Date published: 16 April, 2024
Date last updated: 16 April, 2024
Children and young people, Learning disabilities and autism

Dynamic Support Register (DSR) Care Education and Treatment Review (CETR) young person leaflets – professionals guidance sheet

It is a young person’s decision whether to be added to the Dynamic Support Register (DSR) or to have a Care Education and Treatment Review (C(E)TR).

The DSR CETR young person leaflets have been developed to help young people (aged 16 to 25 years) make an informed decision about these two things.

Context to the leaflets

Young people who have experience of DSR and C(E)TR told us:

  • that they don’t like the concept of DSR because they feel they are having something done to them.
  • they don’t like the term ‘register’ – it makes them think of negative registers such as safeguarding or sex registers. Being on a register feels like a negative thing.
  • they do not know what will be different if they say ‘yes’ to being on a DSR or having a C(E)TR.

Professionals who work with young people told us:

  • that there is nothing to help explain in simple terms what a DSR and C(E)TR are about and what difference they can make to a young person’s life.
  • that many young people choose not to be involved in their own C(E)TR so it becomes less person centred and risks losing all the benefits of “nothing about us without us”.

These leaflets are aimed to empower young people to better understand the process and benefits of deciding whether to be on a DSR, have a C(E)TR and be actively involved in this process.

The leaflets have been coproduced and piloted with young people who have experience of DSRs and C(E)TRs.

This guidance aims to enable you as a professional to make the most of the leaflet with the young people you support.

C(E)TR or CTR? If the young person is not in education at the time, they will have a CTR because there is no education to review. Education should still be considered as part of the CTR.

Please use the leaflets and consider how you can work in partnership to promote them and achieve hard copies for the young people in your area.

How to use the leaflets

To support young people make an informed decision:

  • Share the leaflets with young people who are eligible to be on the DSR and/or to have a C(E)TR.
  • The young person may want to look at the leaflets on their own or with support. If they want support or have questions, who would they choose to help them? How can you support this to happen?

For support staff, advocates and families:

  • To aid conversations about the benefits of the DSR and C(E)TR with the young person.
  • To inform the personalised best interest decision making process when the young person does not have capacity.

To inform colleagues across the system of what DSRs and C(E)TRs are:

  • They introduce professionals working with autistic people and those with a learning disability about DSRs, C(E)TRs and other related services that can prevent people going into hospital or help them get out of hospital.
  • They can be used as resources to include in staff induction/training packs.
  • Who else could you share this with to increase their knowledge of DSRs and C(E)TRs?

With your support, these leaflets have the potential to make a positive impact on young people’s lives – so they feel more informed, involved, and confident to speak up.

Tips and signposts

Be prepared:

If the DSR is called something different in your area, use that term with the young person.

Consent:

  • DSR and C(E)TR require consent from each young person if they have capacity.
  • The leaflets do not refer to capacity. Use the resources you have locally to help assess whether it is appropriate to share the leaflets with each young person, and how consent or best interest decisions can best be approached if the young person does not have capacity.

Personalising the DSR and C(E)TR leaflets:

  • The leaflets have been written in plain English. Follow any communication plans to adapt the content to best meet each young person’s needs.
  • The leaflets aim to offer enough information for the young person to make an informed decision without overwhelming them. Respond to each young person, answer their questions and where needed, help them access the links to more information.
  • Some young people may have specific questions such as ‘what does an independent expert by experience mean?’ or ‘who can see my C(E)TR planner?’

Support the young person to think about how they want to store any extra information they find out and help them to achieve this.

  • There may be restrictions to a young person’s C(E)TR choices, for example a person they want to invite may not be appropriate to attend due to safeguarding processes taking place at the same time. Be mindful of what challenges this may cause the young person and consider the best way to approach the conversation about their choices.

Know the benefits that being on the DSR and having a CETR can make:

  • Consider other young people you know who have been on the DSR and had a CETR. What did they say was good about them? What impact did it have? What can you share with this young person to help them decide?
  • Emphasise the elements that are likely to be most important to this young person.

This might include the increased chance to stay at home, to have people discuss with them their whole quality of life, choice of who to invite to the meeting and to have the chance to tell everyone what they want and feel.

Someone they trust:

  • The leaflets refer to the young person talking to ‘someone they trust’ to help them make decisions about being on the DSR and having a C(E)TR. This might be a family member, member of staff, advocate, friend, or someone else. Consider what needs to happen to enable the young person to have time with their trusted person to work through these important decisions.

Do you need to support the young person to contact an advocacy service?

Publication reference: PRN0017

Date published: 16 April, 2024
Date last updated: 16 April, 2024