Child Maintainance no longer affects Income Support??

nannytone_2

my point exactly moomoomama.........but so much more eloquently put! i do tend to use a thousand words when 10 would do lol

kingfisherblue

nannytone wrote: »

my daughter has 2 boys, the youngest contracted encephalitis at 18 months old and is now severly disabled (hes 4 in june) shes been told by the social worker that it would be quite accepytable, in her position, for her and her husband to stay at home to care for the kids, instead they both work (my daughter full time and her husband part time) not for much financial benefit but as an example to the 5 year old!

Your daughter is lucky that she can work, despite having a severely disabled child. Some of us are not as fortunate. My son is also severely disabled and I am his carer. My ex left me after sixteen years of marriage and no longer lives in the area, although he does visit the kids every week. As my son needs substantial care both day and night, I am unable to work and I am very grateful for the safety net of the welfare system. Having said that, there are far too many people who use the system to their advantage and I feel that there should be more controls put in place to try to prevent so many claimants taking the, errmmmm, mickey

I am the first person in my family to claim benefits and I am not proud of it. I had always worked and so had my (now ex) husband, as well as everyone else in my family. Although my caring role is obviously my main role in life, I do voluntary work that fits in with my son's needs. It may not be the same as working in paid employment, but I still have a work ethic that I feel the need to fulfill, and I can rearrange things if required.

As for the CM debate, I consider the government to be making a mistake in allowing every single parent to keep all of the CM, as I feel this will further destroy the desire to work for many people. How many people, though, will refuse the money? I know I won't, as it will make life easier. I'll get just over £100 a month more, so it will make a difference.

nannytone_2

kingfisher, obviously my remarks arent aimed at every single parent. most do a fantastic job in the circumstances they find themselves in. my daughter only manages to work beecause the nursery staff love her little boy almost as much as we do! there is a fair bit of help about for disabled kiddies but you really do have to fight for it! until recently they said our boy was a body in a bed. it is thanks to the nursery in part that the powers that be have recognised he is worthy of more funding.........so fight for what you believe in!

missmontana

Actually has anyone thought that maybe that extra bit of money every month might encourage PWC's back to work? I know it will make me a bit more comfortable when it eventually comes thru so I might feel more confident about returning to work as the other money coming in can go towards the household stuff and the maintenance will all go on things for my son.

Why does everyone always have to have such a negative approach to things??

moomoomama27

missmontana wrote: »

Actually has anyone thought that maybe that extra bit of money every month might encourage PWC's back to work? I know it will make me a bit more comfortable when it eventually comes thru so I might feel more confident about returning to work as the other money coming in can go towards the household stuff and the maintenance will all go on things for my son.

Why does everyone always have to have such a negative approach to things??

If everyone thought your way that would be great, because I think you have the right attitude towards your future, however many will abuse this system, multiple children, multiple dads, CM disregarded, CM coming in from several fathers, none of it counting against IS, why would they then want to get work?? I think it could be a disaster in that case. Hence my negativity towards this new rule.

nannytone_2

were negative cos too many people sit back and take advantage. suppose its human nature to a degree. why would someone with maintenance coming in from different fathers worry about working? theyd probably be better off taking benefit. thae problem is the system not the poeple that use it!

kingfisherblue

Believe me, nannytone, I do fight. I have just come off the phone - my friend rang me about our latest battle for social activities for our children. The amount of help available for disabled children varies from area to area. Even then, it is a constant battle to get help. Another friend has been refused several types of help that she has applied for, and was even told that the only way she could get it would be if she harmed her child, which I find disgusting TBH.

Life is one long battle at times and it is exhausting. We shouldn't have to fight for so many things for our kids. The two friends mentioned above, myself, and a few other friends have set up a constituted group so that we can arrange social activites for our children. We apply for funding to hire play centres so that our children can play safely at a time when it is quieter for them (some of our kids can't cope with crowds or noise, others can't get around easily and find it almost impossible when it is busy). We are holding formal meetings to get everyone's views and to record everybody's efforts. We have to do this because of the lack of facilities for our disabled kids and their non-disabled siblings to play together.

Next week alone, I have two meetings about play and leisure for disabled children - one is a meeting of our own group, another is with employees of Social Services.

So yes, I am fighting for what I believe in. I'm fighting more than most people. It's not just for my son, but so that parents in the future don't have to face the battles that we have faced.

moonflower_2

SuziQ thank you for your reply.Very scary situation in just a telephone call .I have checked with entittled to and I do qualify.

How long does it take to be processed? 6-8 weeks does anyone know.

nannytone_2

good for you kingfisher! its so wrong that parents of disabled kids have to fight. they have enough on their plates just living day to day. my grandson only gets physio for 30 minutes a month so my daughhter pays £65 a week for a private specialist neuro physio. he was diagnosed with scoliosis but thankfull it has been addressed with the help of the provate physio. my grandson is a funny little fellow. unless he knows someone well he just wont co operate, and the community team see him so infrequently i can almost sympathise with the fact he plays 'floppy babies' with them
luckily enough the nursery are very involved. just recently social services agreed to fund him for a specialised walker costing £1600, way out of the family's budget. but it was all thanks to the input of nursery and the private physio. hes also got 'big mac' switches which he uses perfectly so at last hes been given a voice. but left to community services alone he's just b a body in a bed. even the local school said it was up to my daughter 'if' she wanted him to go to school. surely its law that all 5 - 16 year olds receive an education? obviously not if theyre not classed as 'normal'

kingfisherblue

Glad to hear that your grandson is getting the help he needs nannytone. The one area that I didn't have to fight was getting my son into a mainstream school with 1:1 support - although there were many battles once he was there! But that's another story....

And yes, it is law that children receive an education, whether this is mainstream or special school, or home education. Before 1971, it was different, but thankfully we have moved on, if only a little.