Commentary on Sections Transition for children to adult care and support, etc. Section 61 – Child’s carer’s needs assessment; requirements etc.
374.Assessment of a child’s carer should include assessment of whether the carer is willing and able to provide care to the child and is likely to continue to be willing and able when the child reaches the age of 18.
375.Assessment must include assessment of the outcomes the carer wants to achieve in day-to-day life, whether and to what extent the provision of support will contribute to meeting these outcomes and consideration of whether there are other matters that could help the carer achieve the outcomes. The section specifies that the assessment must involve the carer and any other person who the carer wants to be involved.
376.Once an assessment has been done the carer must be provided with an indication of whether they are likely to have eligible needs for support after the child’s 18th birthday, advice and information about what can be done to meet any of the carer’s needs and what can be done to prevent or delay the development of needs for support in the future.
377.As with all assessments, such an assessment will need to consider whether other matters beyond the provision of services might help the carer achieve their desired outcomes or prevent needs increasing or arising (similarly to section 9(6) of the Act).
378.The local authority may combine a carer’s assessment with any other assessment it is carrying out of the carer or another person only if the individuals agree. If carrying out a carer’s assessment the local authority can also carry out another agency’s assessment of the carer or that of another relevant person (provided all parties consent to this) on behalf of the other agency or jointly with the other agency. The provisions relating to this paragraph are in section 65.