Lone parents and employment

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Disability and lone parenthood, from Together Magazine issue 4

Combining a job (or studying) with caring for a sick or disabled child is extremely difficult. Eighty-five per cent of mothers with disabled children are not in paid employment.4 Unlike other parents, they may end up out of the labour force for many years. Most of the lone parents I talked to feel unappreciated, undervalued and unsupported:

‘I want to study I want to do something’, ‘I don’t think I’m going to want to be on Income Support for the rest of my life – because the money … it’s not really living, it’s just hand to mouth.’

A number of the mothers want to use the skills and knowledge they have acquired in caring for their children in their future career, but they face many obstacles along the way. Affordable and accessible specialist childcare is extremely thin on the ground:

‘There are all these initiatives to get carers into employment – and I’m really quite interested – but what is there to support you into employment?’

Others worry about who will look after their disabled children while they’re working.

‘There’s no-one else who can look after your children as you would like them looked after - it’s not the same loving and affection.'

Despite the difficulties of getting by on benefits, a number of mothers prefer to stay at home full time to care for their child.

'Well I’d rather be there for him myself...'

4 Russell, P (2003) Disabled Children, Their Families and Child Poverty, End Child Poverty, Briefing Paper, Council for Disabled Children

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Lone parents caring for a child with a disability or long- term health problem

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