Poverty

Disabled children are more likely to live in poverty than other children. This is because families have higher costs and face more barriers to employment. Childhood disability is frequently a 'trigger event' for poverty, as a result of additional costs, family break-up and unemployment that can follow the birth or diagnosis of a disabled child.

Barriers to employment

Families with disabled children are likely to experience more barriers to getting into and remaining in employment. In 2005, Lancaster University established that families supporting a disabled child were 2.5 times more likely than other families to have no parent working for more than sixteen hours per week. In 2007, Carers UK found that 86 per cent of those caring for disabled children under the age of 18 reported their earnings had been affected. The main barriers to employment are:

- Flexible working -  It is vital for parents of disabled children that they are able to make flexible working arrangements at the point at which they take up employment, in order to allow them to manage their caring responsibilities.

- Lack of affordable, high quality childcare- Many families with disabled children struggle to access affordable and accessible childcare. Families tell us that this is a particular problem during school holidays when many specialist childcare settings close.

- Short Breaks - Without breaks from caring, many parents of disabled children cannot contemplate seeking work.

For more information on the barriers to work that families with disabled children face see EDCM's 2011 report - Breaking down barriers: making work pay for families with disabled children.

Higher costs

Families with disabled children experience higher costs, this results in them being more likely to live in poverty. A recent Contact a Family survey reveals that one third (34%) of families are falling behind with payments as they struggle to cope with these additional costs. Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a benefit that can be awarded to disabled children to help families to try and meet these additional costs. The Government is looking at reforming DLA - see our pages on the Welfare Reform Bill for more information.

Ending child poverty

EDCM have worked with an alliance of organisations on the bill and strategy through the End Child Poverty Campaign.

The Child Poverty Act and Strategy

The Child Poverty Act was made into law in 2010. The Child Poverty Act commits this and future governments to eradicating child poverty by 2020. The Act creates new duties on local authorities to work towards reducing child poverty and requires the Government to produce a child poverty strategy by April 2010. EDCM wants the child poverty strategy to include specific measures to address the poverty experienced by disabled children and their families.