The Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) campaign group, of which Contact a Family is a founding member, is calling on the government to improve its targeting of support services for families of disabled children. This comes after research published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) earlier this month showed that 72 per cent of families with disabled children are not currently accessing any care and family support services. Read More...

Talk to, write to and phone your local parliamentary candidates and ask them to sign up to prioritise disabled children and their families if they're elected. Read More...

The results of a survey by youth mental-health charity YoungMinds show that a third of parents with disabled children aren’t receiving the support they need for their children’s emotional or mental health problems. Read More...

This year's Share the Care Week, 7-12 March, focuses on The BIG difference short break carers make to disabled children and their families. Read More...

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has made agreements with O2, Orange, Tesco Mobile, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone to stop charging their customers for mobile calls to around seventy of the DWP’s 0800 numbers. These numbers are used for making initial claims for benefit and pensions and to request emergency payments, such as crisis loans. The companies the DWP has signed agreements with cover over 90% of the mobile market in the UK. Read More...

Following recommendations from the Lamb Inquiry, the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) has given the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) new powers to investigate complaints from parents unhappy with Special Educational Needs (SEN) support for their child. Read More...

Scope Response has launched a new free guide for parents of children with cerebral palsy containing a wealth of practical information and advice as well as details on where to find support. Read More...

The government has published a response to the 20 recommendations set out in the final report of the independent review of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), commissioned in December 2007. ‘Keeping Children and Young People in Mind’ was published on 7 January 2010 and sets out the Government’s commitments for high-quality services for children. Extra support and funding includes: Read More...

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has published the main findings from the second national sample survey of parents of disabled children in England. The survey was conducted between July and November 2009. Read More...

Keep Warm Keep Well, a national government campaign targeting the reduction of cold-related illnesses and deaths during winter, offers tips and advice on keeping you and your family warm and well this winter. Read More...