We offer support to children and young people, aged 0 to 18, who have a diagnosed disability.
If your child has not already been assessed and you feel they would benefit from an assessment you can self-refer by contacting the Children with Disabilities Team on 01307 492 211.
You can also ask your child’s school, GP, or any other professional involved in the care of your child to make a referral for assessment on your behalf.
Child’s Integrated Assessment and Plan
Under sections 23-24 Children (Scotland) Act 1995, the council has a duty, when asked, to assess children/young people affected by their disability to determine the needs of the child/young person. This also takes into consideration the carer’s ability to provide care for them.
A social worker from the Children with Disabilities Team will carry out an assessment. Your child’s allocated worker will gather information from you, your child, relevant professionals, and anyone else who you think knows them well. The allocated worker will request consent to speak to others involved with your child.
The assessment should take around 12 weeks to complete. Our team uses various tools based on the National Practice Model to help us consider the whole child and to gain a holistic approach.
Adult Carer Support Plan or Young Carer Statement
A carer is generally defined as an individual who provides, or intends to provide, care for another individual. The Adult Carer Support Plan (ACSP) or Young Carer Statement (YCS) are new tools under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 to consider a carer's needs, carer's responsibilities and how the caring role impacts on their health and wellbeing.
Angus Carers can help a carer complete an ACSP or YCS, identify where help may be needed, and then draw up a plan to support them.
Self-Directed Support Budget – Child’s Integrated Assessment and Plan
If your child’s assessment has identified that they are eligible for longer term support or services from children services under section 23 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, the Assessment and Plan will be used to complete the Resource Allocation System which will automatically calculate the support budget. This budget can decrease as well as increase depending on your child’s changing needs and the review process.
A budget may not be needed to meet all the desired outcomes in your child's plan. Self-Directed Support (SDS) is a process of support that includes information, advice and exploring what is available within the local community.
Child Disability Payment and Personal Independence Payments
If your child receives Child Disability Payment (CDP) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) you will be asked what this is used for, as this benefit is paid to help with the extra cost involved with looking after them.
Planning your child/young person’s Self-Directed Support
The child’s plan will contain details on how the agreed outcomes will be met, using the SDS budget that has been generated. You need to consider the four Self-Directed Support options and what would be best for your child and your family. These are:
- direct payment – you can receive a payment which will let you organise your own support
- directing your support – you can select a provider and the support in a way that suits you best to meet your agreed outcomes
- support organised for you – you can ask your worker to decide with you what support you need, and they will arrange it on your behalf
- mix and match – you can choose to have a mix of the above options for different types of support
Review Process
Your child’s allocated social worker will undertake a review minimum annually, however you or the child’s social worker can request a review at any time if circumstances have changed or the support in place is not helping your child to meet their desired outcomes. It is important that you make time to go to your child’s SDS review discussions. If you don’t, your child’s package of support may be stopped.
Concerns and complaints
If you are not happy with any part of the process, please discuss it with the team leader at the Children with Disabilities Team in the first instance. If you are still unhappy you can raise a complaint through the Angus Council Website.
Useful websites: