In 2006, Norfolk’s Adult Services, Children’s Services, Health and others agreed a plan to work together to provide better support for disabled parents and their families.

Disabled parents helped them to write it.



The plan is called the Joint Protocol for Enabling Parents with a Disability or Long Term Illness.

It was needed because people who work in the different community services had different ways of working. They did not match up.

People who worked with adults worked only with the adult’s own needs.

People who worked with children worked only with the child’s needs.

No-one really looked at the family’s support needs all together.

It was hard to support to disabled parents and their families.

The Protocol gives all community services one way to work together.

This means disabled parents and their children and families can have

•    a successful family life

•    the right support, if needed, at the right time.

The most important part of the Protocol for disabled parents is Section 4. It says

Disabled parents or children of disabled parents should automatically be entitled to an assessment. 

When a disabled adult is a parent, he or she might have more support needs than when they don’t have children.

Services should try to provide support in an empowering and non-judgemental way.

Disabled parents should be asked if they need interpreters, helpers or advocates to help them understand and take part in the assessment properly. 

Information should be in accessible formats.

Disabled parents should have support in day to day tasks to look after all their children’s welfare, education and community life.

The needs of all carers, including young carers, should be included.

Employment and training needs of the disabled parent and their partner should be included.

Disabled parents should have a key worker to coordinate assessments and services.

More about assessments.

The most important parts of the Protocol for community workers say

Adult Social Services should include what disabled parents have to do for their children (parenting support needs) in assessments of disabled adults who have children. 

Adult Social Services should organise the support a disabled parent and their family might need unless there are very complex child care issues in the family.

Adult Social Services and Children’s Services should join to provide support for what disabled parents have to do for their children.

If there are very complex child care issues, Children’s Services should organise support for children and join with Adult Social Services to provide support to the disabled parent if needed.  This way families are more likely to stay together.

No single group can meet all the needs of disabled parents but they should all work together with disabled parents where needed.

This includes schools, housing, transport, health workers including GPs and hospitals.

Read Norfolk County Council's  Joint Protocol for Enabling Parents with a Disability or Long Term Illness