Have you been searching online for respite care for special needs child near me? We know the struggle of finding appropriate childcare can have many aspects to it. Specialist childcare, once found, is often costly and it is not always clear how and who can receive financial support to access these services.
To make things a little easier for you, we thought it would be helpful to guide you through the process of applying for funding that can be used to subsidise care services.
Contact the Social Services Department of your local council, you will then need to request to be put through to the department that deals with referrals for a social care assessment.
Find Social Services Departmant in my area
Based on reports from clients, you may be told that you are not permitted to make a self-referral, this is false, you do not require a referral from your GP or any other professional, you are permitted to make a self-referral for a social care assessment.
You will be assigned a social worker, through social services, who will conduct a social care needs assessment. This may entail observations of your child at school, however, considering the purpose of the assessment is to establish eligibility for a social care package to enable you to access assistance at home, it is essential you request an assessment to also be conducted in the home. We all know children can be completely different depending on the environment they are in.
Following the assessment, if successful, the social worker will report the findings and devise a written plan. This will outline your child’s level of need and their grounds of eligibility for a social care package.
The social worker will propose a care package, detailing a personal budget, you can then request direct payments from your local council. The alternative is social care arranged by your local council using their service providers. A direct payment is the amount of money that the local council has to pay to meet your child’s needs.
Direct payments can be used to pay for care services selected by you, information will be issued, along with guidelines that you must adhere to when selecting a carer for your child, you will be pleased to know that we meet the criteria outlined.
If you already receive social care support from your local council but would like to receive a direct payment instead, you can ask them to make this change at any time. It is also possible to have a combination of support from your local council and direct payments.
