Only 30 local authorities in the UK provide key workers for disabled children, a Government-funded study has found.

Key workers, who provide the main point of contact for disabled childrenand their families, were recommended in the children's national serviceframework, published last September. But the study questioned 159councils across the UK and found that just 30 had appointed keyworkers.

"It's something parents are very keen on," said Brian Lamb, chair of theSpecial Educational Needs Consortium. "It stops them going to a wholenumber of unco-ordinated services, where the onus is on them to find outwhat is available and then co-ordinate care for their child."

Key workers were most useful to families when health, education andsocial services were all committed to the service and provided enoughfunding, staff and management support, according to research by theuniversities of York and Canterbury.

The average estimated cost per family per year for services withdesignated key workers was 1,380 to 2,300 compared to1,565 to 2,935 for services with non-designated keyworkers.

However, costs were not directly related to better outcomes forfamilies, suggesting the way key workers provide support may be moreimportant than overall levels of contact, said the report.

- www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR656.pdf.