Young Carers’ Needs Assessment

1 Young Carers Needs Assessment Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carers Young Carers Needs Assessment Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carers Young Carers Needs Assessment Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors.

2 Template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carers Young Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carers Young Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersYoung Carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carers Needs AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors.

3 Template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersNeeds AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersNeeds AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersNeeds AssessmentSupporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carersNeeds Assessment Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carers Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of understanding on work with Young carers Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors.

4 Template for local memorandum of Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of Supporting information for use in conjunction with No Wrong Doors ; template for local memorandum of Young Carers Supporting Information 1 Young Carers Needs Assessment About this paper: This information has been developed to provide supporting information for the Young Carers Memorandum of Understanding. It is intended to assist professionals working with Young carers and their families, who may not have a background in children s services, to encourage a shared understanding of children s Needs , so Young carers, the people they care for and others in their families, are provided with effective support.

5 The document was developed with substantial help from officials in the Department for Education (DfE). Introduction: The Children and Families Act 2014 amended the Children Act to make it easier for Young carers to get an Assessment of their Needs and to introduce whole family approaches to Assessment and support. Local authorities must offer an Assessment where it appears that a child is involved in providing care1. This legislation is aligned with similar provision in the Care Act 20142 requiring local authorities to consider the Needs of Young carers if, during the Assessment of an adult with care Needs , or of an adult carer, it appears that a child is providing, or intends to provide, care. In these circumstances the authority must consider whether the care being provided by the child is excessive or inappropriate; and how the child s caring responsibilities affects their wellbeing, education and development. Local authorities should ensure that adults and children s services work together to offer Young carers and their families an effective service, able to respond to the Needs of a Young carer, the person cared for, and others in the family.

6 This avoids the need for multiple assessments where children and adults find they are expected to give the same answers to professionals from different services, coming into their home at different times. Assessments of Young carers and the people they care for are intrinsically linked. This is why the legislation allows local authorities to combine assessments. This may mean that children s Needs are assessed by professionals who will not have the same familiarity with children s Needs as social workers employed by children s services. 1 Children Act 1989: section 17ZA 1(a) [inserted by section 96 Children and Families Act 2014 (see below)] 2 Care Act 2014: section 63(1). Young Carers Supporting Information 2 Section 96. Young carers (of Children and families Act 2014) (1) In the Children Act 1989, after section 17 insert 17ZA Young carers' Needs assessments: England (1) A local authority in England must assess whether a Young carer within their area has Needs for support and, if so, what those Needs are, if (a) it appears to the authority that the Young carer may have Needs for support, or (b) the authority receive a request from the Young carer or a parent of the Young carer to assess the Young carer's Needs for support.

7 (2) An Assessment under subsection (1) is referred to in this Part as a Young carer's Needs Assessment . (3) In this Part Young carer means a person under 18 who provides or intends to provide care for another person (but this is qualified by section 17ZB(3)). (4) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a Young carer if the local authority have previously carried out a care-related Assessment of the Young carer in relation to the same person cared for. (5) But subsection (1) does apply (and so a Young carer's Needs Assessment must be carried out) if it appears to the authority that the Needs or circumstances of the Young carer or the person cared for have changed since the last care-related Assessment . (6) Care-related Assessment means (a) a Young carer's Needs Assessment ; (b) an Assessment under any of the following (i) section 1 of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995; (ii) section 1 of the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000; (iii) section 4(3) of the Community Care (Delayed Discharges) Act 2003.

8 (7) A Young carer's Needs Assessment must include an Assessment of whether it is appropriate for the Young carer to provide, or continue to provide, care for the person in question, in the light of the Young carer's Needs for support, other Needs and wishes. (8) A local authority, in carrying out a Young carer's Needs Assessment , must have regard to (a) the extent to which the Young carer is participating in or wishes to participate in education, training or recreation, and (b) the extent to which the Young carer works or wishes to work. (9) A local authority, in carrying out a Young carer's Needs Assessment , must involve (a) the Young carer, (b) the Young carer's parents, and (c) any person who the Young carer or a parent of the Young carer requests the authority to involve. (10) A local authority that have carried out a Young carer's Needs Assessment must give a written record of the Assessment to (a) the Young carer, (b) the Young carer's parents, and (c) any person to whom the Young carer or a parent of the Young carer requests the authority to give a copy.

9 (11) Where the person cared for is under 18, the written record must state whether the local authority consider him or her to be a child in need. (12) A local authority in England must take reasonable steps to identify the extent to which there are Young carers within their area who have Needs for support. Young Carers Supporting Information 3 Assessment under the Children Act and the Care Act: The purpose of Assessment is to identify individual Needs and how these affect their wellbeing and to establish the outcomes that the person who is assessed wishes to achieve in their day-to-day life. The Assessment will support the local authority in determining the services, if any, that should be provided. In carrying out their functions under the Children Act local authorities are subject to a broad duty to promote children s welfare. Children defined as in need will be those whose vulnerability is such that they are unlikely to reach or maintain a satisfactory level of health and development, or whose health and development ( wellbeing ) will be significantly impaired without the provision of services3.

10 The worker carrying out the Assessment will also have to consider the Needs of other children in the family and the general circumstances of the child s parents and wider family. Under the Care Act, local authorities have similar duties to promote the wellbeing of adults with care Needs and of their carers. The concept of wellbeing involves taking account of how a wide range of factors will affect how an individual chooses to live their life. These include: their personal dignity (including treatment of the individual with respect); physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing; protection from abuse and neglect; control over day-to-day life (including the manner in which they are provided with any care or support) participation in work, education, training or recreation; social and economic wellbeing; family relationships and the support offered by their family network; the suitability of their accommodation; and the support provided by their friendships and social networks.