A young carer is a person under 18 who provides or intends to provide care for another person (of any age, except where that care is provided for payment, pursuant to a contract or as voluntary work).

The Care Act of 2014 also places emphasis on assessment and support for those young people affected by the impact of an illness from a family member, whether or not they have a direct caring role. Such cases should be assessed in the same way and support offered and provided to limit or reduce the impact of this illness on the child.

At the first point of contact, all those undertaking or receiving referrals or with responsibility for undertaking assessments will have a key role in identifying young carers. At the point of assessing the cared-for person, it is important to ask whether there are children in the same household as the person they are assessing and, if they do, to establish how much care and support is undertaken by any children through discussions with any adult who is being assessed and other family members, including the child(ren) concerned.

The impact of illness on the child also requires consideration. Practitioners responsible for assessing people with care needs should identify how it will be possible to support the person in need of care so that children and young people are not relied on to provide excessive or inappropriate care. It will be essential that the particular vulnerabilities and needs of children and young people are recognised. Practitioners responsible for assessing adults with care needs must be able to recognise and respond to risks to children’s safety and welfare. They must know how to respond where they have concerns that children are, or may be, suffering significant harm. This requires a partnership approach and for adults and children’s services to work together in the best interests of the family.

No care or support package for a parent, other adult or sibling should rely on excessive or inappropriate caring by a young carer to make it sustainable.

When carrying out a young carer’s needs assessment we will work to determine:

• the amount, nature and type of care which the young carer provides;
• the impact of the caring role on the young carer’s wellbeing, education and personal and emotional development;
• whether any of the caring tasks the young carer is performing are excessive or inappropriate having regard to all the circumstances
• whether a needs assessment of the cared for person (be they a child or adult) has been carried out, and if not, to request one;
• whether any of the young carer’s needs for support could be met by providing support or services to:
  • the person cared for [by the young carer]; or
  • another member of the young carer’s family.
• what the young carer’s needs for support would be likely to be if he or she were relieved of part or all of his or her caring role and whether the young carer has any remaining unmet needs.

When carrying out a young carer’s needs assessment, we will:

• ensure that the assessment is carried out in a manner which is appropriate and proportionate (in the light of the young carer’s age, needs and wishes and feelings;
• adopt a whole family approach;
• ensure that any person who is to carry out a young carer’s needs assessment has sufficient competence, knowledge, skills and training to be able to carry out that assessment and be an appropriate person to carry out the assessment in the light of the young carer’s age, sex and understanding
• where considered appropriate or necessary to do so, consult persons with expertise and knowledge relevant to the young carer; and also to consult any person the young carer or their parent wishes to involve
• ensure that the young carer, the person cared for and, if different, the parents of the young carer are informed about the assessment process, usually prior to the assessment, and are helped to be able to participate in the process as effectively as possible.
• We will provide young carers, their parents and any person at the request of the young carer or their parent with a copy of the assessment with information about the actions to be taken including whether the young carer has been assessed as a “child in need” and confirming arrangements for review.

Where a young carer a “child in need” needing protection and support or needs early help support, adult workers will discuss the case with the Children’s Services to decide if further action is needed. Further action might include:

• a referral to an independent Young Carers’ service;
• accessing preventative support through the “Early Help Network”
• a joint assessment where appropriate (there is provision in the Care Act Guidance and in Section 17 of the Children Act to combine a young carers assessment with that of the adult); or
• further investigation by Children’s Services about safeguarding concerns if there is a likelihood of significant harm to the child.

Where there are any aspects of a situation that indicates there are concerns about children’s and/or vulnerable adults’ safety and they require protection from harm these will be responded to swiftly and in line with local safeguarding procedures. Typically, children’s services will undertake the provision of services or support to children in need and adult social services will undertake services and support to the adult. These may be directly provided or commissioned from other providers.