Support for young carers and young adult carers

Our partnership with Carers Support Cumbria, your rights as a young carer, and how to access help and support

To support young carers in the area, we have partnered with Carers Support Cumbria.

If you're a young person with caring responsibilities, the service can offer you a carers assessment and try to improve your situation by drawing up a support plan. 

The support plan can include things that you feel would help you, such as: 

  • signposting to information or services involving other agencies
  • health and wellbeing support
  • social activities
  • associated personalised support services
  • respite care 

How to contact Carers Support Cumbria 

You can refer yourself to Carers Support Cumbria. 

You don't need a referral from someone else to access the service. However, if you prefer, you can ask a relative or professional (such as a GP) to contact them on your behalf.

Online message form: contact Carers Support Cumbria
Telephone:  08443 843230

Other help and support

The following organisations offer services and assistance to young carers. Some are national organisations, whilst others only work within the Westmorland and Furness area:

Your rights: definition of a young carer and a young adult carer

Young carers

A young carer is someone aged between 5 to 18 years old, who provides unpaid care, for a person who has any type of:

  • physical or mental illness, or both
  • physical or mental disability, or both
  • substance misuse, such as alcohol or drugs

As a young carer you may take on additional help in your family and you may enjoy some of this. However, it should not interfere with you attending school or doing the same activities as other people your age.

You should not be being doing the same things as adult carers, or things that are too much for someone of your age.

Young adult carers

Carers aged between 18 and 25 years old are young adult carers. They are covered by adult legislation. 

We still offer support to young carers and you can ask for help from Carers Support Cumbria. 

They will listen to you, arrange to meet with you and consider what help and support is best for you and your individual situation.

Your rights: what the law says about young carers

NHS guidance on rights for young carers and getting help

As a young person with caring responsibilities, you have certain rights. These rights are set out in three key pieces of law: 

  • the Children Act 1989
  • the Care Act 2014
  • the Health and Care Act 2022

Children Act 1989

This Act states that we should support children and their families who may need extra help. In families with caring responsibilities, we must:

  • work with communities to improve the identification of young carers
  • complete assessments of need for young carers. This must be done if:
    • a young person asks for an assessment
    • a family member asks for an assessment
    • if the family appears to need help with their home life
  • make sure young carers and their families have access to advice and support

Care Act 1984

This Act says we must:

  • identify children in households, find out if they’re carers and what help they may need
  • make sure that young carers are not undertaking caring tasks that are too much for someone their age to deal with
  • for older young carers (carers between 16 and 17) assess their needs. This assessment is to consider what support they will need when they turn 18

Health and Care Act 2022

This is an NHS Act. It says we should work together with the NHS to:

  • identify young carers, and make sure they have access to help and advice
  • consult young carers about the needs of the person they look after. So, if a young carer looks after an adult who is in adult services, we should consult the young carer before the adult is discharged from hospital. This also applies if the adult is an inpatient in mental health services
  • consult young people about changes in policies that affect them, or changes in how health and social care services are delivered

What to do if you're concerned about a child or adult

If you're concerned that a child, young person or adult is in an emergency situation, you should contact the police urgently on 999.

What to do if you're concerned about a child or young person

What to do if you're concerned about a vulnerable adult