Learning Disability Social Work Team

What do the social work team do?

The social work team may be able to help you get the support you need, whether it is a short break, daytime activities, or a place to live. They can:

• talk to you to find out what help you need
• visit you at home and work with you, to plan the help you need
• set up the support you need and help you get used to it, when it starts

They can also help you in very difficult times, like if your carer becomes ill and cannot look after you. And they can help if they think someone is being neglected or abused.

Who can the social work team help?
Like all of the other things we do, you have to be aged over 18 and have a learning disability- click here for what we mean by a learning disability. You also have to live in Stoke-on-Trent.

We also have guidelines to help us decide who can use our services, because we can’t help everyone. The Government set these guidelines to make sure that everyone in the country has the same chance of getting help. To read more about these guidelines, click here.

How do you ask for this help?
You need to ring 01782-234050 or 01782-234235 where you can speak to a Contact Centre Advisor.

What happens when you contact us?
When you phone us, we will ask you some questions to find out more about you, like your age, name and address. We then pass these details onto the social work team who will phone you within two working days. They will talk to you to find out a bit more about you.

After that, the information we have about you gets passed onto a social worker who is specially trained to help you get what you need. They will either come and visit you at home or ask you to come into the office. Together, you can then plan what help you need. They try and see you and put the plan together in 28 working days.

When the plan is ready, we try to set up the support you need within 28 working days.

Is there a charge?
There is no charge for the help that the social work team give you. But you will need to pay something for the support they set up for you, like daytime activities or a short break. The social work team will talk to you about this.

The drawing on this page is from Change Picturebank- to go to their website, click here.