Adult Carer Support Plan/ Young Carer Statement

If you are reading this, it is because you are helping to care for a family member or friend who could not cope without your support.

This makes you an unpaid carer (or if you are under 18, a young carer).

You have probably already been involved in arranging social care support for the person you care for.

As part of these discussions, your caring role should be recognised. You should be able to access support for yourself as an unpaid carer or young carer.

The process of getting support starts with making an Adult Carer Support Plan or Young Carer Statement.

What is an Adult Carer Support Plan/ Young Carer Statement?

An Adult Carer Support Plan is for anyone performing a caring role who is over the age of 18. It is known as an ACSP for short.

A Young Carer Statement is for anyone aged under 18, or who is 18 but still in school, and has a caring role. Often this is a sibling or other family member of the young person who needs support.

A Young Carer Statement is sometimes called YCS for short.

You can get an Adult Carer Support Plan or Young Carer Statement even if the person you care for is not eligible themselves for social care support through the council.

What is the purpose of an Adult Carer Support Plan/ Young Carer Statement?

The purpose of the Plan or Statement is to recognise the effects of your caring role and to find out what you need to enable you to have a life outside your caring role.

You may not feel like you want to go through the process of getting a Plan or Statement, but it can have several benefits.

It may mean you can access a small budget to enable you to get support for yourself.

It may also be helpful to have as evidence that if the person you care for uses a respite service, this is to give you a break from caring, and so there should be no charge for this.

What is involved in getting an Adult Carer Support Plan/ Young Carer Statement?

The Adult Carer Support Plan or Young Carer Statement is usually created at the same time as the person you care for is being assessed for their own support needs.

Creating the Plan or Statement will usually be done by a Social Worker. It may also be done by a worker from your local Carers’ Centre, Young Carers’ group or someone from school.

Creating the Plan or Statement will usually take place where the person you care for lives.

The purpose of the Plan or Statement is to detail your needs as a carer.

This will involve looking at:

• areas of your life where you are doing many more tasks than a person who is not a carer
• areas where you have a higher level of need than someone who is not caring for someone else
• the effect that caring is having on your physical and emotional wellbeing
• whether caring means you are isolated from family and friends
• whether caring makes it difficult for you to work or go to school/ college/ university
• whether caring stops you making plans for the future.

The purpose of asking these questions and making a Plan or Statement is to recognise the effects of your caring role and to find out what you need to enable you to have a life outside your caring role.

As part of creating the Plan or Statement, the worker will ask if you are willing to undertake your caring role and if you are happy to undertake that role. You do no need to take on the role of being a carer or young carer if you do not want to.

They will also ask you about emergency planning. For example, what happens if you cannot do your usual caring role for some reason?

They will also ask you about the future. For example, what do you want to do with your life now and in the future?

How long does it take to get an Adult Carer Support Plan/ Young Carer Statement?

Unfortunately, there are often long waiting times to get a Plan or Statement in place.

The law does not say that a Plan or Statement should be created within a certain time.

One exception is if the person you care for has a terminal illness and is expected to pass away within the next six months. In this case, your Carer Assessment should be offered within two working days and an Adult Carer Support Plan or Young Carer Statement completed within ten working days.

What happens after I have got an Adult Carer Support Plan/ Young Carer Statement?

When the Plan or Statement is completed, the worker will pass a copy to you and check it is accurate.

If you do not think it has accurately reflected your situation or needs, you can ask for changes to be made to it.

If your Plan or Statement recognises that you need support in your own right, it may give you access to a small budget to enable you to get this support.

Your Plan or Statement should be reviewed at least once a year to see if your circumstances or needs have changed.

Where can I get help with this?

It can be a good idea to get help from a local Carers’ Centre. They can help you understand the process and prepare for the assessment that will lead to you getting an Adult Carer Support Plan or Young Carer Statement.

Find the details of your local Carers’ Centre here.

Next steps

Find out more about whether it is likely you will be able to access support on the next page: Eligibility for carers to access support for themselves