4.1 Young Carers |
Contents
- Procedures
- Guidance for Medium Criteria Priority Referrals
- Guidance for Low Priority Criteria Referrals
- Guidance
1. Procedures
- The role of the Young Carers Social Worker is to:
- Meet a gap in current service provision by providing one to one direct support to young Carers and a Children in Need or Carers assessment where appropriate.
- Family work with Parents or guardians around the impact of the caring role for the young person.
- Facilitation and liaison with other support services.
- Consultancy role around issues and resources relating to young Carers both locally and nationally.
- Where there is a query or dispute about assessment of need for a young Carer, act as contact and facilitation point for Children, Adult Services and Voluntary sector colleagues.
- Partnership with the Young Carers Project. We aim to provide some groups for young Carers. This will initially focus on older Carers between the ages of 15-18.
Referrals for the service will be accepted from Local Authority Social Workers, The Voluntary Sector and Education. For statutory based workers, please use the eligibility criteria for young Carers (below). This should be read in conjunction with Lewisham's local statutory eligibility criteria for assessment of Children In Need.
2. Guidance for Medium Criteria Priority Referrals
Parental Illness/Disability
- On-going or permanent physical disability of a Parent
- Alcohol or substance misuse which regularly affects ability to care for child
- Regular episodes of mental illness which impact on ability to meet child's needs
- Learning disabled Parents whose impairment significantly impacts on Parenting skills
And - where a young person is identified as young Carer
Family in Acute Stress
- Child/Family experiencing persistent racial harassment
- Child who has suffered Parental bereavement
- And where a young person is identified as a young Carer
Family Dysfunction
- Persistent episodes of moderate domestic violence
- Child living in inadequate or unsafe domestic violence
- Child whose relationship with Carer is breaking down
- Child involved in offending behaviour
- Child's behaviour patterns indicate emotional development is impaired, e.g., self-harm
- Child who persistently runs away from Home/school
- Supervision of child is inadequate
And - where a young person is identified as a young Carer
3. Guidance for Low Priority Criteria Referrals
Abuse or Neglect
- Child's clothing is inadequate
- Child has few appropriate toys/play/leisure opportunities
- Child not encouraged to form peer relationships
- Child has suffered past trauma which has not been appropriately addressed
- Child does not have positive relationship with adult
- Child's communication needs not being met
- Child's educational needs not being met
And - where a young person is identified as a young Carer
Parental Illness/Disability
- Child has some caring responsibilities and if there is:
- On-going or permanent physical disability of a Parent
- Occasional episodes of mental illness which have not adversely affected the welfare and development of the child
- Controlled alcohol/ substance misuse which has not adversely affected the welfare of child
- Inconsistent Parenting which has not adversely affected the welfare and development of child
- Parent needs advice or information to help care for the child
And - where a young person is identified as a young Carer
Family in Acute Stress
- Family experiencing loss and bereavement
- Family is Homeless
- Family experiencing financial problems
- Family is isolated and have no positive links with extended family or community
And - where a young person is identified as a young Carer
Family Dysfunction
- Child receives inconsistent Parenting
- Child experiences occasional unplanned changes of Carer
- Child with erratic school attendance
- Supervision of child is adequate
And - where a young person is identified as a young Carer
Currently referrals are being made to directly to the Young Carers Social Worker. Agreement for a young Carer to have an assessment as a child in need by the Young Carers Social Worker should be sought from:
- The Young Carer
- Parent (s) or guardian
- Line Manager
The referral should be sent to The Young Carers Social Worker currently located in: Team 1, Referral and Assessment, Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, SE6 4RU.
The Young Carers Social Worker will complete the assessment and provision of support and services.
4. Guidance
The SSI defines a young Carer as:
"a child or young person who is carrying out significant caring tasks and assuming a level of responsibility for another person which would usually be taken by an adult. The term refers to children or young people under 18 years caring for adults (usually their Parents) or occasionally siblings. It does not refer to young people under 18 caring for their own children. Nor does the term refer to those children who accept a role appropriate to their age when taking an increasing responsibility for household tasks in Home with a disabled, sick or mentally ill Parent" (CI(95)12)."
The 2001 census identified that there are 175,000 young Carers in the UK (SCIE:2004). The most recent Carers legislation, The Carers Equal Opportunities Act (2004) pays particular in-depth detail to the assessment and needs of young Carers. This includes acknowledging some of the issues affecting young Carers and outlining the expectations of both children and adult Social Care in terms of service response. Young Carers will not often understand themselves to be Carers; they often choose not to identify themselves as Carers because they fear the response from their peers and fear being singled out for being "different". They may also fear a heavy handed response from statutory agencies if they learn of difficulties within the family. Many young Carers experience, low level of school attendance, some educational difficulties, social isolation and a conflict between loyalty to their family and their wish to have their own needs met. Problems arise when the level of responsibility taken on by the young Carer is inappropriate to their age and maturity. They often take on roles beyond their years and can present as more mature than they really are. The impact of caring on the young person is an important consideration and could be influenced by a number of factors, such as family circumstances, the age of the young Carer, the amount and type of care given and crucially, whether the cared for person has adequate statutory or other sources of support.
In Lewisham through the Young Carers Steering Group, children and adult services recognized that there is a need to raise the profile of young Carers in Health and Social Care practice. They also recognized a gap in services for those young people who care and support adult Parents or guardians, but do not meet the local eligibility criteria for assessment through Children or Community Care legislation. Children's services have been limited to giving advice and information about potential support agencies but recognize a need to sometimes facilitate this advice. Adult services and Voluntary sector agencies, clearly indicated that commonly in their assessments of Parents or adults with a permanent and substantial disability, they identify young people who are providing regular and substantial care which can have a detrimental impact on their health and well being. Joint adult and children assessments take place if the child meets the local eligibility criteria for assessment, but if they do not, Children's Services are unable to respond. These young Carers should now be offered access to the young Carers Social Worker if they meet the guidance. Most of the referrals will therefore be those young Carers who are low or medium priority under the current threshold criteria. The exclusive factor that determines the need for a referral is that the young person is a Carer .
In terms of Social Care assessments, all young Carers are potentially eligible for a Children in Need or Carer's assessment . In Lewisham, there is a commitment to seeing them as children first although if a specific Carers assessment is seen to be of benefit, then this will be offered. Many young Carers are "children in need" who will be eligible to receive services under section 17 of the Children Act.
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