Family Carers
Carers Assessments:
If you look after a disabled relative and caring for them has a major impact on your life then a carer’s assessment could help you. Click here for a carer’s guide to a carer’s assessment:
Carers Assessments: What’s in it for you?
Click here:
What Valuing People says about Families:
Valuing People recognises that many people with learning disabilities live with their families and that this fact should be recognised saying that family carers should get more support from services to help them. Click here for the ‘Valuing Families Toolkit’:
Supporting Older Family Carers:
Every effort must be taken to ensure that carers’ needs assessments are a positive experience for older family carers of people with learning disabilities. They should enable older family carers to address all aspects of the impact of caring on their current needs, as well as allowing them to explore the future in a sensitive manner; Click here for further information:
www.learningdisabilities.org.uk
Supporting families from Ethnic Communities:
Minority ethnic communities face substantial inequalities and discrimination in employment, education, health and social services. The higher prevalence of learning difficulties in South Asian communities has been linked to high levels of material and social deprivation. These may combine with other factors such as poor access to maternal health care, misclassification and higher rates of environmental or genetic risk factors. People with learning difficulties from minority ethnic communities experience simultaneous disadvantage in relation to race, impairment and, for women, gender. Negative stereotypes and attitudes held by service professionals contribute to the disadvantage they face.
www.dh.gov.gov.uk (.pdf)
Parents with learning disabilities:
There are no accurate and reliable figures on the number of parents with a learning disability – they are a hidden population, however evidence suggests that the number is steadily rising. Click here for further information:
www.intellectualdisability.info
Family Mentors:
Supporting Families who are making a difference. Click here to read more:
www.sw-special.co.uk (.pdf)
National Family Carer Network:
The Network gives a national focal point for the issues affecting families that include an adult with a learning disability. Click here to find out more:
Direct payments:
Direct payments are cash payments in lieu of social services. Following implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2001, direct payments must be offered to parents of disabled children, giving greater choice and flexibility in how they receive services.
Breaking point:
Families of children and adults with severe or profound learning disabilities love the people they care for. They care for them willingly but they need help to do so. Breaking point happens when these families don’t get the help and support they need.It is the crisis point that happens when families are so worn out by the pressure of their caring role and they don’t get the short breaks that they need, that they feel like they can’t care for their son or daughter anymore.
What does Mencap want to change?
We want people with a learning disability and their families and carers to get good short breaks from their local authority or health and social services trust.
Young carers
It can feel good to look after someone you care about. But it can be stressful. There are lots of things you can do to look after yourself!
New Deal for Carers
Recently the Government announced a package of measures for Carers.
The links below take you to the New Deal for Carers and information relation to the nationwide consultation on updating and extending the National Strategy for Carers.
Carers UK - National Carers Strategy (.pdf)
Our Health, Our Care, Our Say, Our Caring Future Briefing (.pdf)
Department of Health (.doc)
