» Adulthood

Take up the challenge for day care provision

One CdLS young adult has recently made the transition from school to an adult day care placement.

Social services have offered him three days per week of funded day care. The other two days must be funded by the family out of his DLA.

Enquires to potential grant givers showed no appropriate organisations to apply to because he is 19 - most of them are set up for children up to 16 years and the majority will not accept applications from individuals.

Some good advice suggests that day care provision is the responsibility of social services and grantgivers would not even consider awarding a grant unless a decision by social services had been challenged.

They suggested that parents should ask how exactly social services came to their decision. Sometimes, this prompts social services to offer more days. However, the amount that parents have to fund depends upon their income. Alternatively, the direct payments scheme may be an alternative option.

This is a scheme in which direct payments are made to individuals or their primary caregiver to organise care themselves. It may be that direct payments can fund day care for the part of the week that social services are refusing to fund.

Reaching Out newsletter
December 2006