Local authorities have duties under the Children Act 1989 to support disabled children and their families.
These include the duties to assess and arrange provision to support disabled children’s needs while they are under 18, and the needs of their carers.
The Children and Families Act 2014 also requires local authorities to assess on the appearance of need or where an assessment is requested by the parent/carer.
A ‘child in need’ is defined as one of the following:
- a child who is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision of services
- a child whose health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision of services for a child who is disabled.
If your child needs support, additional care or access to local services, you can ask your local authority to carry out a needs assessment.
It is important to note that you can also ask for your needs as a carer to be reviewed in a carer’s assessment. We enclose here information from the Bexley Local Offer on Support for carers and families of children and young people aged 0-25 with special needs and disabilities | Bexley Local Offer
If the local authority agrees that services should be provided for your child, you may be offered the option of a personal budget or direct payments. We enclose here information from the Bexley Local Offer on Social Care – Direct payments for children | Bexley Local Offer
To understand a little more about Childrens Social Care in Bexley and who to contact to request a needs assessment for your child click here: Bexley Local Authority Social Care Services for children and adults | Bexley Local Offer
Children with Disabilities Service (CwD)
A Children with Disabilities (CwD) team is a social work service, working with children and young people with severe disabilities.
They assess and support children up to the age of 18 who have disabilities that significantly impact their daily lives. This includes children with physical or learning disabilities, complex health needs, or autism.
A CwD team should provide services to children aged 0-18 who meet the eligibility criteria. the package of support to meet their assessed needs may also include specialist short breaks.
For more information on the CwD Team in Bexley please click on this link to the Bexley Local Offer: Children with Disabilities (CwD) Service | Bexley Local Offer
For more information on short breaks in Bexley for those who qualify, please click on this link to the Bexley Local Offer: Short Breaks – Universal, Targeted and Specialist | Bexley Local Offer
If your young person is approaching 18 years of age
If your young person is approaching the age of 18, you may wish to ask for a needs assessment to find out what support they need from adult social services.
Please click on the link to our website HERE