advice regarding childs school

nicelittlefella1974

im in a bit of a pickle to be honest and i dont know whether im coming or going so please bear with me.
i have been through domestic abuse.in the end i couldnt take anymore when i realised for the 5th time that my husband that was supposed to be my carer was taking my meds as well.
motability very kindly took the car back as i had no other driver and do not drive myself.
i have a 4 year old child and a 15 year old.
due to my husbands revengeful actions of reporting me to social services he actually helped me by doing so as,although they have no concerns for the welfare of my children they decided to do a CAF.they did it at my house and put lots of things down which they saw were needed to support us.one of the things were taxis so get my 4 year old to school.the CAF meeting is going to the next stage of SPA which many health professionals and social services will be at but my daughter was told at school by the lady who was asked to do the CAF that one point has been raised that my DLA is for things like getting my child to school,which the lady feels is very unfair as she knows how much i do spend of it getting around etc so shes told my daughter shes pushing for funding.
i have no problem whatsoever using the money for getting my daughter to school but i was going to try and get a mobility scooter to help me get about as my mobility is poor but i cant afford it all and i dont know what to do as i have many apts to get to and pain clinics etc which are taxis.
any advice is greatly appreciated,thankyou.

Savvy_Sue

I am not sure what you are asking.

If there is a proposal for someone else to pay for taxis to get your child to school, I'd bite their hand off. Then you have more money available for your own mobility.

If the suggestion is that you should pay for taxis from your DLA, then I'd say it was your choice how you spend your DLA, and if a scooter would meet your needs better and enable you to get your child to school, then go for that.

I believe the CAF is for your child's needs, but you should be involved at every stage, so saying "actually I think this would be better than that" is perfectly reasonable.

Please explain a bit more if I've completely missed the point!

nicelittlefella1974

thankyou for your reply.
i guess im just worrying that the SPA meeting will happen in around 2 weeks time which is great as the CAF was done on 5th may and that even though it was put down as one of the things that funding was needed for school,they will say that my DLA is for that but i cannot afford a mobility scooter,gardener,personalbits,taxis for apts and school so im just worrying i guess.
there were so many things put in the CAF besides that like my house isnt suitable and that i need counselling as does my 15 year old and many other things.sorry to be a pain and thankyou.

Savvy_Sue

I'm not sure what SPA is, but can I suggest that you try to stop worrying (because it won't help) and concentrate on what you think the main priorities should be? They MAY say that the DLA should cover taxis, but they may be willing to look for funding for it, by the sound of it.

Or again, have I missed something?

forallotherthings

Have you got contact details to contact the CAF coordinator directly? They might be able to put your mind at rest about some of these things.

daska

Very simply the DLA is for your needs, not someone else's. Adult Social Services have a responsibility to support you in your parenting role if your disability affects your ability to parent. Children's services involvement is for your child's needs. I've previously had funding via the CAF for transport, nursery costs etc but currently get a personal budget from adult services which covers getting my 5 year old to and from school etc. If your children are acting as carer's for you in any wa they are entitled to assessments and support as well.

Best of luck, you will need to be explicit about your needs and tenacious.

P.s. DLA won't cover the costs of 10 return taxis a week, let alone any thing else on top!

nicelittlefella1974

thankyou for the replies.
funnily enough,ive had a phonecall today regarding the meeting and who is going to be there.the CAF apparently went ahead in the summer holidays so now its the meeting in 2 weeks time with alot of professionals going to be there including PIP,adult social services,young carers project worker,a SENCO from the school where my youngest starts next week (not sure why senco are attending?),FLO from my eldests school.
daska you are right - i cannot afford the return trips in the mornings and again in the afternoons as well as all my apts.if i could then i would but its not possible so not sure what will happen.
i could order the taxi for every morning and my eldest (15) could take my 4 year old into school for the breakfast club so that i wouldnt have to go and get back in the mornings but the breakfast club is £2 per day which is £10 per day and ideally i want to go with her.