Looking after someone 2017, Northern Ireland | Page 14

Assessment for the person you care for
If the person you are looking after is an adult and
needs support they should be offered a community
care assessment by the social services.

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Community care assessments are
for adults who feel they need help
because of a disability, ill health
or old age. A community care
assessment looks at the help the
person needs to be able to live
independently. While the focus
of a community care assessment
is the disabled person, in most
cases the role and views of the
disabled person’s carer should also
be taken into account during the
assessment.

after could get include changes
to their home to make it more
suitable, a care worker, a place at
a day centre or a temporary stay in
residential care.
Find out more at
carersuk.org/
ni/assessment

Following the assessment, social
services will decide whether the
person you are looking after is
eligible for support. Support could
be provided directly by the trust , or
in the form of a direct payment.
Some examples of the kind of
support the person you are looking

Note: Needs assessments are for adults (18+).
If you are looking after a child under 18 who is a ‘child in need’ they can have
a UNOCINI assessment. A UNOCINI (Understanding the Needs of Children in
Northern Ireland) assessment will consider all the help that your child needs,
the needs of any other children in the family and the help that you may need
to care for the child.
Visit carersuk.org/assessments-under-18 to find out more.

Looking after someone

carersni.org