We are currently consulting with parents about a revised strategy for Contact a Family. Click here to see and comment on the new strategy.

Our strategic vision is:

All parents and families of disabled children in the UK are fully recognised and respected and have access to appropriate support and services which meet their needs.

Our core organisational purpose is:

To support parents and families who care for a disabled child by:

• providing access to good quality advice and information, broad ranging appropriate support and contact with other families which will lead to positive outcomes;
• influencing changes in policy and practice in order to substantially improve the quality of lives of parents and families and their children.

Our core values are:

Contact a Family is an organisation that was founded on the principle of mutual support between parents and families caring for disabled children. In consequence we have built up an extensive network of local, regional and UK wide support groups which enable parents and families to come together, share information and offer support to one another. Our desire to influence change is informed by the direct experience of parents and families.

Contact a Family's work is based on the following values and beliefs:

• We seek to be an open and inclusive organisation, promoting diversity and equality;
• We support and welcome parents and families from all communities and believe they should be accorded equal worth regardless of disability, gender, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation and social class;
• We believe parents and families should be consulted by service providers and actively involved in participation so that they can help to develop local and national services. They should be listened to and treated with respect, as equal partners, by professionals and policy makers;
• We recognise that many parents and families who care for disabled children are excluded from participating in society at both an economic and social level;
• We believe that parents and families should be provided with a full range of relevant, up to date information and have access to high quality services;
• We support parents and families in making the choices that are appropriate to their child's needs;
• We believe that services should be inclusive and designed to maximise the independence and full potential of disabled children;
• We believe that the needs of parents and families are best served by a range of different organisations working together.

There is still much to do

Despite the achievements of all Contact a Family staff and volunteers across the UK who have been working towards objectives set for us by the Trustees in 2001, there is still much to do. We must recognise that over half of disabled children still grow up in or at the margins of poverty; that most mothers of disabled children are still unable to work; that parents still report a daily struggle to access the services and support they need; that minority ethnic families remain doubly excluded and marginalised and that we still only reach a small proportion of families with disabled children each year.

The Corporate Management Team and Trustees have identified five overarching aims that we must work towards during 2005-2010 to bring about real change for Contact a Family and more importantly, the families we support.

Our five aims

The five aims are:

1. By 2010, Contact a Family will be a leading provider of quality advice, information and support to families of disabled children across the UK;
2. By 2010, Contact a Family will have enabled parents' voices to be heard in shaping the policies and services that affect their lives at all levels;
3. By 2010 Contact a Family will have contributed to positive changes in legislation, policy and practice across the UK;
4. By 2010, Contact a Family will have long term financial security;
5. By 2010, Contact a Family will continue to have robust management and will have improved governance and infrastructure.

The above is the introduction to our Corporate Strategy. The full document (0.1Mb) can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat pdf format.