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Care / Short break service

Short break service

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The short break service applies to all children and young people with a disability aged between 0-18 who live in Monmouthshire.  This will be reviewed annually.

What is a Short Break?

Short Breaks provide disabled children and young people an opportunity to spend time away from their parents, relaxing and having fun with their friends.

Short Breaks can take the form of:

  • Daytime care in the home or community
  • Overnight care in the home or elsewhere
  • Leisure activities outside of the home

Short breaks come in many different forms and can last anything from a couple of hours to a few days. The length and type of break will depend on the child/ young person and family. We may need to assess the child and family to ensure we provide the right amount of support and short-breaks at the right time.

What short breaks are available?

For most short breaks an assessment by a Social Worker will be required but there are some other short breaks where no assessment will be required.

Social Care Assessment

A parent of a child with a disability has a legal right to ask for an assessment of their child’s needs by social care services.

The assessment process, carried out by a social worker, will establish if the child is eligible for social care services, which enables us to find out exactly what kind of support the child needs. We may need to consult with health, education professionals and voluntary agencies to get the clearest picture of the child’s needs.

Once we have established that the child is eligible for services from the Children with Disabilities Team, we will produce an individual Care Plan which sets out what kind of support services the child needs. This will be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure it continues to meet the child’s needs.

There are a range of short break options available from Monmouthshire Social Care, depending on the family’s wishes and the child’s needs.

Are you affected by short breaks? Would you like to have your say?

Contact Information

  • Community Children’s Nursing Service
    Telephone: 01633 618020
  • Disability Sports Development Officer
    Mark Foster:  07753850550
  • Vision Impairment Service
    Telephone: 01633 648888.
    Email: vis@torfaen.gov.uk
  • Monmouthshire Young Carers Service
    Telephone: 01495 769996
    Email: southeastwales@crossroads.org.uk
  • Ty Hafan Hospice
    Telephone: 02920 532200
    www.tyhafan.org