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

We call this ‘transitions.’

We will support you and your family to feel in control and experience a smooth transition into adulthood. The approach to your care and support needs is different as an adult and we have to follow different rules and guidelines.

The main differences are the need for an assessment under the Care Act 2014 to see if you are eligible for adult social care and a financial assessment to consider how much you may have to pay towards your care and support.

If you receive support from Children’s Social Care, at 14 years of age your allocated worker will have a discussion with you and the people who are important to you about your future ambitions. If you agree, this discussion will then be shared with the Adult Social Care Transitions team, who will write to you.

At around 16 or 17 you will be allocated an Adult’s Social Care Worker from the Adults Transitions Team. Where appropriate, this worker will attend important meetings, get to know you and the people that know you best and start gathering information for your assessment.

By the age of 17 ½ your assessment will be completed, and you and your Adult’s Worker will start to plan how your care and support needs are going to be met as an adult. During this time they will work alongside your Children’s Worker. When you are around 18 your Adult Social Care Worker will take over as the main person you contact about your care and support needs

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 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.

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. To find out more you can read 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.

If you have any further questions please contact our One Front Door Service on 0121 704 8007.

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