Children and family services
Other people expect so much from you as a teenager, but don't seem to understand you. This can mean being under pressure at home, at school, or with friends.
Help to meet the challenges
We may be able to help you to meet these challenges and to solve any problems.
Is your family life under stress?
If it is then we may be able to help through giving you the chance to talk about it. We can also provide information, advice, practical help in your home and support.
Need help caring for a child?
If you have children under school age, we have information about:
- nursery provisions
- child minders
- playgroups
parent and toddler groups.
Are you a teenager under pressure at home, at school, or with friends?
If it would help, we can provide information, someone to talk to, and the chance to discuss ways of helping you to solve problems.
Are you are worried about a child's safety or protection from harm?
If you need to contact us to raise a concern about a child or young person you need to speak to one of our local offices (opens in a new window). We work closely with other childrens agencies to ensure that children are protected from harm. See the child protection pages to find out more.
Is something happening at home that is making you unhappy?
Sometimes in families children get abused, physically, emotionally, and even sexually. If this is happening in your family you need to tell someone.
You can tell us, or someone else you trust, such as a teacher, doctor, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), or the police. We all work together for the protection of children.
Need practical support caring for a child with special needs?
If your child has special needs because of a physical, or other disability, we can help by providing information about services and support groups.
We may also provide practical assistance through:
- help in the home
- day services
- sitting services
- holiday play schemes
- short stays at a residential centre or with a family
- giving the chance to talk about planning for the future.
Please see the more information section below for documents to view or download relating to services for children and young people in Derbyshire.
Mental Capacity Act 2005 - implemented 1 April 2007
The new Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) Service will become operational on 1 April 2007.
We will all have new responsibilities from 1 April for meeting the needs of those (usually aged 16 years or over) who need assistance with making decisions and those who may not have the ability to make important decisions regarding their future social care, nursing, medical or safeguarding needs.
Please use the following link to find out more information about the Mental Capacity Act and how it will be implemented in Derbyshire.
How to contact a social worker
If you need to contact Social Work staff for advice or an appointment, all the telephone numbers and email addresses are available in our contact social services section. You can use this section to contact the area office closest to you, or if you have an emergency outside normal office hours, the contact details for the out of hours service are also available by following this link.
The Supporting People initiative can advise you on housing options, living independently or maintaining your home.
The documents in the more information section are available in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download the PDF software for free if it isn't available on your computer. Download Adobe Reader (opens in a new window) or visit our PDF information page
