Derbyshire County Council have a duty to provide short break services to young people and their families in order to support families in their caring role and to make sure young people have opportunities outside of their family home. They offer a range of short break options. These are:
- Direct payments so families can pay for specialist carer support/one to one support/holiday provision for young people/overnights
- Focused one to one support with children looking at specific issues
- Overnight breaks with foster carers/specialist providers
- Overnight short breaks in residential short break units
These options will be discussed with your family. This will be done following an assessment of the needs of your family members. For more information on how to access an assessment please speak to someone who is already involved with your child like a therapist, special educational needs coordinator, nurse or social care worker. They can then refer in for a single assessment or complete an early help assessment to look at your family’s needs.
If you don't receive a service at the moment you can contact Call Derbyshire tel: 01629 533190.
What if I need more support?
We realise that as time goes by and children get older their needs change. Circumstances within your family may also change, impacting upon your ability to care. Derbyshire County Council provide differing levels of support resulting from an assessment. Once in place the level of support is then reviewed regularly to make sure it meets need for the young person and family as a whole. If your needs have changed please contact your social care worker or main professional involved who can then reassess the situation.