The Children’s Society

Affecting Change for the Whole Family:

Young Carers and their families

Young Carers National Guidance and the Importance of Whole Family Working

Jenny Hine The Children’s Society Include Project

The Include Project

•Awareness raising with professionals•Publications and resources•Training and Development consultancy•Consultation and empowerment with young carers and their families•Parliamentary campaigning

‘Children and young people (under 18) who provide or intend to provide a

substantial amount of care on a regular basis’

Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995

What do young carers do?

• Physical care such as lifting, helping a parent on stairs and physiotherapy

• Practical tasks such as cooking, housework and shopping

• Personal care such as dressing, washing, helping with toileting needs. Giving medication

• Managing the family budget, collecting benefits and prescriptions.

• Looking after or “parenting” younger siblings.• Giving emotional support• Interpreting

‘The term young carer should be taken to include children and young people under 18 who provide regular or ongoing care and emotional support to a family member who is physically or mentally ill, disabled or misuses substances… a young carer becomes vulnerable when the level of care-giving and responsibility to the person in need of care becomes excessive or inappropriate for that child, risking impacting on his or her emotional or physical well being or educational achievement and life chances.‘

ADASS and ADCS 2009,Working Together to Support Young Carers

What are the impacts?

• Feeling different• Being bullied• Not enough time for homework• Behavioural problems / isolation• Additional stress / depression / self harm /

WORRY• Not able to access school activities (after

school)• Underachievement• Aspirations and careers could suffer• ABSENTEEISM

Assessing Need Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004No care package should depend on the inappropriate caring role of a child

NHS and Community Care Act 1990Can refer the person for care needs

Carer’s (Recognition and Services) Act 1995Entitled to a carers assessment when the person being care for is assessed under s.47 of Community Care Act ’90

Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000Carers aged 16 and over are entitled to a Carers Assessment

Common Assessment FrameworkSpecific guidance around young carers

Children Act 1989

The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families Guidance (2000).

Assessments

Assessing the needs of the young carer and the parent in relation to each other is an important part of assessing the needs of the whole family.

Assessing the needs of the whole family requires good joint working between all agencies (Adult’s Services, Children’s Services, Education and Health services)

‘Children do not care in isolation – they care because someone in their family has unmet care need’

Adult Health & Social Care

Think Local, Act Personal (2011)sets out the new commitment to moving forward with personalisation and community-based support

Carers and Personalisation: Improving outcomes (2010)Good Practice guide from the Department of Health

A vision for adult social care: Capable communities and active citizens (2010)‘Councils should also be mindful, when assessing adults, of young carers to make sure they are not being asked to provide inappropriate levels of care’

‘Fair Access to Care Services’ GuidanceAll assessments of adults must include a check to find out if there are children in the family

The Law Commission: Consultation Paper on Adult Social CareSimplifying the law on carers assessments

White Paper: Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS  No Decision about Me, Without Me

Carers Strategy

Recognised, valued and supported: next steps for the Carers Strategy (2010)

‘children and young people will be protected from inappropriate caring and have the support they need to learn, develop and thrive, and to enjoy positive childhoods’

Working together to Support Young Carers

Young carers are identified, assessed and their families are supported

No care or support package for a parent or sibling relies on a young carer

Delivering better integrated and more effective responses to young carers

Better recognition and greater participation of young carers and their families

Ofsted: Supporting young carers.Identifying, assessing and meeting the needs of young carers

and their families

Councils and partners should:• Consider ways to ensure that children’s services,

adult services and partners work together to deliver holistic assessments and services that meet the needs of the whole family

• Ensure that children’s caring roles are always taken into account when services are delivered to disabled parents, to ensure that children and young people are not overly burdened

Key Principles of Practice

Key Principle Two:The key to change is the development of a whole family approach to needs led assessments to ensure that service provision is child focused and family orientated

“I would like for all professionals to get together and talk about us as a family, rather than as separate individuals”

Whole Family Pathway

Outcomes

• Assessments for parents and other family members, identify and address any needs of children who are caring and the impact on the family.

• Adults' and children's services work together to support the family and to uphold a child's welfare.

• Local policies and practice are influenced and work

towards preventing children caring inappropriately at levels which impact on their own development.

Making a cultural shift