What support is available?

If a young person aged 16-18* to 25 has a special educational need or disability, they may need extra social care support and help from adult social care services.

A special educational need or disability could be:

• A learning disability
• A diagnosis of autism
• A physical disability
• Mental ill health 
• Sensory loss – deafblind, visual or hearing impairment

Support can range from being shown where to find information, to getting extra help from a social worker or a health professional. Social care support could be provided by: 

• Us (your local authority) 
• Voluntary and community organisations
• Private companies
• Friends and relatives

How adult social care services are delivered in Norfolk

In Norfolk, adult social care is delivered by the following teams and services:

• Learning disability service  - supporting people with a learning impairment
• Community teams - supporting people with physical disabilities or sensory impairments
• Mental health social work service - who work alongside Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust community mental health teams
• Sensory support - support for people who are deaf or have a dual sensory loss 

How we decide if a young person needs adult social care support

If a young person has higher support needs, we may offer a Young Person's Needs Assessment. This is used to decide whether the young person is eligible for help.

Young people moving from children’s social care to adult social care services should never lose support during the move. A young person should continue to receive social care from children’s services, even after they are 18, until adult services are put in place to ensure that there is no gap.

How we support young people who don't meet eligibility criteria 

We must still provide information and advice on other support that may be available. This is called ‘signposting’. Norfolk Community Directory includes information about many organisations who provide care and support. The young person can also speak to a development worker who can help.

Legislation

*The Care Act 2014 says that for some young people under 18, an early referral to adult services for an assessment of needs may be of ‘significant benefit’ to the young person. Therefore there is no set age when a young person can have a young person’s needs assessment.