The role of the transitions worker
When the young person reaches 16, they will be allocated a transitions worker who will begin to plan for what support and services the young person may need when they turn 18. The transitions team will work jointly with the children’s services social worker. The social worker will continue to be the young person’s lead professional and the transitions worker will attend all of the young person’s reviews where possible.
Assessment
A transitions worker will make contact the young person or their family and the professionals involved in the young person’s care in order to begin the adult assessment which is called a Self-Directed Assessment Questionnaire (SDAQ).
The assessment will look at areas of the young person’s life where they may need support in the future, such as accommodation, managing money, social and leisure activities, personal care needs and health needs.
The transitions worker will also liaise with the young person’s family or carer. This is to ensure that they also have all the help they need to continue providing care and support to the young person.
When the assessment has been completed it will be taken to a meeting called the Transitions Panel. At the meeting, the transitions worker will present the assessment to the Service Delivery Managers from the different adult teams to discuss and agree what help and support can be provided to the young person and their family and which adult social care team will be responsible for providing the package of care to the young person when they reach 18.
If the young person’s needs are particularly complex, the panel may ask for further assessment work to be completed before as a decision to be made. If a young person’s needs change before they reach 18, the assessment can be taken back to the panel to ensure that the decision as to which adult team they will work with is still appropriate.
Support Planning
The transitions worker will ensure that before the young person’s 18th birthday, the assessment has identified the young person’s needs as an adult and that the right services have been found to meet their needs. This could include putting Direct Payments in place for the young person to have their own Personal Advisor, finding suitable day opportunities after a young person has left school or making sure they have an adult respite provision.
So that adult services are ready for when the young person turns 18, the transitions worker will help the young person, their family and service providers to complete an Adult Social Care Support Plan. The plan details what services are to be put in place ready for when the young person turns 18. The cost of the care package will also be worked out. The transitions worker will discuss with the young person and their family what a care budget is and help them to decide if they would like to manage the care budget when they are 18.
Before the young person turns 18, the Transitions worker will also make a referral to the council's welfare rights team to ensure that the young person is in receipt of the correct benefits and to identify whether the young person will need to make any contribution towards their care.
