Disabled parents may get support to carry out their parenting role following an assessment. You can ask for an assessment just for help to carry out your parenting role or you can ask for this help as part of a more general assessment of your needs.

You apply for an assessment as a disabled parent in the same way as you would if you were applying for help for your own needs. See our pages on Accessing Social Care for information on getting an assessment.

If your child or children also have a need for support in their own right, staff in children's services will also complete an assessment. In some circumstances the Children's and Adult services will carry out a joint assessment and jointly arrange for services to be provided to both the parent/s and the child/ren.

Families assessed as having needs will have the option of using a Direct Payment to purchase services to meet identified needs; alternatively a Care Package will be commissioned by the Care Manager on behalf of the family.

The aim of supporting children and disabled parents is to ensure that children whose parents have specific needs arising out of disability or health conditions enjoy the same life chances as all other children in the locality.

The Disabled Parents Network:

The Disabled Parents Network exists to support disabled parents in bringing up their children. They provide peer support where you can meet and discuss issues with other disabled parents.
CONTACT DETAILS:
website www.disabledparentsnetwork.org.uk/
by telephone: 08702 410 450 and select option 2 - calls are charged at national rates.