The Cutbacks have affected us already. Have they affected you?

[donkeyderby]

Inclusive afterschool club we've relied on is going to have to 'rationalise' places due to lack of funding. Probably reduce to 2.5 hours per week (no restrictions for NS kids as they don't require 1:1).

Heard that Direct Payments are being freezed.

Charges for previously free LA and voluntary services.

Chip, chip, chip....

This is before the 25% cut in services demanded by the coalition government

Feeling a bit gloomy...Are you?

The EDCM funding in our area (which tried to fill the gap in services for disabled children with challenging behaviour or complex medical needs)is due to run out soon and I fear that will impact very heavily on the services we have quite recently started to access for ds (10.5)including the sn holiday and sat club and occasional overnight respite- frankly a lifeline to us. There are lots of meetings and petitions going on!!

No sign of any change here yet. I went last week with a friend to a Soc Svs Panel to discuss her DS's Care Plan, i.e. respite needs, access to clubs etc, DPs. They were proposing funding 4hrs for 5 days a week in the hols and each Saturday. After her representations at the Panel (and my wonderful support!) they increased the holiday cover to 5hrs per day for TWO carers, 5 days a week. Big result imo.

We fonally got our first ever SW thre e weeks ago and lost him last week . he's there and can reassign us if needed but we'll have to start from scratch. Scary as we are worried that we could lose our home ATM.

Other than that, DLA and the boy's statements we don't get things although holioday club palcements (agin for first time) are being allocated ATM. Scared abouT DLA, ds1 was awarded extra 6 hours supervision last week to cover all breaks and we are waiitng to hear abouut SNU in Novermeber for comp but as its well over subscrribed schoola re starting to get a package together o convince LEA now.

Quietly worried about DS3's SNU: only 9 / 12 palces filled and has survived cliosure attempts before. We depend on it really.

I think it's always been that way with SW's sancti. We only ever have a SW whilst undergoing core assessments- we're not allowed one at other times!

A lot of the people ehre seem to get monthly visits from theirs to see how they are going and he was due to come back twice over the summer. It's understandable though, and he's going to be on call to help with DLA and housing if we need it (could you imagine us in an LEA hostel?!)

EEk, LA lol

We are being evicted today apparently, have nowhere to go, and have just found out we have no social worker. I feel as though I am living on the edges of society. Holiday respite non-existent.

Have heard of Aiming High money being taken by Children's Disability SW teams to pay SW manager's wages in one area. Fact, not fiction sadly. I would like to see some SW 'rationalised' and replaced by keyworkers - lower paid but twice as useful in our area

BTW 2shoes, I too would like resources concentrated on those most in need and not on NT breakfast clubs. As you say, their parents can make their sodding breakfasts. However, NT kids are a lot cheaper. In afterschool clubs (unless they are heavily subsidised) they actually bring in a profit. 1:1's are enourmously expensive and this society is quite evidently not prepared to pay for the most vulnerable to access what everyone else takes for granted.

Personally, I would like to see special schools extend their school day to 5.30/6pm. I don;t know what to suggest for disabled kids in MS schools.

oh no thanks, dd finishes at 3.30 and sometimes doesn't get home until 4.30, long enough day

social services came out yesterday about my respite.
i had a big speach about how the service is changing etc etc, then i was asked why i dont work full time.....explained i cant find childcare suitable for DS and that i do actually work part time thanks to a flexible boss....social services dont get that my local choldminder expects me to pay for 2 spaces just for my son and then pay for DD as well so cost would be £10.50 per hour for childcare but i only earn £5.80!!!

12 hours respite has been removed. SS are requesting i get 5 sessions over 9 weeks at a play scheme but have said they will pay a solicitor to fight in tribunal so i get high rate dla for DS and then i can pay for my own respite for him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been offered aimg highfor disability respite weekends, and have been told that is the only respite available.
I feel terrible about that as I am sure that I do not need weekend respite and there are other children more severly disabled than my autistic sons who need it alot more. But obviously it is cheaper to offer it to my sons, since they do not need hoists etc..so I turned it down.

