What's a 'short break?'

[jimjamshaslefttheyurt]

Is it something official?

I have been sent a questionnaire about short breaks but I don't know if I get them or not. I get dp's which are used in various ways (including a childminder) and ds1 gets 2 days a week at a holiday playscheme) but are they 'short-breaks'.

No, I think it means a night or two away.

My understanding is that a "short break" is eg money to pay for respite while you have a long weekend away or maybe a week. It's on top of any other payments or dom care. Everybody is entitled but due to short staffing and incompetance, SWs aren't telling people. It's not that they are siphoning off the money - it's a separate pot so genuinely just stupidity rather than weasely behaviour.

At least, that's what my SW told me, he may have oversimplified a bit. We missed out on our short break money last year because he was ill and duty didn't contact us.

Oh no I don't get that!

I had a suspicion I wasn't getting them.

Thank you!

r3dh3d, I've booked my daughter on an integreat break for next spring. Does that mean I can get SS to pay?

we use short breaks, it is respite which in our case is in the day maybe once a month, short breaks team have familys rather than residential, well in our area they do.

Thanks all.

OKay I've googled and it looks as if here it is provided by foster care as well. I don't really think that's suitable for ds1 (because the council wouldn't make our house safe for him without a battle so can't see them making anyone else's safe) so that's out.

Can answer the questionnaire though (and gives me something else to moan about to my SW )

vjg - I'm not sure, I suspect that each council have been given a pot of money and as long as it gets spent on "short breaks" there will be no stringent guidelines on how that is implemented locally. So it will depend on where you live. Our SW gave us to understand that our previous arrangement (get DD1's regular carer to go live with her at my parents' house for a few days - cost = cost of carer) would be at least part funded by short breaks. But haven't got it in practice yet and have a new SW now, so the whole process of getting blood out of the stone begins anew.

Ah -we had a questionare about 'short breaks' and it was defined here as any care not by parents/carers. So attending an afterschool club for an hour, holiday club, brownies, a carer to take a child out or stay in whilst parent went out, counted as short breaks as well as more traditional respite. Our survey wanted to know what we did and what was available/ accessable (regardless of who paid or organised it). The result is being used (by care groups)to help find the gaps between what people would like/need and what is already available. As a result a local shopping playgroup (with wonderful pirate ship and trains) started accepting older sn children for 1hour at normal rates. Ds loved it Shame he is now too old again!
I too got the impression there was money in the pipeline to fill in the most glaring gaps.

Magso has it right. I was part of the local Short Breaks consultations and there was a lot of discussion about what it actually meant, as most parents had believed it to be a substitute term for overnight respite. Short Breaks now covers any social opportunities a child may have where the parent isn't responsible for their care, so it could be a sports club or after-school, residential activity break or overnight stay like we've always regarded respite in the past.

There's a big initiative around Short Breaks at the moment, across the country, lots of funding being allocated to LAs and charities to promote them, which is probably why you've received your questionnaire jimjams.

The questionnaire is from a charity that deals with challenging behaviours asking if we've been refused short breaks because of behaviours. We have and we haven't. There's only one scheme that can take ds1 and it only takes 6 children a day. Another scheme would have him but imo he wouldn't be safe at that one.

Sounds as though they're looking at those children who are being denied short breaks because providers lack training/expertise in meeting their needs. This was discussed in the consultations. It's an ongoing project and I guess they have to do their background research first before they can put adequate resources into place so ALL Children can access them.

Also agree with Magso and streaky, Short Break is an official term to mean ANY sort of care/support not provided by parents/family, e.g. out-of-home respite, carer coming to home, weekend and holiday schemes etc. There is a BIG exercise going on everywhere now to assess what is available and to provide a variety of new services all funded by Govt I believe. Let's hope it all goes through before Credit Crunch and Iraq see to Gordon Brown (he can go then!). I think the money is already available but I wonder for how long after the initial input.

I spoke to my daughter's SW today and she says our LA is still in the process of bidding for money. She suggested looking at the 'aiming high' website. It does look like this process was started in 2007.

It is a separate fund of money from DP at least.