Transition usually starts around the age of 14 with a review where your social worker or you responsible transition worker attend the assessment and they start to discuss what future would be suitable for your child.

Most school places go up to 19 and there is the possibility now to have education or a college course funded up to the age of 25.  By the age of 16 you and they will have to have decided whether your child would benefit from going on to college (click here to have a look at special needs colleges we recommend) .  If not, they have to start informing you that it could be supported living in the community or residential care (click here to read a debate between the two options).

Social services will hand your child over at 18 from Children’s Services to Adult services and all the niceties come to an end.  By this point you will need to have taken charge of the process – you will be assigned a new social worker or care manager who, in most cases, will not know your child and will take your case on based on a file rather than personal experience.  Getting the decision you want will mean you have to be informed – it’s about information, information, information.

If you decide residential care is the right placement for your child you will be given a list of possible places by your Local Authority.   In most cases, you will have to visit those facilities in your county first, even if you have identified somewhere outside your Local Authority that you’ve decided best meets the needs of your child.  The key thing to do is make a list of your child’s needs and as you visit places write down why that place can’t meet those needs.  Visit as many places as you can even if you know they are not right – deciding what you don’t want is the first step and you need to evidence everything so that when you are challenged by the Local Authority you have a clear case as to why an out-of-county placement is justified.

Once you’ve decided on a particular home or provider and if that provider is out of county you will have to ask your care manager to request an assessment.  If you have gathered all the information and presented a justified case to the Local Authority, most care managers will support you through this process.  So it’s really important to have gathered your information and built your case for a particular placement from the outset.

Read Transition Step 2: Getting the Right Assessment

Read Transition Step 3: Access to Funding

Read Transition Step 4: What Makes a Good Transition

Read Transition Step 5: What Happens Afterwards