Who does what (unpaid carers and young carers)
Arranging and managing social care support can be a complicated process, with lots of people involved.
If you are an unpaid carer or young carer, you might be involved in organising social care support for someone else.
You can find more information about who is involved in these articles:
Who does what (children and young people)
There are also lots of people who can help in different ways.
Find out who does what below.
Carers’ Centres
There are local Carers’ Centres across Scotland. These organisations can provide you with information, advice and support to help you with your caring role.
They can help you with things like:
- helping you think about what you need support with
- helping you get a break from your caring role
- advising you on financial support for carers
- giving you information about support you can get as a carer/ young carer if you are in work or education.
Find your local Carers’ Centre here.
National Carer Organisations
There are several national carer organisations in Scotland.
Many of these organisations offer specific types of support to unpaid carers and young carers.
You can find links to them in the Resources section at the bottom of this page.
Social work professionals
Social work professionals have a main role in the process of arranging social care support.
Social work professionals include social workers, social work assistants, care managers, assessors, and people with other job titles.
If you are eligible for social care support in your own right as an unpaid carer/ young carer, they will be involved in:
- working with you to understand what your strengths are and what you need support with
- completing an assessment for accessing social care support yourself
- working out an indicative support budget
- helping you understand the options for arranging and managing social care support for you
- explaining where you can get help from an organisation separate from the council
- agreeing your support budget
- completing reviews to check how your support is going.
Independent Support Organisations
In most parts of Scotland there are organisations which are separate from the council known as Independent Support Organisations.
These organisations can give you advice, information and practical support with arranging and managing social care for the person you care for.
They have an in-depth understanding of the process and often provide emotional support and understanding too.
Some organisations will advocate on your behalf and will communicate with professionals when you need help.
You can search for your local Independent Support Organisation using the Find Help search tool.
Advocacy services
Advocacy services can support you in meetings and with communicating information to professionals.
They can help to ensure your views, wishes and needs are being fully understood.
You can search for a local advocacy service on the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance website.
Peer support
In some parts of Scotland there are local peer support groups for carers/ young carers.
It can be helpful to speak to people who are in the same situation as you and who understand how it feels.
There are also some peer support groups online, for example Facebook groups.
Your local Carers’ Centre can tell you about any peer support groups in your area.