First Social Services Appointment.

code-a-holic

I have been allocated a Social Services lady who is coming to visit me on Friday.
i had enquired about direct payments to get some help around the house.
I have no idea what to expect or what she will ask. Any ideas?!

I have mobility issues due to a old injury and various spiralling problems associated with it. I am pregnant at the moment and cant help but think she will automaticlly assume im fine if im having another baby. Or current limitations are just because of a difficult pregnancy when it is a long term issue. When in fact this pregnancy is actually a attempt at avoiding surgery, hoping it will/is kick starting some muscle activity and strength building. After surgery i wouldnt have been able to carry another baby and we didnt feel our family was complete so it was a now or never situation.
Im justifing it now! lol, shows how nervous i am about it!

Would she be able to help with a claim to get a disability reduction in council tax? if she could see how we have a downstairs bedroom that i have to use when im at my worse, that could help me with the council.

I need to write down what i would like to ask her about - but im not sure what social services really do. Im more concered she will think im not able to look after a baby and concentrate on that!

daska

Is the visit from Adult or Child services? I have, I discovered today, ruffled more than a few feathers by providing the lovely lady from Adult services with copies of a couple of reports that tells her managers that they are not doing their job properly... They Said What?, SSI's A Jigsaw of Services: inspection of services to support disabled adults in their parenting role and the Commission for Social Care Inspection: Supporting disabled parents: A family or a fragmented approach? I suggest you have a read of as much as you can manage, you'll then be well armed...

keelyjrs

Hi. The first thing social services do is an assessment of your needs. They should look at all the things you could use some help with. The disabled parent network is a great help and can help you think about things you may need support with. Social services don't just want to take kids off of parents, far from it. This was one of my concerns too but I soon realised that instead of seeing me as a parent who couldn't cope, I was a parent who needed support.

I had an assessment and now have help with my personal hygiene needs, housework and supporting me to take my little boy to playgroups etc

Just write down everything you need help with and things you struggle with because of your health problems and what kind of help you think you could benefit from

Forgot to say too that she should refer you to a financial advisor who can advise you on benefits and any other professionals that may help such as an occupational therapist to give you adaptations or equipment in your home. She should also do a carers assessment if applicable and give you info on local support groups

saffiedale_2

may i please just say they told me that they do not fund housework??? so be careful what you say. i had my hrs cut by half. they moved the goal posts from when i first got direct payments. was told to use it too how it suited me best. when social worker came out, i told the truth and said about id never cope without the domesic. got my hrs cut within 2hr of her leaving my house and getting back to the office. put sooooo much strain on my husband. made his disabilities worse. thanks,s.s. mean social services. also please dont say your fine. maybe i sound bitter but the amount of stress and worry its given me since as been unreal. just be careful with how you say things.

code-a-holic

She has been, and was a really useful and nice lady.

I shouldnt have been nervous. She is reffering me to an occupational therapist which sounds useful and said she can help get me the reduction in council tax as we have a room downstairs i sleep in when im at my worse - has toilet next to it. So thats great too.

She said normally direct payments would not be just for domestic help, but can be used where it gave more support than anything else, in my case would be domestic anyway. She said she would get back to me within a week with the outcome from the deciding panel. Very quick.
She noted that it is the more physical household chores that would be best suited for direct payments in my household. We have 3 young children and my husband works full time and self employed in the evenings once kids are in bed, and as he does the more physical household stuff as well as personal care for me she said easing the work he does is something direct payments would help with. As without him id be asking social services for a lot more support.

Thank you for your posts everyone - they really helped me prepare. Hope her call back brings some useful news.

saffiedale_2

that is true without your dear husband there would be alot more for them. the put it all on my poor hubby. she was a new social worker and feel she was trying to please the office?i agree they are not all bad, but realy do feel the need to watch what your saying.iv been waiting 3 weeks for emergency hoist, 3 weeks for ramps so i can get out, 5 months for bidet loo.

code-a-holic

The waiting times in your area are really bad.... turnaround in west wales seems really good.

From having my first visit with the social worker 2 weeks ago, i have 4 hrs a week of PA care paid by direct payments set up and have been reffered to occupational therapist who phoned today and is coming to my house on Friday. rowan trust are coming around next week and the social worker has sent my assesment and helped me apply for council tax reduction as i have a downstairs bedroom/bathroom for my use.
I can't fault the system at all so far.
my social worker said to advertise localy for the PA, im anticipating this to be the hardest part as we live in a very rural area. She said i can advertise openly im looking for mainly domestic duties - so maybe the rules are a bit flexible on this?

sunshine71

the rules depend on your area, your local council and the mood/temperament of the social worker

i have seen some really bad assessments and some really good ones all in the same town, i found it really helps to know what they can give you and what they can bend the rules for

i have 8 hours a week for personal care, as my social worker states that i am not allowed help with my house work, but as the direct payment is mine to pay who i wish to do what i wish, if i wanted to use it to pay someone to clean for me that would be entirely upto me

however my mum is allowed considerably more hours and is allowed to hire someone to clean

i have FMS, she has lupus

there seems to be no regulations or structure, it seems very open to personal interpretation and then when they get back to the office, dependent on budget and the mood of the manager

veryunsure

Hi, are the payments you are referring to in addition to DLA etc? I am in a similar situation and have never had a social service visit and my husband has to do all chores as well as work full time.

daska

veryunsure wrote: »

Hi, are the payments you are referring to in addition to DLA etc? I am in a similar situation and have never had a social service visit and my husband has to do all chores as well as work full time.

Get in touch with Social Services - the number will be in the phone-book. We were in a similar situation because we were repeatedly told that there was no help available. It turns out that our GP, midwife, OT etc were wrong! If you're a parent then take a look at the following documents.

daska wrote: »

Is the visit from Adult or Child services? I have, I discovered today, ruffled more than a few feathers by providing the lovely lady from Adult services with copies of a couple of reports that tells her managers that they are not doing their job properly... They Said What?, SSI's A Jigsaw of Services: inspection of services to support disabled adults in their parenting role and the Commission for Social Care Inspection: Supporting disabled parents: A family or a fragmented approach? I suggest you have a read of as much as you can manage, you'll then be well armed...

Since writing the above I'm now getting 3.5 hours per week for 'personal care', but... the carers were carefully chosen so that they were prepared to care for my toddler while I wash or wash-up, change the bedclothes, flick the hoover around etc. I've now had an assessment for a 'personalised budget' during which DH spelt out exactly what problems we're having it looks as if that's going to be substantially increased. DPN is brilliant.