Any Cumberland resident may ask for initial advice from CHIA. Initial advice is free and can help you to work out what services you need and are eligible for. CHIA have caseworkers to support applicants through the process of adapting their homes.

For households who need professional help in designing and delivering works to their home (disabled adaptations or repairs and improvements), there is a charge for CHIA. If you are eligible for grant funding, this will cover the costs of the CHIA service.

If you are awarded any discretionary funding under this policy, we will require you to use CHIA to make sure your works are delivered appropriately.

If you are only awarded mandatory Disabled Facilities Grants funding, you do not have to use CHIA, but we would recommend using the service to make sure your adaptations are delivered well.

If you organise your own works, the Council will assess your needs; advice you on which works are eligible for funding; determine your DFG applications. If a grant is awarded, we will check builders’ estimates before awarding grant, and check final invoices or receipts, and installers’ certificates, before making any payment to you or to your contractor. We do not pay for works in advance.

CHIA takes a “Housing Solutions” approach to working with people with disabilities, their families and carers. This means that we will explore with you what different ways that may be available to meet your needs, and those of your carers.

We encourage people to think about longer-term solutions as well as things that are needed now, to provide immediate relief.

Longer-term solutions might include one or more of the following:

• moving to a more suitable home, if your current home is hard to adapt, or not suited to the longer-term needs of the individual / household
• options such as moving in with (or buying a home with) other family members
• talking to your landlord about options, if you rent from a housing association
• applying for sheltered housing or extra care housing
• for a family with a child or young person with a disability or additional needs, considering what their longer-term needs and options may be

As these longer -term solutions can take some time to put in place, we can support you with some more immediate solutions. This may include help from the handyperson, referral for temporary aids and equipment, temporary installations or adaptations to the home, and referrals to other services for further help.

If you expect to need to move at some point, we can provide support with this process. Mandatory DFG grants can be used to help with the costs of adaptations to the home you move to, as well as the costs of moving. See Appendix 3 for more details.

You can contact us for advice, and to ask for assistance. If you need a professional referral for adaptations, we can arrange for the Occupational Therapy team to visit you.

Referrals can be made by family members, friends or professionals such as health workers or social care staff. If you wish to refer someone, please discuss it with the person you are referring to for assistance first. We can advise you as to what information we require, depending on the service you need.

Cumberland Council believes in the delivery of excellent public services and putting our customers first. If you are not satisfied with services you receive under this policy, please speak to the caseworker first, and allow them the opportunity to try to put things right. Complaints may be about any aspect of our service, including decisions on funding.

If you wish to complain, you can do so by completing the on-line complaints form, or emailing: complaints@cumberland.gov.uk or by telephone to 01228 479770

Complaints will not normally be accepted about matters that happened more than 12 months earlier. In exceptional circumstances and where adequate reasons are given, a complaint can be considered outside of this timescale, please discuss this with the complaints team.