Unseen and Invisible? Issues of Recognition for Parents With Intellectual Disabilities Accessing Social Work and Social Care Services for Adults in England

Background:
Parents in England with an intellectual disability may be eligible for support with parenting from Local Authority’s Adult services under the Care Act (2014).

Method:
This study investigated how adult social workers support these parents through 18 interviews with managers and commissioners and focus groups with 52 social workers, analysed using thematic analysis.

Results:
Parents with a diagnosed ‘intellectual disability’ accessed “gold standard of support” from intellectual disability teams. Parents with a milder or borderline intellectual disability accessed support from the ‘general’ team if they had two eligible needs under the Care Act. There were inclusive and more restrictive approaches, related to lack of resources and social worker knowledge and skills, to the recognition of two eligible needs.

Conclusions:
Parents with milder intellectual disabilities are rendered invisible to services due to not having a ‘label’ or ‘obvious’ eligibility for support under the Care Act.