Carers Assessment
Page Updated: 12th July 2022
What is a Carers Assessment?
If you provide care for someone, you may be eligible for support. A Carer Assessment aims to find out how caring effects your life, physically, emotionally, and mentally and explore what services and support you as a carer would benefit from.
Some examples of the type of support you could receive are below:
How do I know if I am a carer?
If you look after someone regularly because they are ill, they’re an older person or they are disabled then you are considered a carer. The person you care for could be a family member or not.
The NHS website provides some examples of the kind of things carers help someone with.
Carers help with:
They can also give emotional support by:
Carers Assessment if you care for someone over the age of 18
If you care for someone over the age of 18 you will have a carers assessment carried out by Carers Support West Sussex. There is more information about Carers Assessment on the Carers Support website, this includes what the assessment will be like and how to request one.
Parent Carer Assessment if you care for someone under the age of 18
If you care for someone under the age of 18 you will have a Parent Carer Assessment. Where a parent or carer requests a Parent Carer Assessment, then West Sussex Children with Disabilities Service at West Sussex County Council will do one as part of a wider assessment called a Child & Family Assessment. There are a set criteria that must be met for a Child & Family Assessment to be undertaken, these can be found in the Children With Disabilities Services Eligibility Criteria Document
What if I don’t meet the eligibility Criteria for a Child & Family Assessment?
Parent Carer Grant/Well-being grant
If your child does not meet the eligibility criteria for a Child & Family Assessment then you can contact the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum.
They are an independent charity led by parent carers; who represent parent/carer views to various organisations and professional bodies to improve county/health/social care services for disabled children, young people and their families.
Becoming a member is FREE and we provide access to workshops, information events and a regular email bulletin filled with information on events countywide and lots more.
The forum works in partnership with Carers Support West Sussex on a grant to support health and wellbeing of parent carers. Parent Carer Grants (also known as the Carer Wellbeing Fund) are funded from Local Authority Short Breaks and NHS money. Parents complete an application form and a monthly panel of parent carers and Carers Support make the awards.
There are other types of grants available and please contact the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum on 01903 726188 for more information.
