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This month, we're looking at the whole family approach, and how we can support families and young carers in a more coordinated way.
Please do let us know what you think; it'll help us make sure the articles are as informative and useful as possible. We'd also really like to hear about your experience of the changes - if any - and what particular areas you'd like us to profile in these newsletters.
The Care Act Project Team
Adult Social Care & Health, East Sussex County Council
We're working on some key areas to prepare ourselves for the funding reform wave of changes, in April 2016. They include
- supporting access to independent financial advice,
- how the cap on care costs (and care accounts) would work in practice, and
- working with local care homes through the RCA to plan for self-funder assessments.
Once we have a clearer idea of what the final guidance will say (see our news roundup below for more on that) we'll be working more closely with our partners and stakeholders to share information. There will also be a national and county-wide publicity campaign - more on this in a future newsletter.
One of the less publicised changes in the Care Act is around how we identify and support families and young carers. Here’s a short guide on what you need to know.
The changes include…
- identifying young carers, particularly ‘hidden’ ones – often young people caring for adults who misuse drugs or alcohol, or have mental health issues
- looking at the impact on the whole family when assessing carers and adults and children with care and support needs
- making transition assessments for children with care and support needs, young carers and parents and carers of a child with care and support needs
- identifying young people who are not receiving children’s services, but who may have care and support needs as an adult
Supporting young carers
A young carer is someone under 18 providing care for a member of their family network; this can include parents, grandparents and siblings. In East Sussex we aim to prevent the caring responsibilities of young people from adversely impacting on their welfare, education, or social development. If you know of a child or young person who has caring responsibilities you can make a referral to East Sussex Young Carers. They can offer:
- Young carers’ assessments
- Information, advice, guidance and signposting
- Chill Clubs – giving young carers a chance to meet others in similar situations
- One to one support
Young carers aged 16 or 17, caring for an adult, are assessed within Adult Social Care.
Find out more about young carers. Or, if you have any particular questions about the whole family approach you can email us.
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LGA's Support Products: The Local Government Association (LGA) has put all of its support products for social care providers - including briefings, presentations and guidance - in once place. It covers a range of subjects, from a basic introduction to the Care Act to specifics on provider responsibilities. See the whole list here.
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Announcement expected in July - we're expecting a response from the Department of Health to the funding reform consultation by the end of July. This should help us update our plans and better support our key stakeholders, partners and providers. We hope to provide a more detailed update in next month's issue!
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