 | Disabled Parents Network (DPN) is a national organisation of and for disabled people who are parents or who hope to become parents, and their families, friends and supporters. |  Contact Us 0300 3300 639 |
| Disabled Parents Network (DPN) is a national organisation of and for disabled people who are parents or who hope to become parents, and their families, friends and supporters. | Contact Us 0300 3300 639 |
The Big Lottery Fund have announced their grant to DPN in a recent press release which can be seen here.
The four-year grant of £499,635 will enable us to expand our work and employ new staff to take the work of DPN forward. The next few months will be very busy ones for the Trustees, and the new Executive Committee that has been formed from the Trustees.
We'll be sharing more news on this very shortly.
Supermama Video
DPN Trustees and volunteers have been discussing the following video found on YouTube, which we felt was worth sharing:
We're always keen to hear (or see) examples of how Disabled Parents have adapted.
THE HEALTHCARE TRAVEL COSTS SCHEME
Around 1.4 million people every year turn down or miss healthcare appointments, or choose not to seek health care, because of transport problems. For people on low incomes, the reason is often that they cannot afford the cost of travelling to hospital and other places of treatment.
The Department of Health has been working on extending the Hospital Travel Costs Scheme to help more patients to access the care that they need. These changes will come into effect from 1st April 2008, and to reflect its broader scope, the scheme will be renamed the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme.
From this date, some people on low incomes may qualify for help with travel costs under HTCS, including those in receipt of Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, Child Tax Credit*, Working Tax Credit* with Child Tax Credit*, Working Tax Credit* with a disability element* (*subject to an income ceiling)
DEAN THOMAS - WINNER OF THE ICT HUB’S “INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS” AWARD
Trustees of DPN are proud to announce that former Trustee and website co-ordinator, Dean Thomas, has been selected as the ICT Hub winner for the ‘Individual Contribution’ Award 2008. The judges were very impressed with the work he has done and is continuing to be involved with, not least for co-ordinating an ICT strategy for Disabled Parents Network.
Dean has invested many hundreds of hours of his free time each year as a volunteer and Trustee for DPN. He has been instrumental in coordinating all aspects of our ICT strategy from setting up our original website to converting it to CMS in 2007 with greater functionality including: integrated login system with the enquiry log, newsletter facility and feedback facilities.
Dean also played a key role in designing DPN’s online enquiry log which allows all our disabled parent helpline volunteers the freedom and flexibility to work from home. Most recently in 2007, he implemented enhancements to the enquiry log system including improved: security and data protection compliance as well as an improved monitoring facility.
Dean has recently resigned from his position as Trustee due to personal circumstances but remains a dedicated and helpful volunteer for the organisation.
Having a website and online enquiry log has made a huge difference to DPN’s work. Dean has designed both with good accessibility and in consultation with other disabled parents to ensure the facilities are fit for purpose. The enhancements he made to the website in 2007 have meant it is easier to maintain/update and easier to navigate. Enhancements to the enquiry log system have meant that DPN’s data can be recorded more easily and more accurately allowing for improvements in monitoring and evaluation vital to the future of of DPN’s work.
Dean travelled to London to be presented with the award at the ICT Hub National Conference in London on March 11th 2008.
ILF review
A recent report on the ILF for DWP has recommended changes be made so as to be more compatible with Personal Budgets. The ILF have decided to wait on making any major changes until the outcome of the IB evaluation is published in a few months time. However, one of its recommendations is that ILF criteria is changed to include support for Disabled Parents in their parenting role. This would mean that any parent on the higher rate of DLA who gets more than £340 per week for social services can apply to ILF for a top up of up to £545 per week, or that parents already on ILF can ask for their parenting needs to be assessed for ILF funding.
Download the following PDFs for more information - Summary | Review | Easy-read
Disabled Parent Supernanny Expert!
DPN's Vice-Chair, Simone Baker, is now featured as a "Supernanny Expert" having written an item for the Supernanny Website. The item on "Parenting with a disability" outlines some of the issues facing disabled parents and promotes the existence of Disabled Parents Network :
Visit The Supernanny Website.
The Supernanny Website is the official online community for the successful Channel 4 TV Show, and features parenting advice, video clips, a discussion forum and even has reward charts which can be downloaded!
Born Survivors: Looking after Mum
This BBC documentary looked at how 12-year-old Melissa and 14-year-old Ryan support their disabled mum.
The two girls have also kept a diary which can be read on the BBC website.
last updated: 07 Sep 08
tags : News
Registered Office: Disabled Parents Network, 81 Melton Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 8EN. Registered Charity No: 1087662
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