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Health and social care assessments and the parenting role

A disabled person has the right to ask for an assessment of their health and social care needs. If you're the parent of a child under 18, the assessment of your needs should cover the support you need to carry out these responsibilities. If you're a parent-to-be, you can let the social services team know about your situation before your baby is born to help them plan your support.

Social services are not there to assume that you are unable to cope or that you will not be a good parent. Decisions about the support offered should focus on how to help you in your parenting role.

It's important to remember that your assessment as a disabled person/parent is about your needs. If you receive the right support, your child's needs will be met without the need for services from the 'Children and families team'.

Assessments

It's a good idea to prepare for an assessment by making a list of the type of support you need. For example:

• Health and social care assessments

Direct payments - arranging your own care and services

If you are assessed as needing help from social services you may choose direct payments. Direct payments allow you to arrange and pay for your own care and services instead of receiving them directly from your local authority. This includes help from a professional carer or personal assistant.

This gives you more flexibility, which may help you in your parenting role.

Other people in the family

If someone gives you a regular and substantial amount of caring or help around the house, they have the right to a carer's assessment. This might includes a friend, a relative - including your own child - or your spouse or partner.

If a child is regularly carrying out substantial caring for you, this should lead to an assessment of your support needs.

Children's services

Most disabled parents (including parents with a learning disability or mental health problem) lead successful and fulfilling lives as parents. They can call on the support they have been assessed as needing.

A social services team must not judge your ability to be a parent without first assessing your need for support with a care plan. If a child can't live with their parents, the child's well-being needs to be reviewed. It would need to be shown that it's not because of a lack of support to the parents.

Children 'in need'

Children should not necessarily be identified as 'in need' because one or both parents are disabled, although this could be a factor.

However, if there are concerns about a child's well-being, a 'child in need' assessment will be done. This is managed by the 'Children and families team' in your local council and looks at the family as a whole.

An example of a 'child in need' is a child under 17 whose health and development is likely to be made significantly worse without support. This is defined by the Children Act 1989.