Care and support

Disabled Children and Their Families: When we can help

A Guide To Who Qualifies for Support From Hertfordshire Children, Schools and Families Service.

Disabled children have the same rights as other children. They
should be able to grow up with the same opportunities to lead
fulfilling lives.

Some children, whose disabilities are not very severe, can manage everyday life with help from their families and friends. Others, whose disabilities are more severe, need a great deal of help and care.

Children, Schools and Families (CSF) offers information, advice and, where necessary, practical help when a child’s daily living is substantially effected by a physical disability, sight or hearing impairments, a learning disability, a communication disorder (including autism) or chronic physical illness.

As we have to work within a set budget we may not be able to
provide all the help that people ask for. We always assess needs
before we arrange services and we give priority as fairly as we can to those who are in the greatest need of support.

The grids on pages 8-11 (of the leaflet) show how we work out when we can arrange help for disabled children and their families.

Disabled children need to develop social skills and be as
independent as they can. This means they may need opportunities
to enjoy activities separately from their families.

Parents sometimes need regular support and help because they find there are not enough hours in the day to look after their disabled child and still give their other children the attention they need.

Others can usually manage but need support from time to time to
enable them to take a break from the pressures of full time caring or to help them cope in an emergency.

When we assess the needs of disabled children we take into
account the needs of their parents and other children in their
immediate family.

We will arrange and fund services when there is a risk to a child’s health or development, or where the demands of coping with a child’s disability put the health and welfare of the immediate family at significant risk.

For example we would arrange support when:

• A severely disabled baby screams all the time because of a
  medical condition and his parents need regular breaks to help
  them cope.
• A parent cannot wash, dress or toilet their disabled child because
  a back injury prevents them from lifting, and no other family
  members can help.
• It is impossible for a parent to attend to a child who needs
  complex specialised feeding and see that other children in the
  family dress, have breakfast and get to school.
• The pressures of coping with a child’s very challenging behaviour put a parent’s mental health under severe stress.
• Physically disabled youngsters cannot take part in mainstream activities because of their special needs, and they do not have social activities outside school and their immediate families.
• Parents do not have time together as a couple because they
  cannot find a babysitter or childminder willing and able to cope
  with their child’s complex care needs.
  We do not arrange and fund support for disabled children and their families when there is little risk to their health and development.

We would NOT provide support when:

• A child is leading as normal a life as possible and taking part in the same activities as other children in the same age group.
• The family can cope easily with the child’s care needs.
• Managing the child’s care does not limit the development and
  activities of other children in the family or significantly affect the parents’ personal and social lives.

We will always offer advice and information about other sources of support when disabled children and their families do not qualify for help provided by a CSF Social Work Team.

We know how difficult it can be to fit family life around care needs of a disabled child. If we cannot provide support we will tell parents about other organisations who may be able to help if, for example:

• A couple can never both watch their child’s Saturday morning
  sports matches because one of them has to stay with their
  disabled child.
• A mother does not have time to herself outside school hours
  because she has no-one else to look after her disabled child.
• Other children in the family miss out because the care needs of the disabled child make it difficult to arrange activities outside home and school.

The Hertfordshire County Council Customer Service Centre has
information about local services and voluntary groups for disabled children and their families. Our staff can also put parents in touch with play schemes and out of school clubs which provide social and leisure opportunities for disabled children and/or their brothers and sisters.

People who do not at present qualify for support provided by a CSF social work team may qualify for help in the future.
We know that needs and situations change. When people do not
qualify for CSF support, we ask them to contact us again if their situation changes or their difficulties increase, so that we can reassess their needs.

Customer Service Centre

The Customer Service Centre can provide information and should
be contacted if you wish to request any of our services.
Phone: 01438 737500
Callers from 01923 or 0208 dialling codes
may wish to call 01923 471500
in order to be charged at local call rates.

Having your say

Your views help us to develop and improve services. We welcome
comments, whether they are compliments or complaints.

If you are unhappy about anything, you should first speak to the
social worker concerned, or their manager, to see if the problem
can be sorted out. If after this, you are still not happy you have the right to make a formal complaint. Our Conciliation and Appeals Unit can give you advice.

Our leaflet ‘Listening to your Comments, Compliments and
Complaints’ explains what to do if you want to make a complaint.