Protocol for joined-up services

Joan Inglis, project manager for Support for Disabled Parents in Norfolk, UK, discusses the development and implementation of a joint protocol between children and adult social services departments.

In 2000, the Social Services Inspectorate and the Department of Health carried out an inspection of services supporting disabled parents in their parenting role. The resulting report A jigsaw of services found very little evidence of support provided to disabled parents.

One parent said: “The services of the professionals don’t seem to interconnect. I don’t know why they can’t work together. The different teams argue all the time about who is responsible ... I think it is about who will have to pay”.

The ‘jigsaw’ report concluded that all councils, together with other agencies, needed to adopt and promote a policy statement confirming the right of disabled or ill people, within the bounds of current legislation, to be supported in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities as parents.

Development in Norfolk

In response, the Norfolk Social Services Directorate commissioned the development of a joint protocol between children’s and adult social services in 2001. Enabling parents with a disability or long term illness: Norfolk County Council joint protocol and policy for practice describes what and how support will be offered to disabled parents.

It was put together by representatives from children’s and adult social services, the health service, Disabled Parents Network, Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People and young carers’ organisations, and came into working practice on 1 May 2006.

At the same time, local disabled parents established the Norfolk Disabled Parents Alliance to provide support and information to disabled parents and voluntary disability and family welfare services in Norfolk. They provide a vital link between disabled parents and children’s and adult services, are partners in the implementation of the protocol, and maintain mutually beneficial links with Disabled Parents Network.

Norfolk’s protocol covers all adult disabilities and long-term illnesses including people with physical disabilities, sensory impairment, learning difficulties, mental health difficulties, HIV/AIDS, substance misuse problems, and older people. (Other local authorities may differ; for example, some have separate protocols.)

It requires joined-up services with other partners such as education, housing, health, transport, the Department of Works and Pensions, and independent and voluntary organisations. One of the aims is that we all work together to enable equality of access for all parents and their children. If there is a need for change, adaptation or support so that disabled parents are able to succeed in their parenting role this should be provided in the community wherever possible.

Children’s and adult social services in Norfolk created a new temporary post of project manager (jointly funded and managed by children’s and adult services) to finalise and implement the protocol by discussion, giving advice, attending team meetings and training. Professional consultation lines in all services were also established.

Joint working

Norfolk’s protocol requires children’s and adult services to share the funding of support for families that include a disabled parent. Prior to the protocol, children’s and adult services tended to work quite separately from each other. In adult services, an assessment of needs considered the needs of the adult as an individual only, with little or no consideration given to their support needs as a parent. Children’s services tended to concentrate on crisis situations where there were serious concerns about a child’s welfare and did not address any disability-related needs of parents.

Norfolk’s protocol states that whenever there is an assessment of needs of an adult, any parenting role must be assessed at the same time. Unless there are serious concerns about the children’s welfare, the assessment will be carried out by adult services because the need is to support the parent, so that the parent is able to ensure their children are safe, healthy, happy and achieving.

In the past, too many situations had to reach a crisis before any help was considered. Where serious concerns already exist, children’s services will lead the assessment and involve a worker from the relevant adult service so that present and longer-term needs can be looked at jointly. The aim here is to give the right support and try to prevent the situation from getting worse. The welfare of the child is always paramount. However, we know that most children fare best in their own families. Figures suggest that the numbers of children of disabled parents are over-represented in child protection cases (Booth 2000 and Department of Health/Department for Education and Skills 2007).

With the right and timely support, more of these families should be able to stay together, and this should support the parenting rights of disabled people. We also need, where appropriate, to relieve young carers of caring tasks.

Making the protocol work requires a change in culture. Adult workers need to consider the needs of children and children’s workers need to consider the needs of disabled parents: both then need to work it out together. There also needs to be a shift in the balance of power between professionals and parents so that, wherever possible, parents remain in control.

Local case examples

A mother with bipolar disorder was provided with extra time at a nursery placement for her young twins to give her a break.

A single father of two adolescents, with limited use of his hands and limited mobility after a serious accident, was provided with a stairlift (through occupational therapists); a community alarm (through the District Council); assistance to meet his own care needs and the family needs (support worker to prepare a cooked evening meal and assist with household tasks). The children were also provided with support (through a local young carers’ group).

A physically disabled mother with two school age children was provided with a direct payment to help take the children to and from school, and to help with some domestic tasks.

In these examples, support in the parenting role is funded equally by adult and children’s services.

Enabling parents with a disability or long term illness: Norfolk County Council joint protocol and policy for practice by Joan Inglis. 2006, Norfolk, Norfolk County Council. Available from www.norfolk.gov.uk/disabilities
E-mail: joan.inglis@norfolk.gov.uk
Tel: 01603 495103

Useful organisations

Norfolk Disabled Parents Alliance E-mail: ndpa@ukonline.co.uk

Disabled Parents Network www.disabledparentsnetwork.org.uk

References

Booth T. 2000. Parents with learning difficulties: child protection and the courts Representing Children 13(3) 175–188.

Goodinge, S. 2000. A jigsaw of services: inspection of services to support disabled adults in their parenting role. Department of Health, Social Services Inspectorate, Social Care Group.

Department of Health/Department for Education and Skills. 2007. Good practice guidance on working with parents with a learning difficulty. Department of Health/Department for Education and Skills, London.

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