Assessing your needs
You will need to have an assessment as part of your transition. This will be a conversation focusing on your situation, what you want to achieve, your strengths, what works well for you, and what needs to change. We will also talk to you about any support that’s available in your local community.
We call this a strength-based, person-centred approach and it will be used throughout your contact with Adults’ Services. 'Strength-based’ means we will focus on your strengths and abilities and ‘person-centred’ means that you and your needs will be at the centre of the conversations.
How your needs are assessed
A member of the Transition team will assess your needs under national guidelines. These are called eligibility criteria and are set out in the Care Act 2014. This helps to make sure that everyone is treated fairly.
To get support from Adults' Services, there are three conditions which need to be met.
- Do your needs come from a physical or mental health condition? This could be a disability, illness or mental health need.
- Do these needs make it hard for you to do everyday things? See the list below.
- Is this having a significant impact on your life and wellbeing? This means affecting how you feel, your independence, or your ability to live the life you want.
If all three of these apply to you, you may be able to get support from Adults’ Services.
During the assessment, we may ask about:
- your wellbeing – what is important to you in your daily life
- any physical illness or mental-health issues
- food and drink – your diet and preparing meals
- personal care – keeping clean and being appropriately dressed
- looking after your home
- getting around your home safely
- developing and maintaining family or other personal relationships
- finding and being involved in work, training, education or volunteering
- getting out and about – using community services, including public transport and recreational facilities and
- carrying out any caring.
In the Care Act, these are known as ‘specified outcomes’.