Getting reliable respite care is crucial for families of disabled children. Short breaks provide emotional and physical relief for unpaid carers while giving disabled children fun opportunities for social development. In the UK, local authorities provide two main respite support options - short break local offers and direct payments. Understanding the key differences can help families identify the better choice.
Short Break Local Offers
A short break local offer is respite care arranged and managed by the local authority. The council vets and commissions local care agencies, childminders, activity clubs etc to provide short break services that families can access. Common options include:
- Overnight respite at specialist centres
- Home care workers providing in-house short breaks
- Youth club sessions and organised activities outside the home
- Siblings clubs bringing together siblings of disabled children
Families are allocated a number of days or hours of short breaks per year based on assessed need. The type of short break can be matched to the child’s condition and preferences. Local offers aim to give families a break while providing disabled children stimulating activities for development.
Benefits include not having to arrange care or manage direct payments. Short break providers are trained, inspected and monitored by the council. Limited budgets mean families may not get their desired number of short break hours. Choice of providers may also be restricted.
Direct Payments
Direct payments are cash sums allocated to families who then use the funds to choose and pay their own short break carers. Parents can directly employ personal assistants, childminders or agencies. Families can tailor short breaks to the child’s particular needs and preferences.
Benefits of direct payments include flexibility in when and how short breaks are used. Families can build trusted relationships with carers of their choosing. Direct payments often allow more short break time compared to limited local authority budgets.
Drawbacks are the responsibilities of legally employing staff including payroll, insurance, background checks etc. Not all parents have the time and skills to manage this. Support is available but patchy between councils. Sourcing carers independently can also be challenging.
Key Differences
- Control - With direct payments, families choose the carers and activities. Local offers mean less say over the care provided.
- Flexibility - Direct payments allow tailoring respite to the changing family situation. Local offers can have less room for flexibility week-to-week.
- Budgets - Direct payment amounts depend on assessed need so families may get more short break time. Local offers are constrained by available resources.
- Convenience - Local offers mean less administrative work for families. Direct payments put legal and payroll responsibilities on parents.
- Monitoring - Councils oversee providers in local offers. With direct payments, ensuring quality of independent carers is the family’s responsibility.
Which is Better?
There is no definitive better option; each family’s circumstances are unique. Relevant considerations when deciding include:
- Parents’ capacity and confidence to manage direct payments
- The child’s specific care needs and preferences
- Existing relationships with trusted carers
- Available budget - direct payments often provide more short break time
- The local offer available - council-approved providers vary in suitability
- Desire for control over respite choices and flexibility
Trying both options can help families ascertain the best fit. Council disability teams have a duty to provide information to help families decide. Some families opt for a mix, using local offer overnight stays combined with supplementing hours using direct payments. Open communication with both local authorities and children is key to finding the right short break solutions.
Disabled children flourish when families get effective respite care suited to their needs. While challenging to navigate, short break supports enable fuller family lives and positive futures for disabled children.
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