Your independence and care needs

If you have care needs and find it difficult to look after yourself, it might be helpful to get some more information about what your needs are and what could be done to support them.                         

You could ask Leeds City Council for a care and support needs assessment by contacting Leeds Adult Social care on 0113 8689967 (Weekdays 9am to 5pm​​, except Wednesdays when they open from 10am.) or by emailing leedsadults@leeds.gov.uk.                         

You can also visit the adult social care website or the Leeds local offer website for more information about what is available in Leeds.

You will also find more advice on needs assessments on the NHS website.                         

Which have also written some advice about preparing for the assessment that you might find useful.                         

A personal budget is when Leeds City council agree to give you some money to pay for things that you might need to support you with your health, care and/or educational needs.                         

It gives you more choice about what the money is spent on and the support that you get. You and your family can look after this money (known as direct payments), or the Leeds City Council or another agreed organisation/ service could do this for you.                       

If the request is for your health and care needs then you do not need an Educational, Health and Care plan (EHCP) , but if you do have a plan, it can be done as part of this process.                         

If Leeds City Council do not agree to you having a personal budget, they must tell you why they have made this decision.                         

Kids have made a video about personal budgets that you might find helpful.                         

You can also find out more about personal budgets and direct payments on the Leeds local offer website.                         

Most moves (transitions) from child social care services to adult social care service take place at 18, but some can take place from age 17.                         

If you have a social worker they will talk to you about this and help to make a plan for the move.                         

If you have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) It might be helpful to ask your social worker to come to your next review.                         

If you are likely to have some social care needs when you turn 18, you should be offered a transitions assessment. This is to get the right care and support plan in place for you. For more information about this you can contact social care on 0113 222 4401 or visit their website.                         

In Leeds, Family Action, the national charity, delivers the Young Carers Support Service.                       

They provide specialist information, advice and support for young carers, their families and the organisations and staff working with them.                       

A young carers is a young person, under the age of 18, who provide care for another family member because they have a physical illness, disability, mental health condition or a drug or alcohol problem.

You can watch this video made by Family Action to find out more about being a young carer and the support that is available.                       

You can also find out more about this service by visiting the Leeds Young Carers website.