SDS Option 4
This is the option where you can take control and responsibility for some parts of your support, but you leave the council to sort out the rest for you.
It is a mixture of Options 1, 2 and 3.
Sometimes it’s known as Mix & Match.
How does it work?
Option 4 is designed around you. This means you can take responsibility for the parts you want to and feel able to control.
This gives you lots of flexibility.
After your assessment, your social worker will create a support plan with you, to agree what you need support to help you achieve.
You then choose which parts of your support you want to have responsibility for, and which parts you are happy to leave to the council to sort out.
If you choose to use a Direct Payment for some parts of your support, this will mean you will handle money directly.
Find out more about this in the article: Option 1
Self-Directed Support Options
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Option One: A Direct Payment
You can use this to choose and control your support e.g. employing a personal assistant
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Option Two: Individual Service Fund
You choose what support you would like and the Local Authority makes the arrangement
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Option Three: Direct Service
The Local Authority selects the support and arranges it.
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Option Four: Mix & Match
You choose a mix of the available options that works for you.
Who can choose Option 4?
Everyone who is eligible for formal social care support through their council should be able to choose Option 4. This includes adults, children and young people, and people with any type of impairment or support need.
Option 4 must also be offered to unpaid carers who are eligible for support in their own right.
The only exceptions are that you cannot use a Direct Payment for part of your support if your council thinks:
your safety would be put at risk by being given money directly
you need long term residential care or nursing care
you have had Option 1 in the past and it had to be stopped for some reason.
Self-Directed Support Guide for British Sign Language (BSL) users
What does Option 4 involve?
With Option 4, you have the flexibility to choose from a mixture of some or all the other options (see below) in a way that will meet your support needs and agreed outcomes:
Option 1 - Direct Payment
Option 2 - Directing Your Support
Option 3 - Arranged Support
This means that you can pick those parts of your support needs that you want to have most control over and what you want to leave to the Council to decide on your behalf.
By choosing Option 4 you have not lost any choice and control over your support. Your practitioner will still support and engage with you about how you would like your support to be delivered to meet your needs and will keep you informed about your chosen arrangements.
You can choose to mix the options in any way you want as long as there is an agreed plan for meeting your identified outcomes and support needs. Your practitioner will provide you with ongoing support in reviewing and managing the options you have chosen.
For example: During the assessment and planning process you may have already identified that Option 3, Arranged Support is meeting most of your support needs and agreed outcomes and you want to continue with this arrangement. It may be the case however that you want some different staffing support to enable you to participate in community activities and so employ a Personal Assistant (Option 1 - Direct Payment) for this purpose. Your Option 3 and Option 1 choices taken together become an Option 4 package.
Download our SDS Resources
Download the assessment process
How to prepare for an assessment
Download our top tips for accessing SDS
About Option 4
Your most asked questions
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This Option is not very widely used, so some social workers are not experienced in how it works. They may need to get help to set it up.
This should not prevent you from using Option 4 if you want to.
Here at CoWL we can offer loads of support around this.
We’ll help you think about what parts of your support you might want to take responsibility for, and help you work with your social worker to set this up.
More questions?