Care and protection relates to concerns raised about the care and protection of a child or young person under the age of 18 years. The Children’s Court has jurisdiction to make court orders to ensure their safety, welfare and well-being.
For any parent involved in a care and protection matter the process can be both complex and stressful; for parents, or parents to be, with intellectual disability the process is even more complex and stressful and without specialised support and representation parents with disability often experience disadvantage in the care and protection system.
IDRS’s Parents Project funded by the Public Purpose Fund of the Law Society of NSW and designed and managed by our team provides assistance to:
- Legal Representatives: including but not limited to problem solving around communication challenges and liaising with Family and Community Service Caseworkers,
- Parents with Intellectual Disability: including but not limited to legal advice, support in meetings with Family and Community Services, assistance with reading and understanding documents, provision of accessible information, and
- Support Persons: assisting disability workers, clinicians, care and protection caseworkers, family support workers and family members with, but not limited to, understanding care proceedings, provision of information for parenting with intellectual disability, developing appropriate support plans and in-service education sessions.
