Families with disabled children are being invited to have their say on proposals to bring Salford City Council’s support in line with other Greater Manchester authorities.
The council has started a 12 week consultation on a proposal for a new assessment system which it believes would create a fairer, consistent, more open way of allocating support.
The proposed changes to how short breaks and funding for families with disabled children is allocated would make it clearer how decisions are made about the level of support for an individual child.
It would also mean greater choice and flexibility for parents and carers in choosing services and activities to meet their child’s needs.
Councillor John Merry, assistant mayor for children’s services said: “This is a proposal to bring Salford into line with many other local authorities.
“There are clear national criteria setting out what families with disabled children are entitled to in the way of social care support so it’s fair and transparent. Our proposal would fairly apply those criteria when assessing children’s needs.
“The proposed changes would give parents and carers an indicative budget for their care package which they can spend flexibly. For example if an assessment recommends day services they could choose to use a day centre or use their budget to pay for a personal assistant to take their child to a leisure centre instead.
“This is about allocating resources more fairly for everyone, existing and new families.”
The changes proposed are to eligibility criteria and would introduce a points system for funding. Families will be offered personalised budgets – offering more control and choice in the support they receive. Annual reviews would make sure that a child’s assessment is kept up to date with their developing or changing needs.
Over 150 families who currently receive services from the council, and another 1,400 Salford families known to have children with disabilities, will be written to asking for their views on the proposed changes. Council staff will be available to visit families if requested, plus special schools and parents’ groups to discuss the proposal between now and October.
All views will be considered before a final decision on whether to adopt the new scheme is made later this year.
If it is adopted no changes will be introduced for individual families until a full assessment or reassessment of their needs has been completed. The family would then be advised about opportunities though the new support system and an implementation plan agreed with them.