Squashi are you OK?

Have no idea whwere uou are but you're welcome to our sofabed if you need it (You'd need to warn us so we can dig it out - we wouldn;t even notice the ASD pmsl, 2 here already)

We're holding on for now; Dh launches his internet shop so it's sink or swim time now.

Hope you

squashimodo don't turn it down if you need it, you deserve a break as much as the next person.

2shoes is right- she talked me out of turning it down too and ithas saved my sanity (*or will when it happens).

agree with the other ladies squashi - you would not have been offered this unless you desperately needed it, please don't turn it down.

donkey - as a user of council funded NT holiday scheme (DS is OK without 1-1), I agree it's a bit cushy - it's free between hours of 10 and 3, so some parents use it as babysitting , rather than even because they are working.

TotalChaos, why are the council still providing free holiday schemes for NT kids? Can children who need 1:1 access this?

Bonkerz, that's bonkerz! Maybe they are trying to get you to work more hours so you qualify for childcare tax credits (up to 80% of your childcare costs paid by Govt)?

Crap crap crap taking away respite - I can't believe they could be so cruel and expecting you to pay for respite for DS when previously you didn't have to. I hope you put your foot down and refused to have respite taken away. They will be chancing it I bet

donkey - I am baffled really they aren't cutting the funding for this summer - I wonder if because it's in a school sports centre there's some separate funding for anti-obesity or extended schools or some such? I honestly don't know what the 1-1/SN arrangements would be, but can't see any information about SN on the website

No cuts yet but any new people referred to SS will get no respite. They won't give it to anyone other than single parents here, on the basis that a couple can take it in shifts to do the looking after/ break time.

They're also focusing on those with challenging behaviour as part of their disability, on the basis that the beaten and bruised parents need more of a respite from the violence.

They're also going to bring in an unofficial means-testing system, so that richer families (75k plus) contribute to respite costs to the extent that they would pay for NT childcare i.e. cheaper than paying for it themselves but not free anymore.

I'm not sure I disagree with any of those policies, tbh. It's about directing the resources to those who need it most. Not that other people don't need it, but at least they're making a rationale for their cuts.

I tink the reason we got respite (just summer) is that we have no family in the country and I was ready to leave (call me evil, I know)

I think from their vpov it's cheaper to use respite for summer than deal with a single parent who cannot cope.

WRT to not offering anything to nt kids I am totally against that; i've seen enough kids raised by parents who simply will not deliver anything close to care, and there's also kids being cared for by other relatives, disabled or sick parents, young carers themselves..... kids in need only but that's not only sn, by a very, very long stretch (too long in field picking up piece4s sadly).

It shouldn't come out of sn budget though (don't think we have aiming higher here).

Around our way the council pays for sn placements but lays on plenty of playschemes which are paid for, but affordably so. We've used those in the past- eg tennis day for ds2 for a tenner. The university also runs half term and summer playschemes open to anyone which are cheaper than many palces- £16 per day iirc (few eyars since I used it though). theyc an, actually, manage some sn and are always willing to give it a go, and their facilltiies are accessible (complete with hoist and stairmaster).

That isn;t SSD provision though obviously.

TBH I son't see why better off people with SN kids should get things for absolutely free- i'd be happy to pay a contribution. Actually I hink they should suggest a voluntary one, we'd try to find something, and I mean genuinely anonymously voluntary: most yers we'd pay a fortune from DLA just trying to keep them occupied, no reason why SSD should't see a few £'s from that. But of course how expenses are used vary- note veryone can.

i think all this is very short sighted of the government.
respite is sometimes the only thing that makes life work. I wonder how many families will fall to pieces and end up having to put their child into residential care,

Are you surrprised Riv? I just got Labour invite to ALdies leadership histings actually- had we not been away i'd have signed up like a shot. I was in Lib Dems for eyars before election. Nuff said!

It is short sighted; enough spent keeps famillies together (lowers costs for repsite / care / stress / depression spending) and enough input for children means less drained from state finances as they age- and they are far longer adults than kids. But they can't manage such joined up thining sadly.