Will Social Services Take A Disabled Person Kid

with Liz Walker, Care Services Emergency Care Co-ordinator and Safeguarding Lead for Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children

Know your child's rights to social care support

Social intendance can conjure lots of different images in parents' minds. Often we relate it to "social services" and the fearfulness that someone will swoop in and accept our child abroad- and for parents unjustly defendant of Made or Induced Illness (FII), the fear has skilful cause. All the same, if your kid is disabled, they may qualify for services from the local authority's children's social care section that would benefit the whole family.

When you're at breaking signal because of the stress and burnout that comes with fighting for services to help care for a disabled child, being able to access respite, or short break services, or get help from a paid carer, can literally exist a lifeline. If your child is going through an Education, Health and Care procedure, your kid is entitled to an assessment for social care services, though many parents find their child is refused (unlawfully), with a curt "non known to social services" annotation.

The disabled children'southward clemency, Newlife has recently produced a helpful booklet about social care. Today on SNJ, Liz Walker, Care Services Emergency Intendance Co-ordinator and Safeguarding Lead for Newlife the Clemency for Disabled Children provides an insight to help you understand your rights, what services and support you're entitled to and how to admission them.

Your child's social care rights, by Liz Walker of Newlife

Having worked in Children'southward Services for over 15 years I have seen first-manus how changes to social care have impacted on disabled children and their families. Reducing budgets and increasing need for services, together with rise eligibility criteria, have resulted in families having to accept the lead in sourcing services that may have previously been offered every bit standard for their child.

This can often hateful that those families well-nigh in need of services don't have the support they need until they're at crisis betoken. Through our helpline nosotros regularly provide support to families pushed to the brink due to sleep impecuniousness as a result of their kid'south additional needs throughout the nighttime. Families often approach organisations like Newlife as a concluding resort because they just don't know where else to turn, or because they were directed to our services by their frontline professional who is limited past the restraints of their role.

One way a disabled kid and their family can receive essential care services is through an assessment of needs by social workers, merely this route is often overlooked or discounted due to the stigma attached to child protection which leads to families missing out on back up.

Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children frequently speaks with families who don't know what social care services are available or what they are entitled to. They are too unaware of how social workers tin can support their family's health and wellbeing.

Nosotros take seen how assessments can piece of work to the benefit of a family and the positive changes they can experience such as referrals for respite, adaptations to the family abode or support for siblings in caring roles. The local potency have 45 days to consummate your cess merely if the needs are urgent support tin exist implemented with immediate effect.

Newlife can support a family requesting a social intendance assessment

Newlife will direct families to their local say-so, where advisable, and supports them in making a request for an assessment. This is often the start step in gaining access to long term back up only it tin exist a lengthy process that requires significant input, both physically and mentally, from parents already at breaking betoken. As a clemency we can meet the firsthand need through the provision of specialist equipment giving families the breathing infinite they sometimes demand in lodge to pursue the long term solution.

It is not uncommon for united states of america to hear from families who have been declined a social care assessment because their kid is not 'disabled plenty,' or who take been told that beds for behaviour needs are not provided through statutory services. In many cases we are able to successfully support families to challenge these statements and ensure they gain the services they are entitled to; services the local authorization accept a legal duty to provide in response to an assessed and identified need.

First steps to aid under Department 17

Don't be afraid of talking to Social Services. In terms of safeguarding, the role of a social worker is much broader than focusing on protecting children from maltreatment and suspected abuse. It too includes ensuring the full needs of a disabled child and family unit is met and can be a vital member of the team effectually the child.

Asking social workers for a Department 17 assessment (nether the Children'south Act 1989) can be the outset step to accessing a wide range of help, such as practical help in the home, help with travel or access to leisure opportunities, which can improve life for your child and the entire family.

Social workers can also support applications to charities, like Newlife, in order to aid y'all receive essential disability equipment to keep your child safe, be more comfortable or aid them fulfil their true potential. However, while local authorities have a legal responsibleness to assist families of disabled children with wellness and social care needs, knowing your rights, what to await and whatever potential pitfalls from the start can be hugely beneficial.

What to remember when applying for a Section 17 assessment:

You tin can ask the duty social worker on your local potency's Disabled Children's Team for an cess.
The local potency should get back to you lot in one working twenty-four hours.
If your child is disabled, they are legally entitled to a Section 17 assessment and there is no minimum age requirement.
Y'all don't demand to provide a formal diagnosis and this tin't be used equally a reason for refusing to carry out an assessment.
Blanket bans on whatever statutory provided service are unlawful
Criteria allowing you lot access to services varies from i local authority to another.
If you lot aren't happy with the outcome of the assessment, y'all tin can appeal if you feel they have made a mistake.

One time an assessment has been carried out at that place are several outcomes to consider. Information technology may be decided at that place is no need for services and your case may be closed. If information technology'due south decided there is a need and services to encounter this should be provided, then a care programme should exist agreed between social services and yous and your family unit to come across those needs.

Eligibility and complaints

Even so, information technology may be that although a demand is identified, yous don't fit the local eligibility criteria. In this instance, the local authority has no bodily obligation to provide or suit the service – only they should withal try their best to meet the need, for case by contacting a local charity or voluntary agency for help.

You should be given clear reasons for their decision which can help if you lot want to challenge their decision using the local authority's complaints process.

If your complaint isn't resolved at the first stage, you lot can asking an investigation exist carried out. The next stride subsequently this is to request that a console consider your complaint, merely if you are non happy with the outcome yous can asking a review panel to consider the complaint and make recommendations.

If you are unhappy with the effect you lot can then contact the Local Government Ombudsman at www.lgo.org.uk / 0300 061 0614. They will look to run into if the local authority is at 'mistake' and has done something wrong such as 'maladministration', which tin can be seen equally causing injustice. A few examples of what this could include are delays, failure to provide information, inadequate consultation, misleading or inaccurate statements.

If you accept exhausted the complaints procedure you can pursue a judicial review – but this volition require legal assist. For data almost legal aid visit www.gov.britain/legal-assistance Other avenues which may exist able to offering support include your local MP or Healthwatch England, the consumer body for users of health and social care services. Visit world wide web.healthwatch.co.uk/complaint for more than data.

Newlife have produced Social Care Revealed, a guide to requesting a section 17 assessment, which tin can be downloaded at https://issuu.com/newlifecharity/docs/socialcare_final

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Founder of Special Needs Jungle. (She/Her) Parent of two young adults with autism. New grandma. Tania, who is autistic, is a leading Send advisor, working with the Special Education Consortium, Ofsted, and Whole School SEND. She is also an Informational Board member of the Royal Holloway, University of London Centre of Gene and Cell Therapy and an Editorial Board member of Springer Nature Gene Therapy journal.
Tania is an experienced broadcast and print announcer & author. She also runs a PR, web & social media consultancy, SocialOro Media.
Tania is a rare disease & chronic pain patient advocate with Ehlers Danlos syndrome.