An assessment is a way of talking about your support needs with someone from Community Care services who can provide support.

By law, every disabled adult has the right to ask Adult Social Services to assess their need for services. This is called a Community Care needs assessment.

In Norfolk, disabled adults who have dependent children, and children of disabled parents should always be entitled to an assessment of their needs.

Disabled children’s needs are dealt with by Children’s Services. 


A Community Care assessment looks at your personal care and social needs.

It includes support you may need around being a parent to prevent you having to depend on a child, and to enable you to do what you need to do to raise your child well.

It looks at any care you may provide for other relatives besides children.

It looks at who may be providing help in the family and if this is working well.

An assessment can include your

housing, equipment and adaptations needs,








transport, work, education and training needs,







help to manage money, 







and leisure needs.

An assessment should look at the situation now and the support you may need to provide a good future for yourself and your family.

It can include getting information from other people, with your permission, such as your doctor.

You can ask for support for your children, family members or others if they provide care for you, with their permission. 

People who are informal carers are also entitled, by law, to an assessment of their needs as a Carer.

You will be given information about what services there are and what support you can get.

You will be able to chose how your support is offered.

You can say how you want to be supported to stay independent for yourself, and in what you have to do for your children.

You can say what you think suits you and your family best, because every family is different.

When everything is agreed, you will have a care plan that says how and when you will be supported as a disabled person and as a parent.

OR,


If your support needs are not so great, you will be given information about services that anyone can use, so you can get the support you need without a care plan.

More on how to get an assessment.

You may be asked to pay towards the cost of the support.  More on being asked to pay.

If you have a care plan you can choose to have support from a care agency, or to organise it yourself through a Direct Payment or Individual Budget.

More on Direct Payments and Individual Budgets.