I am in the process of requesting some additional funding through Direct Payments so my daughter can attend day care at a new place. I have provided a lot of evidence that shows why this would benefit her and meet her needs and be an improvement to what she currently has in place for that particular day. At present, she is taken out and about by her PA and they visit a farm, zoo or maybe shop etc. This is ok but I want her to have a building based activity so the weather does not affect the day and also I want her to have more interaction and be occupied for the day as this can be difficult with her learning disabilities. The place I want her to attend would do this and more. She could also have respite there later on if it works out. It is, of course, not cheap and costs more than the current support with her PA.
I am having difficulties getting responses from her social worker about where we are with the process. She has had meetings with managers and she has mentioned about it will have to go to a panel as my daughter's care package is already classed as ' high cost'. It seems to me they are delaying the process with meetings being postponed and managers still discussing it. I feel like they are not being transparent about it. I have asked her to send me details of how the process should work and the statutory time limits that they should be following but have not had a response as yet.
I started the request about 2 months ago when I first provided the social worker with the costs of the new place so it's been going on since then.
Can anyone tell me if they know the process and the time limits for such processes or where I might be able to get this information please?
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colleenfred
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It sounds as if you have pretty much described the process yourself. The time table should have reasonable proportions and two months may not be thought exceptional in the current climate after the epidemic - not least because your shift of funding to event precept won't be seen as a crisis.
As for transparency.
Social workers are not technically required to be transparent in the way one would think that ought to mean. They are, however, statutorily required to be 'candid' which is a step-down from bearing witness under oath to a precept of being truthful. So in that sense raise with the Social Worker your anxiety and ask her to be candid about why it is taking so long.
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I have already asked about why it is taking so long and what exactly is the issue holding up the process. However, I will continue to chase it up.
My point, and I clearly failed to get it across, was, social workers are never going to be transparent even when they claim to be, so on that basis we may as well call them liars, as it were, and if liars then we say to them to be candid in their explanations to why they are taking so long.
It is a linguistic method to call them liars without actually calling them liars, because if we complained officially they would be professionally obligated to be candid in explaining how they are progressing our stated wishes and needs as advocates for our children.
The (below) link will give you a basis for understanding what I am saying here.
It is a little bit like my saying to yourself 'you haven't complained, and because you are clearly a good advocate for your daughter you would rather not tell your daughter's social worker that she is misleading you', and so you ask her to be candid about what's taking the time.
That politely calls into visibility an inference that you believe you are being misled. Its a tad shy of saying, I am going to be making a formal complaint - without poking her in the eye, and making a formal complaint - so to speak.
Try it!
Social workers just love being helped along.
But the term candour is not a feeble term. It carries weight. The term 'transparent' is intellectually predicated to due process - not social workers doing their level best for us.
Thankyou parental for that very helpful piece of information. I will be using that word on Monday when I have a meeting with my son's social worker and the care company. I made a complaint in July last year and it has dragged on all this time with no progress.
Hi. I wish I knew if there were any time limits in dealing with requests but it’s not something I am not aware of. There is however an annual review process for care packages in my local authority and I’m not sure if this is a statutory requirement. If you haven’t had an annual review perhaps you can use that to call for a more formal meeting so that your request is properly documented. Unfortunately I have almost always had to resort to my local councillor or MP if I wanted any substantial support or changes to that support. Be careful that the review does not result in a reduction of support and make sure you have all your evidence of the need for the extra support. Depending on your daughters age and disability and her current situation they will argue against “need” if they want to resist paying for the extra activities. Have you approached parent groups such as inclusion London , bringing us together or social care warriors for any help ?
what area of the Uk are you living in as there is a good parent group in Hertfordshire called Supporting together. Most of these parents seem to have direct payments for their children.
Thanks for your replies. I'm in the Yorkshire area. We have had my daughter's Annual Review where we discussed this new provision but this was before we had visited it and decided it was appropriate for my daughter. I have had dealings in the past trying to sort out care and provision where different processes have not been followed correctly or ignored and ended up taking my complaint to the Social Care Ombudsman. It was upheld so I was pleased that this had been recognised. I am always wary in my dealings with the social worker as what they say to your face is not always what happens so I am always careful to keep evidence of everything. Also trying to find out as much as possible about what is supposed to happen and how things work is quite empowering hence my question about the steps and time frame of my current request. Thanks again for your helpful reply.
what are the reasons? Where does that fit with what was discussed at the annual review as presumably you felt there was a need for this activity and were encouraged to ask for additional support ? As I say approach local councillors , MP for support but a knowledge of the care act around “need” is a good area to research as well. Hope this helps
I am in the process of trying to find out the reason and as usual, am waiting for them to get back to me. I was encouraged to look into the day care place in question when we discussed it at the annual review and to report back once we had visited. I did this and provided much evidence as to why it would meet my daughter's needs so much more than the present arrangement. But it's difficult to know if the social worker did as she said she would - that is present all my argument and evidence to her managers. Who knows what goes on?! Is it the managers against it, or one of their panels, or is it because the current care package is already classed as high cost? I have no idea so I am hoping to get answers and take it further.
I’m sure it’s all about cost and not about your daughters needs. You will need to demonstrate that the existing place is not meeting her needs and that the new one can. Make sure it fits with the care plan.
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