I am one of three admins of a Facebook group called https://www.facebook.com/groups/dacrossroads/?ref=share_group_link

I am creating this petition because, I am tired of watching families & carers of children with complex disabilities go through the horrendous and degrading process of applying for disability allowance, all because their child has turned 16, in some cases some of the parents will receive a letter from the department of social protection notifying them the payment will stop on the month of the 16 birthday and they can apply for disability allowance.  

what I would like people to know is how difficult the process is for these two payments, The process of applying for Domicilary Care Allowance is so stringent that you have to prove that your child is substantially disabled & restricted more than that of a child of the same age!
for a minimum period of one year!

(in almost all applications the GP will tick permanently lifelong)
Then….A medical officer will examine the information received, letters/reports from GPs, consultants, hospitals & even schools
and then determine if the child is disabled enough and that the payment can be made payable to the parents. 
if the parents are not successful they will receive a letter telling them that their child may be disabled, but they are not substantially disabled enough to receive the payment. 

They are given the option for a review, then appeal, and some appeals can take up to 12 to 18 months.

So I believe it’s time to acknowledge  after going through this process, and been lucky enough to get this payment the minute the child turn 16 they should automatically move forward to disability allowance without having to apply,.. unfortunately that doesn’t happen & parents are back to square one again & expected to make an application to the disability allowance section, this is creating huge anxiety and problems for the families of the disabled children, as they have a enough to be dealing with…

Instead of been able to support and care for their children, they are split in two spending weeks and months on applications to the department of social protection for something that should be automatic! 

there is no guidance or support in this process what’s so ever! And I have parents personally telling me if they contact charities they are not helping them, in most cases they talk the talk with them, but they do nothing physically to support the families, it is a Lottery of where you live! You could have one office in one area who is sit down and fill out the forms with the parents and another office in another area who will do nothing only talk on the phone and leave you where are you standing after they hang up.
and this is why free groups are created, if there was a necessity for us we wouldn’t exist. 

We cannot let this continue, it’s madness, parents should not have to study guidelines and rules, & chase after charities and support groups just to get simple entitlements for disabled children.
there shouldn’t be a separate set of guidelines for disability allowance, it should be common sense, if a child has been classed disabled by a medical officer in one payment, like DCA, then it should follow them into the next one, unfortunately the operational guidelines for disability allowance are different, as it moves from The care given by the parents to the ability of the disabled person and it’s the parent that must navigate them to prove that their child is still disabled enough to satisfy the conditions.

if you can wrap your head around this…they can’t be able to work while applying! Yet, if they are awarded the disability allowance, the Child can take up part-time employment and earn a minimum amount before losing the payment.   

people with disabilities can work, and should have every opportunity to be independent, and that is why this application form is not fit for purpose! It is discriminating against children with disabilities.   

All children moving from DCA are substantially disabled, they would not have received the payment if they were not and nothing has changed, because disabilities don’t just disappear into the night, so there is discrimination that taking place, & it is shocking! The process to apply for disability allowance is a minefield, parents are having to go to Solicitors after being refused and without groups for support, they would be in dire straits because of the process!

is it right that this is the way things are in 2022! Are we really a country that forgets the most vulnerable of society.

and should the department of social protection be creating such barriers for supports for disabled children.   

If the parents are disabled themselves they have no chance of successfully applying for their Child. 

 This a degrading process & it’s nothing more than to strip parents of a payment and prevent them from claiming a further yearly  care grant,..that they are automatically entitled to when they have The DCA, (Domicilary Care Allowance) 

And lastly, and this may be a side note but it’s important, not every carer is entitled to carers allowance or carers benefits, so the minute they move that person from DCA to DA the carers lose their yearly respite care grants for the child who turned 16!.

so not only do they have to suffer the indignity of reapplying and going through the hell of sending in reports and asking Doctors to fill out forms again, these parent have to go through the same process again almost yearly! 

please sign this petition and help us change this craziness. 

 

thank you all in advance  

 

admin of 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dacrossroads/?ref=share_group_link