:
  • Simulation is NOT permitted for any part of this unit.

The following forms of evidence ARE mandatory:
  • Direct observation: Your assessor must observe you in real work activities which provide a significant amount of the performance criteria for most elements in this unit. For example how you work with individual’s to identify and agree the support they require. The skills you demonstrate in communicating with them and assessing their needs.
  • Reflective Accounts/professional discussion: These are recordings of your real work practice, which show how you provide individuals with information on relevant services. You will need to describe and explain the methods you use to gain information and how you would seek additional support where necessary.

Competence of performance and knowledge could also be demonstrated using a variety of evidence from the following:
  • Questioning/professional discussion: May be used to provide evidence of knowledge, legislation, policies and procedures which cannot be fully evidenced through direct observation or reflective accounts. In addition the assessor or expert witness may also ask questions to clarify aspects of your practice.
  • Expert Witness testimony: Can be a confirmation/authentication of the activities described in your evidence which your assessor has not seen. This could be provided by a work colleague or an external individual you deal with on a regular basis.
  • Products: For this unit, products may include records and reports related to the treatment of an individual. You need not put confidential records in your portfolio; they can remain where they are normally stored and be checked by your assessor and internal verifier. If you do include them in your portfolio they should be anonymised to ensure confidentiality
  • Assignments/projects: you may have studied rights and responsibilities related to your job role or have received training on welfare benefits. You may have completed some formally assessed work as part of an in service or external course, this may provide evidence of some parts of the knowledge and understanding which your assessor can use.

GENERAL GUIDANCE
  • Prior to commencing this unit you should agree and complete an assessment plan with your assessor which details the assessment methods you will be using, and the tasks you will be undertaking to demonstrate your competence.
  • Evidence must be provided for ALL of the performance criteria, ALL of the knowledge and the parts of the scope that are relevant to your job role.
  • The evidence must reflect the policies and procedures of your workplace and be linked to current legislation, values and the principles of best practice within the Health Sector. This will include the National Service Standards for your areas of work and the individuals you care for.
  • All evidence must relate to your own work practice.

Knowledge specification for this unit

Competent practice is a combination of the application of skills and knowledge informed by values and ethics. This specification details the knowledge and understanding required to carry out competent practice in the performance described in this Unit.

When using this specification it is important to read the knowledge requirements in relation to expectations and requirements of your job role.

You need to provide evidence for ALL knowledge points listed below. There are a variety of ways this can be achieved so it is essential that you read the ‘knowledge evidence’ section of the Assessment Guidance.

You need to show that you know, understand and can apply in practice: / Enter Evidence Numbers
Legislation, policy and good practice
  1. A working knowledge of why it may be necessary to record details of payments and keep receipts for future reference

  1. A working knowledge of why concerns regarding the individual and their money should be passed on and the constraints on this in terms of confidentiality

  1. A working knowledge of why the individual’s rights must be respected if they do not wish to claim benefits and allowances

  1. A working knowledge of the reasons for completing benefit/claim forms in full and the effect which incomplete information may have on the individual’s claim

  1. A working knowledge of why the individual should be encouraged to be as self-managing as possible even if this has attendant risks

  1. A working knowledge of why the individual should be encouraged to collect payments within the relevant timescales

  1. A working knowledge of why in institutional settings a disclaimer form will be necessary for those who do not wish to keep money in a safe and secure place.

  1. A working knowledge of why discrepancies and loss should be reported

Services and products
  1. A working knowledge of sources of advice and help in financial matters

  1. A working knowledge of where to access information on the benefits and allowances available

  1. A working knowledge of where further assistance may be sought

  1. A working knowledge of where information on payments and benefits can be obtained and updated

  1. A working knowledge of where to get information on individual’s rights and the payments due

Factors which influence what you do
  1. A working knowledge of your role and responsibilities to the individual and the agency in disclosing information when the individual wishes to do something which is illegal or against agency policies

  1. A working knowledge of the potential conflicts which may arise (for example where the individual chooses not to pay for a television licence) and your role in these situations

  1. A working knowledge of your own feelings regarding the appropriateness of certain actions and the effect which this may have on the support which you offer to the individual

  1. A working knowledge of your role in ensuring that the documentation is filled in correctly and when you should step in and say it is incorrect or not neat enough

  1. A working knowledge of the relationship between method of payment (e.g. order book, cheque), timescales and budgeting

How to achieve important outcomes
  1. A working knowledge of methods of budgeting and their appropriateness to individuals

  1. A working knowledge of methods of managing debts such as deferred payments, split payments, charitable support

  1. A working knowledge of the ways in which individuals can be supported to make an informed decision if they do not wish to complete fully a claims form

  1. A working knowledge of the actions you should take if the individual deliberately misleads or misinforms

  1. A working knowledge of methods of cashing cheques for those who do not have bank accounts

  1. A working knowledge of methods of storing money safely for the individual concerned

Performance criteria
DO / RA / EW / Q / P / WT
  1. agree the support required with the individual and encourage them to be as self-managing as possible

  1. encourage individuals to administer their financial affairs

  1. identify and agree the individual’s payment obligations with them

  1. explain possible methods of reducing bills and improving financial management, in a manner, and at a level and pace, appropriate to the individual

  1. clearly explain and account for payments where the individual questions the amount of money spent

  1. discuss problems and concerns regarding individual’s payments, and their ability to pay, with the individual and find workable solutions

  1. report to an appropriate person as soon as possible where there are continuing problems or concerns

  1. disclose information about the individual’s finances only to those agreed by the individual.

  1. obtain the information needed by the individual from an appropriate source where they are unable to find out about benefits and allowances themselves

  1. ensure that the documents for the claim are appropriate to the type of benefit or allowance

  1. support individuals in completing the relevant details on claim documents so that they are complete, accurate and legible

  1. seek further advice from an appropriate source where you are unsure of details relating to a benefit or allowance.

  1. remind individuals that benefits and allowances need to be received or collected within the appropriate timescale

DO = Direct ObservationRA = Reflective AccountQ = Questions

EW = Expert Witness P = Product (Work)WT = Witness Testimony

Performance criteria
DO / RA / EW / Q / P / WT
  1. keep complete records of the individual’s funds when required by the nature of the care setting and make these available for inspection by an authorised person

  1. report any loss of cash or valuables to the appropriate person without delay.

DO = Direct ObservationRA = Reflective AccountQ = Questions

EW = Expert Witness P = Product (Work)WT = Witness Testimony

To be completed by the Candidate
I SUBMIT THIS AS A COMPLETE UNIT
Candidate’s name: ……………………………………………
Candidate’s signature: ………………………………………..
Date: …………………………………………………………..
To be completed by the Assessor
It is a shared responsibility of both the candidate and assessor to claim evidence, however, it is the responsibility of the assessor to ensure the accuracy/validity of each evidence claim and make the final decision.
I certify that sufficient evidence has been produced to meet all the elements, pcS AND KNOWLEDGE OF THIS UNIT.
Assessor’s name: …………………………………………….
Assessor’s signature: ………………………………………....
Date: …………………………………………………………..
Assessor/Internal Verifier Feedback
To be completed by the Internal Verifier if applicable
This section only needs to be completed if the Unit is sampled by the Internal Verifier
Internal Verifier’s name: ……………………………………………
Internal Verifier’s signature: ………………………………………..
Date: ……………………………………..…………………………..

1

Unit: F05J 04 (MHG3) Enable individuals with mental health needs to administer their financial affairs