New report reveals record-breaking delays in support for disabled children

2 mins read

Tuesday 7 March 2023

The Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP) has today published a report that reveals “record-breaking” delays and backlogs to health and social care services facing families with disabled children.

Findings of the report, Failed and Forgotten, and a film by Let us Learn too will be share with MPs today at a special Parliamentary event.

Key findings

Based on responses from more than 2,000 families across England, the report found:

  • Half of parents of disabled children are unable to work and have experienced poverty, because of lack of support for their child.
  • Three in four parents have had to give up employment or their whole careers, due to lack of support.
  • Seven out of ten parents said their disabled children’s health had deteriorated because of lack of support.
  • Over a third (38%) of parents have experienced marriage/relationship breakdown in the last 12 months as a result of lack of support for their disabled child.

The research also reveals the worrying state of affairs across education, health and social care services:

  • Only one in three disabled children has the correct level of support from education setting.
  • Only one in seven families had the correct level of support from social care.
  • Only one in five has the correct level of support from health services.

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Read full report

Read the full report on the Disabled Children’s Partnership’s website.

You can also read a summary of the report and its findings or an easy read version.