Social care assessments

When a young person turns 18 their needs are assessed under the Care Act 2014. The eligibility criteria are different to the those in the Children Act 1989 which covers children aged 0-17.

The young person's needs assessment looks in detail at the social care needs of a young person aged 16-25. It is used to decide if the young person meets the  eligibility criteria for help from adult social care services  when they turn 18.

If your young person is eligible they can get support with areas such as:

• Getting out of bed, getting dressed or washed
• Eating or cooking meals
• Seeing friends and family
• Caring for others

The assessment is carried out by the preparing for adult life (PfAL) service team.

The team will:

• Complete a financial declaration form
• Check the young person is receiving all the state benefits they are entitled to, and they can help them to claim these - the Welfare Rights Unit  can also help
• Explain the charging policy of adult social care services 
• Answer any questions

To request a young person's needs assessment contact our social care team.