This two day training takes place on 28th and 29th April. 

This two - day course will provide participants with the knowledge and skills required to implement the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act into everyday practice. As this legislation is a key element in the ratification in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities it also aims to support the learner to develop an understanding of the Convention. In doing so it focuses on the importance of building decision making capacity and the concept of will and preference.

Health and Social Care Practitioners support people to make some of the most significant decisions in their lives with the potential to make life altering differences. By using the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act services can makes those life changing decisions possible for everyone not just for those who make decisions independently. This course is intended to give participants the skills and knowledge to implement the Act into their practice, and ensure they are compliant with the law, as well as ensuring the best outcomes for the people they support. Placing the values and wishes of the person at the forefront and affording the person dignity of risk is common across services however using a process as directed by law can be a daunting prospect. This course aims to provide frontline practitioners with the confidence to interact with the law on a daily basis.
Participants will examine case scenarios relevant to their role and apply them within the context of the guiding principles and the functional assessment of capacity. Participants will also explore the decision - making arrangements.

On completion of this course participants will:

1. Recognise how the Wards of Court system will change;
2. Appreciate the change in culture and practice which will be required;
3. Understand this Act through the lens of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
4. Understand and put into practice terms such as reasonable accommodation, supported decision making and legal capacity.
5. Know the purpose of the Act;
6. Understand how to apply the Guiding Principles in practice;
7. Understand the importance of the following statement and learn strategies for acting on it " A person is not treated as unable to make a decision unless all practicable steps to help him to do have been taken without success;”

8. Appreciate the concept of will and preference;
9. Move from the position of acting on the basis of best interest to acting on the basis of will and preference;
10. Understand the role of the functional assessment of capacity within the Act;
11. Develop the skills and knowledge to apply the functional assessment of capacity in practice;
12. Understand the decision - making arrangements such as the Decision - Making Assistant Arrangement, a Co-decision Making Arrangement and Decision-Making Representative.

Facilitator: Josephine McLoughlin is the director of Legal Capacity Training Ltd, a company which inspires health and social care practitioners to embrace the values and principles of the Convention. Before devoting her work to Legal Capacity Training, Josephine worked as a qualified Social Care Leader for 20 years. In 2015 she completed an LL.M in International and Comparative Disability Law and Policy from the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUIG. Upon completion of her studies she was awarded the CDLP Gold Medal for Excellence. Josephine continues to build on her skills and knowledge and recently completed a Certificate in Capacity and Decision Making Support with the Law Society of Ireland.

Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 Course
Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 Course
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