Specialist services

Shared Lives for parents with a learning disability

Over 70% of parents with a learning disability have their children taken into care.

Shared Lives South West is able to offer a service to a parent with a learning disability and their child enabling the parent to retain parental responsibility and bring up their child with support. Specifically trained Shared Lives carers can offer parenting support and guidance to the person with a learning disability as well as meeting their other support needs, and give the person with a learning disablity a settled home life with 24 hour family based support on hand.

This service would normally be funded through adult social care and Children’s Services, through the creation of a joint budget and joint service plan with Shared Lives South West.

Shared Lives South West is developing an expertise in this field and is currently seeking the funding for a regional project about Shared Lives and Parents with a Learning Disability. For more information about this project or to get involved please contact Jane Bell, chief executive at jbell@sharedlivessw.org.uk

Shared Lives EXTRA

Some of our Shared Lives carers can offer additional support services over and above the normal Shared Lives arrangements described above. These are outside of the framework of Shared Lives but share many of the values and characteristics of Shared Lives.  EXTRA services under the Shared Lives South West banner are matched, monitored and supported by the organisation in the same way that Shared Lives are.

Through Shared Lives EXTRA we can offer move on/move out support, where a Shared Lives carer uses an annex or a house/flat in very close proximity to their home and supports people to live there build on their independent living skills.  We can also offer flexible community support, where a Shared Lives carer uses their skills and experience to support someone living in their local community to undertake activities, engage in their local community, manage daily living tasks and live independently.

This is a small scale but developing service.  Please enquire at our offices for further information.