Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

60 Assessment of a child's carer's needs for support

(1) Where it appears to a local authority that a carer of a child is likely to have needs for support after the child becomes 18, the authority must, if it is satisfied that it would be of significant benefit to the carer to do so, assess—
(a) whether the carer has needs for support and, if so, what those needs are, and
(b) whether the carer is likely to have needs for support after the child becomes 18 and, if so, what those needs are likely to be.

(2) An assessment under subsection (1) is referred to in this Part as a “child's carer's assessment”.

(3) Where a child's carer refuses a child's carer's assessment, the local authority is not required to carry out the assessment (and subsection (1) does not apply in the carer's case).

(4) Where, having refused a child's carer's assessment, a child's carer requests the assessment, subsection (1) applies in the carer's case (and subsection (3) does not).

(5) Where a child's carer has refused a child's carer's assessment and the local authority concerned thinks that the carer's needs or circumstances have changed, subsection (1) applies in the carer's case (but subject to further refusal as mentioned in subsection (3)).

(6) Where a local authority, having received a request to carry out a child's carer's assessment from the carer concerned, decides not to comply with the request, it must give the carer—
(a) written reasons for its decision, and
(b) information and advice about what can be done to prevent or delay the development by the carer of needs for support in the future.

(7) “Carer”, in relation to a child, means an adult (including one who is a parent of the child) who provides or intends to provide care for the child (but see subsection (8)).

(8) An adult is not a carer for the purposes of this section if the adult provides or intends to provide care—
(a) under or by virtue of a contract, or
(b) as voluntary work.

(9) But in a case where the local authority considers that the relationship between the child and the adult providing or intending to provide care is such that it would be appropriate for the adult to be regarded as a carer, the adult is to be regarded as such (and subsection (8) is therefore to be ignored in that case).

(10) The references to providing care include a reference to providing practical or emotional support.

61 Child's carer's assessment: requirements etc.

(1) A child's carer's assessment must include an assessment of—
(a) whether the carer is able to provide care for the child and is likely to continue to be able to do so after the child becomes 18,
(b) whether the carer is willing to do so and is likely to continue to be willing to do so after the child becomes 18,
(c) the impact on the matters specified in section 1(2) of what the carer's needs for support are likely to be after the child becomes 18,
(d) the outcomes that the carer wishes to achieve in day-to-day life, and
(e) whether, and if so to what extent, the provision of support could contribute to the achievement of those outcomes.

(2) A local authority, in carrying out a child's carer's assessment, must have regard to—
(a) whether the carer works or wishes to do so, and
(b) whether the carer is participating in or wishes to participate in education, training or recreation.

(3) A local authority, in carrying out a child's carer's assessment, must involve—
(a) the carer, and
(b) any person whom the carer asks the local authority to involve.

(4) When carrying out a child's carer's assessment, a local authority must also consider whether, and if so to what extent, matters other than the provision of support could contribute to the achievement of the outcomes that the carer wishes to achieve in day-to-day life.

(5) Having carried out a child's carer's assessment, a local authority must give the carer—
(a) an indication as to whether any of the needs for support which it thinks the carer is likely to have after the child becomes 18 are likely to meet the eligibility criteria (and, if so, which ones are likely to do so), and
(b) advice and information about—
(i) what can be done to meet or reduce the needs which it thinks the carer is likely to have after the child becomes 18;
(ii) what can be done to prevent or delay the development by the carer of needs for support in the future.

(6) Where, in the case of a carer to whom a child's carer's assessment relates, the child becomes 18, the local authority must decide whether to treat the assessment as a carer's assessment; and if the authority decides to do so, this Part applies to the child's carer's assessment as if it were a carer's assessment that had been carried out after the child had become 18.

(7) In considering what to decide under subsection (6), a local authority must have regard to—
(a) when the child's carer's assessment was carried out, and
(b) whether it appears to the authority that the circumstances of the carer to whom the child's carer's assessment relates have changed in a way that might affect the assessment.

(8) “Carer” has the same meaning as in section 60.

62 Power to meet child's carer's needs for support

(1) Where a local authority, having carried out a child's carer's assessment, is satisfied that the carer has needs for support, it may meet such of those needs as it considers appropriate.

(2) Regulations may make provision in connection with the exercise of the power under subsection (1); the regulations may, in particular, provide for provisions of this Part to apply with such modifications as may be specified.

(3) In deciding whether or how to exercise the power under subsection (1), a local authority must have regard to any services being provided to the carer under—
(a) section 17 of the Children Act 1989, or
(b) sections 37 to 39 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

(4) “Carer” has the same meaning as in section 60.