“Whole Family Working: Making it Real for Young Carers” The legal rights of young carers: building on our knowledge in the light of new regulations and guidance

Context Young Carers were not mentioned in any legislation prior to enactment of Care Act 2014 and Children & Families Act 2014 Many L.As were not undertaking separate young carers assessment – unlawful 2014 Acts are now explicit in making young carers ‘rights holders’ with L.As having a duty to assess and a duty to provide support where required

Definition The Children Act 1989 and Care Act 2014 define young carer as: It excludes those who provide this care either as part of their paid employment or as part of ‘voluntary work’ A person under 18 who provides or intends to provide care for another person

Strategic obligations L.As have a duty to identify extent to which young carers are supported in their area Statutory guidance to Care Act highlights importance of being proactive in identifying young carers who are in transition to adulthood and caring role will continue Required to consider mechanisms for partnership working Duty to co-operate within the Care Act 2014

Surrey’s ‘No Wrong Doors’ The Care Act and “Whole Family Approaches” Guidance 2015 refers to a required local Memorandum of Understanding to aid joint working Applies to young carers and young adult carers up to age of 25 All those dealing with referrals and assessments have key role in identifying young carers Primary responsibility for responding to young carer needs rest with service responsible for assessing the person they support, rather than age of carer

Responsibilities Young carers of disabled children are responsibility of Children’s Disability Services Adult Services, including mental health, will identify children in families and ensure they are not left with inappropriate levels of caring responsibilities Will refer to children’s services where the child is thought to be a child in need of protection or support All practitioners to consider an early help approach and work closely with young carers service (ACS) and/or Early Help Service Whole family approach to assessment

Overview of legal duties towards young carers Care Act 2014 and the Children’s and Families Act 2014 work in tandem to create a cohesive legal framework in relation to assessment and support for young carers Care Act 2014 has more limited provisions in relation to young carers who are in transition to adulthood and will continue to have a caring role Children & Families Act 2014 amends the Children’s Act 1989 by inserting new sections 17ZA to 17ZC so as to place more general duties on L.As in relation to assessment and support for young carers

Duties under both Acts With both pieces of legislation there is a proactive obligation to carry out a ‘young carers needs assessment’ triggered by the ‘appearance of need’ Required to consider whether it is ‘appropriate for the young carer to provide or continue to provide care for the person in question’ Must involve the young carer, parent and any other person whom they wish to involve Must consider: 1) extent to which the young carer is participating or wishes to participate in education, training or recreation, and 2) extent to which the young carer works or wishes to work

New Young Carer Assessment Regulations 2015 Young Carers’ (Needs Assessments) (England) Regulations 2015 Provides the detail of L.A obligations in relation to young carer assessments. Assessment must: Be appropriate and proportionate Have particular regard to: a. Age, understanding and family circumstances b. Wishes, feelings and preferences of young carer c. Differences in opinions d. Outcomes young carer seeks

Regulation 4 a.Amount, nature and type of care b.Extent to which this type of care is relied upon c.Whether the care provided impacts on the young carer’s wellbeing d.Whether the tasks are inappropriate e.Whether any of the young carer’s needs for support could be prevented by providing services to the cared for person or another member of the family f.What are the young carers needs for support g.Other assessments carried out h.Whether young carer is a ‘child in need’ i.Any actions to be taken j.Arrangements for review

Child in Need General assessments under the Children Act 1989 are triggered by the child being deemed to be ‘in need’ Section 17 (10) defines a ‘child in need’ if: a.He is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him of services by a local authority; b.His health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision for him of such services; or c.He is disabled

Whole family approach The Care Act 2014 empowers authorities to combine assessments as well as subsequent care plans – contingent on agreement within family Children Act ZB also allows general CA assessments of young carers to be combined Young Carer Assessment Regulations require LA to consider combining assessments Statutory guidance to Care Act 2014 and The Care Act and Whole Family Approaches Guidance 2015 advises a ‘whole family approach’ to ensure family related questions are embedded into the assessment process Young carers and their parents must be given a copy of their assessment

Care planning and duty to provide support Where young carer is undertaking inappropriate care, the LA has a duty to address this – discretion of LA to decide how this is done If support is provided to the young carer then this is provided under the Children Act 1989, section 17 whereas if provided to person in need of care will be provided under the Care Act 2014 (unless a child)

‘Think Parent’ Where an adult in need is being assessed under the Care Act 2014 his/her needs are measured against eligibility criteria Must consider if there is a significant impact on the adult’s wellbeing as a result of an inability to carry out their caring responsibilities for children in the family Must consider how to support adult in need to parent and avoid child taking on inappropriate caring responsibilities

Provision of support under the Children Act 1989 S17 Where all young carer needs cannot be met through Care Act provision to the adult in need, then LA will have to consider providing services direct to Young Carer under the CA, S17 and should be provided without delay Wide range of S17 services could be provided, including giving assistance in cash or kind: a.Advice, guidance, counselling b.Occupational, social, cultural or recreational activities c.Home help d.Travel assistance e.Assistance with a holiday

Young Carers in transition Care Act 2014 sets out responsibilities of L.As for young carers whose needs will transfer to adult services Key terms to understanding duty: 1.It is ‘likely’ that a young carer will have care and support needs after transition 2.It will be of ‘significant benefit’ to be assessed

Transition assessments – general provisions Person centred Consider how the needs of the young carer might change during transition process Consider immediate short term outcomes/medium and longer term aspirations Identify: Current needs and impact on wellbeing Likely needs and support after child is 18 Which needs are likely to be eligible Whether they are willing to care now and after 18 Works or wishes to do so Is or wishes to participate in education, training or recreation

Education and work aspirations Many young carers feel that they cannot go to university or enter employment because of their caring responsibilities. Transition assessments and planning must consider how to support young carers to prepare for adulthood and how to raise and fulfil their aspirations (para Statutory Guidance)