Family Welfare Service

A service providing support for families in the UK applying for disability benefits, grants and more.

What is the Family Welfare Advisor Service?

The Family Welfare Advisor Service helps families caring for a child with complex medical needs to thrive at home by offering support with applying for disability benefits, accessing grants, and providing information on local services.

The service is open to parent carers in the UK and referrals can be made by professionals working with parents, or parents can refer themselves.

  • Help applying for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP)
  • Researching and applying for grants
  • Providing information about and referring to local services
  • Foodbank and Fuel Bank vouchers

WellChild doesn’t issue grants but will work with partners and other charities to find and access funding. These are the general areas of success however grant funding is changing rapidly:

  • Emergency essentials – white goods, children’s beds, bedding, clothing
  • Medical equipment and aids, not funded via NHS e.g. car seat, specialist seating, P Pod chairs, standing frames, powered & manual wheelchairs, specialist buggies
  • Sensory toys

If there is an item you would like funding which is not on this list, get in touch with us at [email protected] to check if we can help.

1. Families must have one or more children with complex medical needs as defined in our eligibility statement here >>

WellChild supports children and young people with complex medical needs.

Children or young people with complex medical needs tend to have two or more long-term and complex medical conditions, which may or may not have a diagnosis. They rely heavily on health services and work with a range of specialities to thrive. Some children we support may have a limited life expectancy, be disabled, or require medical equipment to sustain life. Others may not require equipment but still need a high level of support from health professionals and have a complex medication regime.

Children and young people living with just one of the following conditions and no other complex medical needs are not eligible for WellChild programmes:

  • Behavioural disorders e.g. ADHD, ODD etc.
  • Mental illnesses e.g. anorexia, depression, Tourette’s syndrome.
  • Cancer
  • Visual impairment
  • Hearing impairment

2. The children must not be in receipt of, or eligible for continuing care support

3. Children must be aged 0-19 years old

4. You must live in the UK. If you are accessing support from a service in this area, a professional from that service must submit a referral on your behalf.

Professionals and parent carers can make referrals to our service. Complete the referral form below and a member of our team will be in touch soon.

If you are applying for grant support, you may be asked to supply supporting documents, this may include:

  • Financial information including payslips, income and expenditure, proof of benefits
  • Medical supporting documentation confirming the condition and need
  • Occupational Therapist Assessment
  • Quote for the item needed

For Professionals

I am a professional wishing to refer a family I support.

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For Parent Carers

I am a parent carer wishing to refer my family.

Referral Form VisualV1 - ArrowCreated with Sketch.