Moving to adult social care 

Young people open to children's social care may need support when they are preparing for adulthood in different parts of their life.  

 

With your consent a referral to adult social care can be made if your worker feels this is something that is required and depending on your situation, discussions around this can take place anytime between the ages of 14 and 17 years. This will give you and your child, along with the rest of your family, plenty of time to get to know your Adult Social Care worker and ask any questions you may have.

 

A Care Needs Assessment can be carried out by an adult social care worker so your child and family will know in advance of 18th birthday what support they will receive and what the plan will be. Children's Social Care and Adult Social Care will work closely together to help make sure careful planning takes place to reduce any worries you and your child may have.

 

For more information about growing up and leaving school, please click here.

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Transitioning from children's services to adult services

Transitioning from children's services to adult services does not necessarily mean an individual will get the same type of service. A core aim of adult social care is promoting independence, and the service aims to make individuals as independent as possible.

 

People’s lives shouldn’t have to stop because they are disabled or have a long-term illness. We aim to help people get the support they need to prevent issues arising and to enable people to make positive choices about their future. 

 

Young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) or disabilities turning 18 may become eligible for adult social care services, regardless of whether they have an Education Health Care (EHC) plan or whether they have been receiving services from children’s social care

 

The Care Act 2014 sets out when young people are approaching, or turn, 18 and are likely to require an assessment for adult care and support

 

We offer various kinds of support arrangement:

 

• support for people who urgently need help after a health crisis or a serious incident

• self-directed and other types of support for people with longer-term needs

• advice, support planning and signposting to various organisations 

 
To find out more about support for adults with disabilities please click here.

 

Contact the team
All adult social care services in Northumberland can be contacted through our single phone number, Onecall:

• Telephone: 01670 536 400

• Email address: onecall@northumberland.gov.uk

 

Onecall is one number for all adult social care, children's services and community health enquiries in Northumberland. Helping the most vulnerable people to keep safe and well 24-7.