4.1 Criteria for Allocation to Children with Disabilities Team |
AMENDMENT
This chapter was significantly updated in October 2010 and the chapter should be reread.
Contents
1. Introduction
The Children with Disabilities Team works in partnership with children with disabilities and their families.
The Children with Disabilities Team (CWDT) provide specialist help for children aged 0 to 18 with a disability who are substantially affected in their everyday living by one or more of the following:
- Global developmental delay
- Physical impairment
- A profound sensory impairment
- A significantly disabling chronic ill health condition
- Severe communication or language disorder
- Autistic Spectrum Disorder with communication disorder and developmental delay
- Learning disability
- A serious life limiting or terminal illness.
The following conditions do not meet the team’s criteria:
- High functioning Autism and Aspergers
- Emotional and behavioural difficulties that are not due to one of the areas listed above (this includes ADHD)
- Mental health conditions
- Dyslexia, Dyspraxia (learning difficulties as opposed to learning disabilities)
- Speech and language delays.
2. Referrals
Referrals made to the Children with Disabilities Team by locality teams and other social work teams within the Department must include an initial assessment from that team before they can be referred on to the CWDT. This is in order to inform the Team Manager-Senior Social Worker of the CWDT whether the child in question meets the criteria of the team/service. The Initial Assessment needs to clearly identify the needs of the child.
For self-referrals CWDT will complete an Initial Assessment to ascertain whether the child meets criteria unless it is immediately apparent that the child does not meet criteria.
For referrals from non social work professionals a CAF is normally required unless the issue is one of child protection.
Children who do not meet the criteria of the CWDT should be referred on to a locality team.
3. Sibling Groups
Many referrals will concern families where only one of a group of siblings has a disability. These families should be allocated to the Children with Disabilities Team if the child’s disability is the significant issue in the presenting problem. If the primary concern is with a non-disabled child in the family then the locality team should retain case responsibility.
In some complex cases the Children with Disability Team can offer consultation, or joint allocation could be appropriate if the social worker and managers believe it would be a more effective method of working.
4. Disability Register
Children must be eligible for the Disability Register to receive services from CWDT. However this alone does not mean the case qualifies for a service from this team.
End