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Under The Children Act 1989 Local Authorities have a general duty to make a range of services available to help children in the area.
Importantly, The Children Act 1989 allows Social Services to provide help which will benefit other family members, such as siblings and other carers.
When should services be provided?
Services available under both these Acts should be provided when there is an assessed need and services are necessary to meet those needs. In practice, most Local Authorities use 'eligibility criteria' to help them make this decision.
Eligibility criteria
There are many disabled children in an area who need help but Social Services have limited financial resources. Using 'eligibility criteria' for deciding who has a 'need' for services is a way in which they can prioritise to make sure that the people most in need get help. The criteria differ from one authority to another and this means if you move to a different Local Authority area you may no longer qualify for the same help. For example, one of the services listed under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Person's Act is 'holidays'. This does not mean that every disabled child must be given a holiday each time they ask. There will be local eligibility criteria. It might say for instance, that holidays will normally only be given if a child has not had a holiday for 5 years and there is a risk of family breakdown if a holiday is not given.
Once your child's assessed needs match the set local eligibility criteria, the Local Authority has a duty to provide or arrange services to meet those needs. If your child had not had a holiday for 5 years and you could show that your family was under such stress that family breakdown was possible, there would be an obligation to fund the holiday regardless of the Local Authority's financial difficulties. However, the Local Authority can then take its resources into account in deciding how it will actually meet the needs. It might limit the type of holiday it provides, or it might arrange for another organisation to do so. It could even try to apply for a charitable grant to fund the holiday.
If the service is not actually assessed as a need (perhaps seen as only useful), or if it is assessed as a need but does not fit the local criteria, the Local Authority has no actual obligation to provide or arrange provision of the service. The Local Authority should still use its best endeavours to meet the need for example, by contacting a local charity or other voluntary agency to help.
If the decision is that services are not needed, or that you do not fit the eligibility criteria, you should be given clear reasons. This is to help in case you want to challenge the decision using the complaints procedures.
Beware!
It is quite common to hear statements such as 'Our Local Authority no longer provides respite care' or 'We don't do carers assessments in this Local Authority.' These statements are unlawful and you should have good grounds for a complaint (see later). In fact, the Local Authority should not put a blanket ban on any service and should always consider the needs of the individual child and the family. Other families have challenged such statements in court and the courts have decided that a Local Authority cannot 'unlawfully fetter its discretion.' This means that a Local Authority must always be prepared to consider requests which do not fit within its eligibility criteria.
Using the holiday example from earlier, it would be illegal for a Local Authority to say 'we never give holidays to children unless they have not had one for five years.' They can say 'We do not usually give holidays' but they must always listen to any reasons you have why you should be treated as an exception.
Recently the POLICY RESEARCH BUREAU have compiled a report on the importance of holidays, to view this click here
Waiting lists It is very common to be told there is a waiting list for services. You may be told this even when it is agreed there is an assessed need. Where there is an assessed need, in law the Local Authority has a duty to provide a service straight away although in practice this often does not happen. If the delay is lengthy or you feel the need is urgent, you may wish to consider making a formal complaint.
The care plan
Once the Social Worker has gathered enough information through the assessment, s/he then decides which of the child's various needs warrant the provision of services. A plan should then be agreed between Social Services and the family, in order to meet the identified needs.
The plan should give details of:
- What services will be provided For how long the services are required
- What the Local Authority plans to achieve by providing the services
- What each person and agency is expected to do
- Date of next review
Importantly, the care plan should be reviewed regularly to make sure that any services provided remain appropriate.
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