Preparing for adulthood - moving from Children’s Services to Adult Social Care

If you do not have a Children’s Worker and you think you may need care and support as an adult you can either speak to your school, college or you/someone who supports you can also request an adult social care assessment through our One Front Door Service on 0121 704 8007. For more information about having your care needs assessed as an adult, please see Adult Social Care webpages.

In Adult Social Care we consider all the things you can do for yourself and then look at the things you may find difficult. We will discuss how best to support you to do the things which are difficult and work with you to enhance the things you excel at. We will assess your needs in the following areas:

• Getting washed and dressed
• Being safe at home
• Eating and drinking
• Getting out and about
• Caring for others
• Living independently
• Going to work, education or training
• Using the bathroom
• Making friends and seeing family.

Our social care workers who work in our Transitions team are skilled at working with young people who are stepping into adulthood. They are experienced in assessing and arranging support for people who are turning 18 and starting adult education or seeking employment.

Adult Social Care workers will start by focusing on what you can do. This is called a strengths based approach. This could mean having a direct payment, to access the services you want to with support or exploring services that can prepare you for and support you to gain employment.

Adult Social Care workers support people in their first move into independent living as well as any changes from education to social activities through to potential employment.

Everybody is different, and your Adult Social Care worker will support you to develop a care and support plan that is personal and appropriate to your needs.

The support you have had from Children’s Services is free. When you turn 18 and move to Adult Social Care, this will change. Adults who receive social care services are likely to have to pay towards their care.

When you turn 18 you are legally an adult and you may be eligible for benefits such as Universal Credit or Personal Independence Payment (PIP), depending on whether you are still in education or able to work.  Any benefits you receive are your money, for your needs.  Some of that money may be used to contribute to the costs of your care.

We will only provide care if we think you need it and if you agree. Our finance team will work out what money you receive and decide if you need to pay anything towards the cost of your care. Find out more on the paying for your care webpage.

If you or the young person you support has an EHCP (Education and Health Care Plan) and wants to continue in further education please find more information in the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) explained webpage.

Employment or training is an important area in preparing for adulthood and something you can access any time after leaving school or college. Your allocated worker will speak to you about the things you would like to achieve and your aspirations for the future, one of these things may be to get a job or learn something new. If this is something you are interested in, your Adult Social Care Worker can refer you to our Supported Employment Coordinator who will talk through your options in more detail with you and help to create an action plan for you to access and be successful in employment. We work with a range of organisations to support this work, so it does not matter what experience of employment you have, the Supported Employment Coordinator will discuss the best options for you. The service is completely free, one to one and flexible to your requirements.

When your child turns 18, your role changes too.  Under the current laws you change from being a parent carer to the carer of an adult.  It’s an opportunity to start planning for the longer term and talk to your child about their wishes for the future.

As your child turns 18 they may be eligible for advocacy services which can help them have independence in making their views clear.

You can help your child to prepare for adulthood by thinking about the support they might need to become independent in the future. This could include helping your child to learn life skills such as cooking or budgeting.

You might need to prepare for changes to your household budget. For example you will no longer receive child benefit and your child may receive benefits of their own which they will need help to manage.

Work with your child to think about their longer term goals such as where they want to live.  Think about the steps that need to be in place and how you can support them to move towards their goals. 

Help your child to speak up for themselves so they can express their own views about what they need and want for the future.

If you need help to think about the support your child will need as an adult, please talk to your child’s social worker or allocated worker.  Or contact the Carers Trust Solihull for information and advice.

If you’re not eligible for adult social care we will work with you and your family to identify what support is available.  There should still be a conversation with your Children’s social worker about preparing for the changes to adulthood.