Who do we help? We help families across the UK who are raising a disabled or seriously ill child or young person aged 17 or under. Find out if you could be eligible. Expand We help families across the UK who are raising a disabled or seriously ill child or young person aged 17 or under. You can apply to Family Fund if: You live in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales (Please note: If you are a family living in Wales, please visit our Wales application pages to apply.) You are the parent or carer of a disabled or seriously ill child or young person aged 0-17 who lives with you You are currently living in the UK and done so for at least six months, or three months if your child is less than six months old. You are eligible to work and apply for public funds Your child is not in Local Authority care You have evidence of entitlement to any one of the following: Universal Credit Child Tax Credit Working Tax Credit Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance Income Related Employment Support Allowance Income Support Housing Benefit Pension Credit. Your child or young person has a high level of additional support needs arising from a long term disability or disabling condition or a serious or life limiting illness. By long term we mean lasting or likely to last 12 months or more. Please read our child and young person eligibility criteria. You must meet all Family Fund eligibility criteria in order to be considered for a grant. If you would like to ask any questions or discuss this before you make an application, please contact us. Frequently asked questions: I am not in receipt of any of the benefits listed above You may still apply but you will need to provide extra information about your household income. Our grants are discretionary and subject to available funding; we may decline an application where a family has a significant level of savings, capital or household income. "Why is there an income limit?" All our grants are discretionary and subject to available funding, so we may decline an application where a family has a significant level of capital or household income. "Why can’t you help if my child is in local authority care?" We are not able to consider applications where a child or young person is in local authority care, including those living with foster carers. Local authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of any child in its care, and to meet the needs of the child. "My child has been assessed as needing a special needs buggy, can you help?" We are also unable to consider requests where a statutory agency has responsibility to provide an assessed need. “My child was eligible last time – will they always be eligible for help?” We confirm whether a child meets our disability criteria each time an application is made. Although children may meet our criteria initially, this may change over time due to medical intervention, medication, dietary or other management of their condition or as they get older. “My child was not eligible for help before. Can I apply again?“ Although a child may not meet our criteria and be eligible for help at first, this can change over time and they may well come within our criteria later on. Or a child’s condition may have deteriorated since last time and you now feel they would meet our criteria. Remember- If you are in doubt as to whether your child or young person would meet Family Fund's criteria, please apply. When we receive your application, we will check that it meets all our eligibility criteria.
What can we apply for? We will look at any grant request that relates to the needs of your disabled or seriously ill child, young person and your family. Expand Please note: If you are a family living in Wales, please visit our Wales application pages to find out more about grants available. We will look at any grant request that relates to the needs of your disabled or seriously ill child, young person and your family, take a look at our list of grant items to find out more. When applying, think about what would make a difference to you and your child. We consider grant requests in order of priority. If you would like to ask for more than one item, make sure you tell us what is the most important item first. We have limited funding and we may not be able to help with everything you have asked for, especially where items are of a high value. Our grants are provided through contract provision through a range of suppliers. Using suppliers allows Family Fund to arrange discounts to ensure our funding goes further and helps more families. For some grants we may make a BACS payment direct to a nominated bank account. Find out more about the main suppliers we work with. Read some of our families’ stories to see what sort of things other people have been helped with. We are not able to consider requests for: A car, other vehicle or driving lessons Items already purchased Requests where a statutory agency (such as local authorities or health services) has assessed a need and have a responsibility to provide the item.
Child and young person eligibility criteria We a social model of disability. Read through our criteria to see if you may be eligible for support. Expand Family Fund uses a social model of disability. Children and young people with additional support needs arising from a disability or disabling condition or with a serious or life limiting illness meet this criteria where: There is evidence that their additional needs impact on family’s choices and their opportunity to enjoy ordinary life; the degree of planning and support required to meet their needs are much greater than that usually required to meet the needs of children. and They require a high level of support in three or more of Family Fund’s seven areas of support descriptors below. and Their condition is long term or life limiting (by long term we mean lasting or likely to last 12 months or more). Family Fund seven areas of support Your child should require support in at least three of the seven areas below: Personal care, supervision and vigilance – we mean things like feeding, washing, toileting; a very high level of supervision Access to social activities – we mean things like engaging socially and taking part in activities Education – we mean the type of support that is given for learning and who gives it? Communication – we mean listening, speaking and understanding Therapy and medical treatment – we mean what treatment or therapy is given, who does this, how often and when? Specialist resources used - we mean things like wheelchair, oxygen, screen magnifier, electronic communication aid The physical environment – we mean support with getting around and keeping safe. Children and young people do not need a diagnosis to meet Family Fund criteria; but their additional support needs must arise from a disability or disabling condition. You must also meet all of our general eligibility criteria.
After you apply What happens once you have sent in your application. Expand Find out what happens on a home visit, how long it can take us to process your application and what to do if we are unable to help. *Update: We are currently experiencing a high demand in applications. This means it may take longer than eight to ten weeks if you have applied to us before and three to four months for first time applications. For first-time applications It usually takes around three to four months for us to complete your application but this timescale is approximate and not guaranteed. The actual time to deal with an application will depend on the volume of applications we have and the funding available at any particular time. During this time we may need to discuss your application with you over the phone or via a home visit to find out more about your family’s situation. Find out more about our home visits in the video below: If you’ve applied before It usually takes us eight to ten weeks* to make a decision on your application once we have all the information requested but this timescale is approximate and not guaranteed. The actual time to deal with an application will depend on the number of applications we receive and the funding available at any particular time. *As mentioned at the top of the page, currently due to high volume of applications, it may take longer than our usual eight to ten weeks. To be fair to families, all applications are looked at in date order. If your application is taking longer than expected, please contact us or you can log in to your online account to monitor progress. Once your grant has been awarded, you can see more information about how you can use it here. What can hold up an application? If your application form is incomplete or missing copies of the required documents, then your application will be returned to you for completion. We are unable to consider an application until it is received fully complete. When looking at your application we may need to request further information. If we require additional information we will contact you by phone or in writing. This information will be required in order for us to continue to consider your application. If your application is unsuccessful A family can ask for any decision on an application to be reconsidered. This is called an appeal. If you are not happy with the decision on your application, please contact the Grants Services Manager asking for the decision to be looked at again, giving reasons and any additional information. Appeals and complaints must be made within two months of the date of the decision or issue. We strive to ensure that all appeals and complaints are: Looked into fully Responded to quickly Handled fairly Resolved satisfactorily To make an appeal or complaint, please contact us.
Terms and Conditions Download our full terms and conditions. Expand Our full Terms and Conditions are downloadable by the link below. If you have any questions regarding them, please contact us.Download Terms and Conditions. Download Exceptions Policy