SCIE Resource guide 9: Working together to support disabled parents

Online resources

• Resources for parents with learning disabilities
• Resources for making information accessible
• Resources for young carers
• Other web-based resources

Resources for parents with learning disabilities

• Supporting parents with learning disabilities - Good practice guidance - Department for Education and Skills/Department of Health (2006).
• Working Together with Parents Network 
• Valuing People - has a section devoted to parents with learning disabilities which contains a number of resources.
• Parent assessment manual - McGaw, S., Keckley, K. and Connolly, N. (1999) Trecare NHS Trust.
• Learning curves: The assessment of parents with a learning disability - A Manual for practitioners, Morgan, P.and Goff, A. (2004) Norfolk Area Child Protection Committee.

Resources for making information accessible

• CHANGE - CHANGE Words to Pictures Team: a team of people with learning disabilities who work with an illustrator to produce information in an easy-read format using easy words and pictures. The team produces picture banks on CD Rom with hundreds of pictures for organisations working with people with learning disabilities. Illustrators in CHANGE can also draw additional pictures as and when necessary. CHANGE turns other organisations’ documents into an accessible format. People with learning disabilities provide training about how to make information accessible and how to use the picture bank CD Roms.
• Mencap - Mencap’s Accessibility Unit publishes a guide on writing accessible documents called Am I making myself clear? Mencap can edit documents or write accessible documents. This involves writing in plain language, adding pictures and images to support the text and looking at layout and design. They also produce scripts, record audio tapes and offer training on producing accessible documents. Mencap publishes a guide on making websites accessible to people with learning disabilities.

Resources for young carers

The Children’s Society, Disabled Parents Network and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers have formed a partnership to work together on the issue of young carers.

This partnership joined forces with the Family Policy Alliance (consisting of Parentline Plus, Family Welfare Association and the Family Rights Group) to issue a statement calling for children's and adults’ agencies to work together in reducing the numbers of child and teenage carers.

See: A leading care coalition urges the Government to tighten procedures for children caring for adults.

The practice guidance to the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 states that local authorities should have '… a protocol, shared between adults’ and children’s services, for identifying and assessing young carers’. The Princess Royal Trust for Carers has written an, Exemplar protocol for local authority adults’ and children’s services: Joint assessment and support for young carers and their families to assist local authorities to fulfil the requirement to have a joint adults’ and children’s services protocol for identifying and assessing young carers.The document states that the protocol should be cross-referenced to each Local Authorities’ Children and Young People’s Plan, Carers’ Strategy and strategies to support disabled parents:

See: Section for professionals on www.youngcarers.net.

Other web-based resources

• Disabled Parents Network’s information briefings - The Disabled Parents Network has produced a series of information briefings to inform disabled parents about their legal entitlements and how to get hold of services and support.
• Department for Work and Pensions resource center - The resource centre on the Department for Work and Pensions’ website includes a number of helpline details and web addresses.
• Rights, legislation and disabled parents (Directgov) - Summary of information on the support disabled parents should be able to obtain.
• Alcohol Concern - Alcohol Concern has developed a website for professionals in the health, education and social sectors working with problem drinking parents and/or their children.
• Family group conferences: Principles and good practice guidance - Family group conferences harness and build on the knowledge, strengths and resources in families and communities. They provide a framework for families, the community and agencies to work collaboratively together to safeguard and promote children’s welfare. (Family Rights Group). Further information can be found from the Family Rights Group.