Parent Carer Needs Assessments

The purpose of a Parent Carer Needs assessment is for you to have an assessment of your own needs, allowing you to discuss with a practitioner your caring role and how it affects your wellbeing, your feelings and choices about caring, what help you need to support you as a carer of a child/young person with additional needs and/or disabilities, and to find out what help and support may be available.

Some of the types of support we might offer you following a PCNA include:

• Assisting you with a benefit check to ensure you are receiving all the benefits you are entitled to.
• Making a referral to Homestart, who can provide you with a volunteer to help support you at home
• Referring you to the Suffolk Wellbeing Service, who can support you to look after your own mental health and wellbeing
• Starting a Common Assessment Framework or CAF, if appropriate (you can read more about CAFs here)
• Referring you to adult social care for support with your own care needs, if appropriate
• Advice, strategies and resources to help you manage/ understand your child’s behaviour.
• If you have other children, we can refer them to Sibling / Young Carers support groups and activities

For more information on how to request an assessment, you can talk to your Family Support Practitioner or Social Worker if you have one, call Customer First on 0808 800 4005, or visit our Social Care & Early Help page.

Further support available

The following links are to departments and/or organisations who may also be able to provide you with support in your role as a parent carer:

Suffolk County Council commissions Suffolk Family Carers to deliver support services for Young Carers (5-15 years old) and Young Adult Carers (16-24 years old). 

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) provides information, advice and support to young people and children with SEN or disabilities aged 0 -25, and their parents, about education, health and social care.

Suffolk Carers Matter support people across the whole of Suffolk who are caring for family members and friends. This support is open to all ages: Adult Carers, Parent Carers, Young Carers and Young Adult Carers.

In Suffolk, eligibility for short breaks for a child of young person with additional needs is assessed through Activities Unlimited. This process also considers your role as a carer as part of the on-line assessment.

If you need support because of your own care needs, rather than because of those of your child/young person, you may want to explore whether you require a Care and Support Assessment through Adult Services.

If you want advice and support about your child’s/young person’s emotional wellbeing you may want to explore support available through the Emotional Wellbeing Hub.

The Parent Hub is a single place for Suffolk parents or carers to find parenting advice and support to help their child's development.