Support workers may assist with personal care, household activities, appointments or participation outside the home. An FCA needs to describe what that assistance involves and why it is required.
The number of funded hours is useful context, but it does not explain the work on its own.
Describe the tasks and timing
Explain what the worker does, when assistance is needed and which parts the person manages themselves. A reminder to start an activity, physical assistance and supervision are different forms of support.
Timing may matter as much as a weekly total. Help needed at a particular point in the morning is not necessarily interchangeable with the same amount of time later in the day.
Where a staffing ratio is relevant, the report needs reasons for it. A ratio should not be repeated from a current arrangement without considering what the assessment shows.
Separate allocation from delivery
A plan may fund assistance that has not been used because a suitable worker was unavailable. Alternatively, family members may provide help beyond the paid arrangement. The assessment should distinguish funding allocated, assistance actually delivered and needs that remain unmet.
Unused funding does not, by itself, show that assistance was unnecessary. Nor does a fully used budget, by itself, establish that every hour should continue unchanged. The reasons need to be examined.
Use worker information appropriately
With consent, worker notes or a contribution from someone familiar with the activities may help describe what happens over time. Specific observations are more useful than a general statement that the person needs more support.
Identify who recorded the information and the period it covers. A worker may see only some activities or particular days. Their account should be considered alongside the participant's perspective and other relevant evidence.
There is no need to arrange a failure by withholding essential assistance. The report can describe the support being provided and explain the evidence for what would happen without it.
Consider the person's preferences
Support should enable the activities and choices that matter to the person. The assessment may need to consider privacy, consistency, communication and how much involvement the person wants in different tasks.
A person can develop a skill while still needing assistance with another part of the activity. Recommendations should not treat all paid help as temporary or assume that independence always means completing every task alone.
What the report can recommend
Where supported by the evidence, an FCA can explain the purpose, frequency and intensity of assistance. It should identify relevant alternatives, limitations and reasons for review.
The NDIA decides what to fund. A recommendation does not itself create funding, engage a worker or change an existing service agreement. Those next steps need to be considered separately.