A Parent Carer Needs Assessment (PCNA) is used to understand how a parent’s caring role affects their wellbeing, feelings and choices about caring. The PCNA helps us to explore:
- what help is needed to support you as a carer of a child or young person with additional needs or disabilities or both
- what additional help and support may be available to you
If a child or young person is already provided with support through Children’s Services, we can consider a parent carer’s needs through the child or young person’s assessment or review.
However, anyone not known to Children’s Service can request a separate PCNA which will be provided through this service.
Some of the types of support we might think about during these conversations or following a PCNA may include:
- a benefits check – this makes sure you are receiving all the benefits you are entitled to
- Home-Start – they can provide you with a volunteer to help support you in the home
- TALKWORKS – support to help you look after your own mental health and wellbeing
- an early help assessment or team around the family – an assessment for early intervention services to support the whole family
- team around the child – a single or set of led meetings to bring together those who know the child best in order to consider how to meet their needs – this is appropriate where there are no wider family needs or complicating factors
- adult social care – support with your own social care needs, if appropriate
- advice, strategies, and resources – giving access to the tools you need to manage or understand your child’s behaviour or providing details of local services which may support you – including parent carer-led groups
- Young Carers – this helps siblings to get the support they might need
The process
For more information or to start this process, you should talk to your social care assessor or social worker if you have one.
If you do not have a social care assessor or social worker and want to request your own assessment you can email us at parentcarerneedsassessment@devon.gov.uk.
To be eligible for an assessment you must live in Devon and care for a disabled child.
What next?
An automated response will include dates and times of available telephone appointments. It will also explain any other information we need from you. Following receipt of this information, we will send you an email confirming the details of the appointment.