Transitioning to Adult's Social Care

When you are approaching 18 years old, and begin to enter adulthood, this is known as transition. At this point, if you receive support from Children's Social Care, you may become eligible for Adult Social services.

Sutton Council has a duty to undertake needs assessments for any child likely to need for support after they turn 18. It is also necessary where it is thought to be highly beneficial to do this. This is stated in the Care Act 2014.

The Care Act states there are three groups who may need a transition assessment:

• Children likely to need care and support after turning 18 and into adulthood.

• Adult carers of children who will be turning 18 and who are likely to have ongoing care and support needs.

• Young carers who will be turning 18.

A Care Act Assessment helps to identify needs, life goals and aspirations. Children and Adult services carry out the assessment together. They use the young person's EHC Plan for guidance and information where needed.

Sometimes needs are identified but are not eligible for Adult Social Care. In this case, the Local Authority must still provide guidance and advice to meet these needs. This includes signposting to the Local Offer and services in the local area.

In Sutton, a young person in care of the CYPDS should be allocated a worker at the age of 17 to complete the assessment.

Transition should be an ongoing process rather than a single event. It should also be tailored to suit the child's needs using a person-centred approach. This is when the focus is on the person and what they can do, not their condition or disability. Support should focus on achieving the person's aspirations. It should also be adapted to their needs and unique circumstances.

There are various social care teams for children within the local authority that might support you through transition, depending on your circumstances. Which team leads on this will depend on the level of support that you will need as you move into adulthood. When you are under 18 years of age, any help you get will come from Children's Services, when you turn 18, this will change over to Adult Social Care.

The local authority has a duty to carry out a needs assessment for a young person or carer if they are likely to have eligible needs once they (or the child they care for) turn 18, under the Care Act 2014 [External Link].

If you are a young person or a young carer, and are likely to have social care needs when you turn 18, the local authority must assess you at an appropriate time where there will be significant benefit for you.

In Sutton, if you are in receipt of social care support from Children's Social Care, your social worker will refer you to the Transition Team in Adult Social Care just after your 16th birthday, and work alongside the Adult Social Care Social Worker to consider the support you will need when you turn 18. The level of need you have will determine how soon the Adult Social Care Team will start working with you to complete your assessment of need.

Once you have had your assessment, a number of things can happen depending on whether or not you are eligible.

If you are eligible for support under the Care Act 2014, and are already receiving support from Children's Social Care, the local authority may continue to provide you with the current package of care you have, if it is appropriate to do so. Sometimes, support needs to change as not all services that support children are able to support adults.

Alternatively, the local authority may suggest initially accessing services to support you or your carer in the community so that you can remain as independent as possible, or learn new skills in order to support your independence. Where community services are not suitable, the local authority may consider funded services in order to meet needs.

If you do need services provided by the local authority, they will also carry out financial assessments [External Link] to see if you need to pay towards the cost of them.

If you do not meet Adult Social Care eligibility, you will receive relevant information and advice to access appropriate support in the community to enable them to maximise their independence.

If you do not access support from Children's Services but think you might need support as an adult, you can request an assessment via the Sutton Council website [External Link].

If you have any questions or are unsure of who to contact, you can email Sutton's SEND Local Offer. Your query can then be passed to the appropriate people.