The Hampshire County Council Children's Services Department has been formed from the Education and Social Services Departments to ensure the Every Child Matters/Children Act 2004 is implemented effectively in Hampshire. Click here to access their website.
Information of particular interest to those with ASD includes:
The joint information link (JIL)
The Joint Information Link (JIL) is a record of children who have severe or profound disabilities in the county of Hampshire. It does not include Portsmouth and Southampton who have their own registers. The information is held on a database by Hampshire Children's Services and can be accessed by the Education Department and the Health Service.
The JIL can store information about your child's disability and their individual needs. It can also contain the name of your child, date of birth, address, family GP and the school he/she attends.
The Children Act 1989 required that all local authorities set up a register for disabled children. Hampshire developed a register in 1993 but over the years it became obvious that a joint register would benefit all the agencies who work with your child - Social Services, Education and Health. Parents continually say - "why can't you talk to each other?" "Why can't you share information?".
The JIL enables coordination of services for children with disabilities, and Children's Services can work together with families to plan and provide better services for the future.
For further information visit Hantsweb or write to joint.information.link@hants.gov.uk
Children's Services Directory and useful contacts
HantsFish, the Directory of Children's Services for Hampshire
What support is available for children with autism/ autistic spectrum disorder (ASD)?
A community based initiative for children under the age of five years with social communication impairment/autistic spectrum disorders.