Health and social care

Croydon offers a range of services for children with a disability and their families such as:

• home-based short breaks where a child or young person visits the carer's home for a few hours or an overnight stay
• domiciliary care where a carer visits the home of the child or young person
• Calleydown residential and day care centre
• special placements (in cases where none of the above services are appropriate or sufficient).

Who is eligible for these services?

To be eligible for one of the above services a child or young person must

• live in Croydon
• be under 18 years old
• have a permanent and substantial disability.

He or she must then be assessed by a social worker from the Children with Disabilities Assessment Team as being in need of one or more of these services. The team can be contacted at the details below.

Disabilities include learning, physical and multiple disabilities (which may include health needs). It excludes unrelated emotional, behavioural and mental health difficulties. 

Once a child or young person is accepted as eligible, there may be a waiting period as services are allocated according to need and availability.

Equipment and adaptations

The Children with Disabilities Service works in close co-operation with the Croydon and Surrey Downs Community NHS Trust.

If your child has a permanent and substantial disability that requires aid equipment or which necessitates adaptations to your home, health trust staff will assess your need and organise appropriate services.

Costs

Although the law allows the council to ask users to pay for such services, Croydon's current practice is to provide them without charge.

Contact Details

Contact name

Children, youth, families and schools

Telephone

020 8726 6400

Minicom

020 8760 5797

Address

Taberner House
Park Lane
Croydon CR9 3JS