An operating model for personal budget scheme

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to design an operating model for personal budget scheme in South Korea. To do this, following researches were performed: First, related literature investigation was done for the legal foundation and the current state of social service implementation; Second, for reference of operating model of personal budget scheme, similar systems in home and abroad were reviewed. As for the external cases, personal budget schemes were examined of the UK, Australia and Ontario in Canada, while the internal cases were studied by interviewing the staffs in the projects in private and public area; Third, to predict the outcome of personal budget scheme, virtual care plans were planned for the current service users under the presumption of implementation of such budget scheme. Through a two-round Delphi survey, the category of social services was suggested where personal budget can be spent. Based on these results, an operating model was designed for the personal budget scheme; Fourth, by considering the legal issues for introduction of the personal budget scheme, tasks for legislation were suggested. The differential points of this study are investigation of similar projects implemented in Korea, establishment of virtual care plans by assuming the introduction of the personal budget scheme, and suggestion of a concrete operating model of personal budget scheme. However, not all the cases showed clear outcomes in the virtual care plans under the condition of personal budget use, and the effectiveness of actual implementation remained unknown. Also, the suggested range of social services where personal budget can be spent was too narrow due to the restrictions of current service systems. Beyond these limitations of this study, it is necessary to carry out a follow-up study that can demonstrate the actual outcomes of the personal budget scheme with empirical evidences.