Carer's Assessment Service

A Carer’s Assessment is an assessment of your needs as a carer. The assessment looks at how caring affects your life, such as your physical, mental and emotional health, and whether you are willing or able to continue caring.

If you care for someone in the London Borough of Croydon, Croydon Council is responsible for your Carer’s Assessment. Croydon Council has commissioned Carer’s Assessments for adult carers of an adult (aged 18 or older) resident in Croydon to the Carers Information Service.

A carer who appears to need support is entitled to a Carer’s Assessment.

A Carer’s Assessment is a way of recording the impact caring has on your life and exploring your support options. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you may be entitled to support from Croydon Council to meet your assessed eligible needs. For more information on the eligibility criteria, see the ‘How do I prepare for my Carer’s Assessment?’ question.

To request a Carer’s Assessment, call 020 8663 5664 or email assessments@carersinfo.org.uk.

To request a Carer’s Assessment for a client, download and fill in our professional referral form (opens as PDF), tick the box stating that the client requires a Carer’s Assessment, then email the completed form to assessments@carersinfo.org.uk. Please ensure you have the carer’s consent to pass on their personal details before making a referral.

You may be able to get a Care Act advocate to help you with your Carer's Assessment. An advocate will speak up on your behalf.

You can have an advocate if you would have substantial difficulty in fully taking part in your assessment, and you have no one else who can speak up on your behalf. Substantial difficulty means you would struggle to understand information, remember information, use that information to make choices and/or communicate your wishes.

Care Act advocacy in Croydon is provided by an organisation called Advocacy for All. You will need to ask a professional to refer you. If you think you might need an advocate, let our Assessment Workers know when you ask for an assessment.

If you request an assessment, we will contact you to arrange an appointment. Your Carer’s Assessment will take place at the Carers Support Centre, or over the phone if you prefer. The assessment will take up to two hours. If you have accessibility needs, please contact us.

Your assessor will ask you questions about your caring role, how caring affects you, your goals and what would help you reach those goals. The assessor will use your responses to see if you meet the eligibility criteria for further support. You may also be given information and advice during the assessment to support you in your caring role.

The Carer’s Assessment will look at the following three questions:

1. Are your needs the result of you providing necessary care?
2. Does your caring role have an effect on you?
3. Is there, or is there likely to be, a significant impact on your wellbeing as a result of caring?

When measuring the effect caring has on you, your assessor will ask you how caring impacts the following areas of your life:

Your feelings and choices about caring. Your physical and mental health and wellbeing.

• Any caring responsibilities you have for a child or another adult.
• Your housing situation and home environment.
• Meeting your basic needs e.g. eating, drinking, etc.
• Your personal relationships.
• Taking part in work, education or training.
• Getting out and about in the community.
• Taking part in leisure activities you enjoy.
• Money and finances.
• What would happen in an emergency.

Before attending your Carer’s Assessment, it may be helpful to jot down a few thoughts about how caring affects you in these areas and bring them to your assessment. You may like to keep a diary of the needs of the person you care for and your caring responsibilities. Try to include everything, no matter how small it may seem.

Once the assessment has been completed, you will have an opportunity to check it for accuracy. Once you have checked your assessment, with your consent it will be submitted to Croydon Council’s Adult Social Care department. If you require further support from Croydon Council as a result of the Carer’s Assessment, you may receive a Carer’s Personal Budget.

The Carer’s Assessment is about your needs as a carer. If the person you care for needs extra support, they will need to request a Needs Assessment from Croydon Council Adult Social Care Team. To request a Needs Assessment, call 020 8726 6500, or email referral.team2@croydon.gov.uk.

Your Carer’s Assessment is free of charge and any support provided to you as a result of your Carer’s Assessment is also not chargeable. However, if the person you care for receives a support service, they will be charged for that service. For example, if you are offered respite, the person you care for may be assessed by Croydon Council for their ability to pay for replacement care to give you a break.

You can ask for a review of your previous assessment once 12 months or more have passed since the date of your original Carer’s Assessment. You can ask for a review before this if your caring situation or circumstances have changed significantly.

The local authority of the person you care for is responsible for your Carer’s Assessment. For example, if you live in Croydon but the person you care for lives in Sutton, the London Borough of Sutton would provide you with a Carer’s Assessment.

If your child is assessed by Croydon Council as a ‘child in need’, your child’s assessment should also consider your needs as a family. If you are a parent carer and feel your needs have not been taken into consideration during your child's assessment, you can also request a parent carer needs assessment under the Children and Families Act 2014. This is separate to your child's assessment. To request a parent carer needs assessment in Croydon, contact the Croydon Council 0-25 SEND Team on 020 8726 6400.

If you're aged 7-25, please find more information on the Young Carers website and complete this form if you're aged 7-17 and this form if you're aged 18-25.

Yes, if you are a young carer (under 26) looking after a Croydon resident who needs support due to illness, disability or old age, then you can receive a Young Carer’s Assessment from the Young Carers Service at Off The Record

To make a referral if you're aged 18-25 please complete this form. If you're 7-17 please complete this form. 

The assessment will let you know what kind of help is available to young carers and what activities are happening. It will also look at what further support would be helpful for you. To contact the service, call 07522046395 or email youngcarers@talkofftherecord.org.

If you need further help but do not wish to receive a full Carer’s Assessment, you can talk to our advice workers and have a 'proportionate assessment' instead. This will look at your current caring situation and offer you information, advice and support that is relevant to your needs. To request a proportionate assessment, call our telephone helpline on 020 8649 9339, option 1 or email enquiries@carersinfo.org.uk or drop in to the Carers Support Centre.