Case Scenario:
Mason Williams, dob 3/4/1998, lives at 18 Cornish Villa, in Thornton Heath. The bungalow has been purpose bult for him since he was knocked off his bike, whilst working part-time as a courier. He had been studying Accountancy at University and had planned to become a Chartered Accountant. He gained substantial damages as the driver of the other vehicle was found to be completely to blame. Mason suffered a traumatic brain injury, spinal damage, and the loss of his right foot. He now uses a wheelchair for mobility. He has problems with his short-term memory, attention, planning and initiating activities. He can understand concepts in theory, but when it comes to real world application he is easily distracted and impulsive.
He comes from an Afro-Caribbean background and has a very supported and protective family. His parents were devasted by what happened to him and are still grieving the how their son used to be. They want to do all they can to support him. His younger sister Sasha (17) thinks they are overly protective and worries that they risk him pushing them away. His older brother Matt (27) manages his financial settlement. He gives Mason an allowance every week. However, recently he has found that Mason has been running out of money and doesn't seem to be able to account for what has happened to it.
Mason has live-in carers and seems to have developed a strong attachment to one of them, Sheryl aged 19. He is always talking about her and gets annoyed when she is not on shift. He has become short and sometimes rude to the other three carers who rotate their shifts with her, complaining they are not as good as her. He is very close to Sasha and confides in her that he is in love with Sheryl. He has always been generous and will often buy the carers small gifts. However, Sasha is worried that he seems to be spending more and more money on her. Recently, she found out that he had taken out a credit card and bought Sheryl an expensive coat. She informed Matt who spoke to the credit card company and found that Mason had bult up a debt of £2000. When he spoke to Mason, Mason admitted that he has several credit cards, he wasn't certain how many. Matt found he had three other credit cards and an additional £4000 of debt on them. Most of the money seemed to have been spent on Sheryl. Matt seemed unconcerned as he said: 'I'm good for it."
Mason's father Jospeh confronted Sheryl in Mason's presence. Mason became very angry, he said he loved her and she said she loved him and that although the gifts are nice it is not about the gifts. Mason said that he thought it was about time he was able to manage his own money with Sheryl's help. Sheryl nodded at this and said that they must do more to empower Mason. The family are very distressed they want to support Mason but they want to keep him safe. Mary, Mason's mother, decides they should speak to the Social Services Department.
Assessment of Mason's mental capacity
Explaining how to apply Making Safeguarding
The following interventions with Mason:
- Advocacy
- Family group conferencing
- Positive risk taking