What counts as being a young carer?
By definition, a young carer is someone under the age of 18 who looks after a family member or friend who has a physical or mental health condition, or misuses drugs or alcohol. They may also look after brothers, sisters or elderly relatives too.
What is Young Carers Australia?
Young carers are people up to 25 years old who provide unpaid care and support to family members or friends who have a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, mental illness, an alcohol or other drug issue or who are frail aged. There are more than 235,000 young carers in Australia.
How old does a carer have to be?
There are no special requirements regarding the age that people have to be before they work in an adult social care but there are some general rules for under 18 year olds which are set out here. The person that you employ should therefore be in: Full-time education, e.g. at a school or college.
Who is defined as being a carer?
A carer is anyone, including children and adults who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and cannot cope without their support. The care they give is unpaid.
Do you have to be 18 to be a carer?
It’s both legal and beneficial to employ young people (aged 16 and 17), in social care services, including home care and community-based services. Employing young people gives them the opportunity to start a career in care.
Can my son be my carer?
The person you care for can be anyone, including a relative. It can be paid to more than one person in a household, such as a couple caring for each other. To claim the Carer’s Element of Universal Credit the eligibility rules are the same as for Carer’s Allowance, but there is no earnings limit involved.
Can my 17 year old be my carer?
You’re a young carer if you’re under 18 and help to look after a relative with a disability, illness, mental health condition, or drug or alcohol problem. If you’re a young carer, you probably look after one of your parents or care for a brother or sister.
Can a 16 year old work as a carer?
Is there a minimum age to work in social care? Government regulations only allow people over the age of 18 to deliver personal intimate care (mostly personal hygiene tasks). People under the age of 16 can do the work supervised but it does mean that a 16-year-old’s work opportunities are limited.
How do you prove you are a carer?
Proving you are a carer If the person you are looking after is under their care, you could register as a carer (if you haven’t already) and request a standard letter that identifies you as a carer.
Can a parent be a carer?
Parent carers seldom feel like ‘carers’. They are first and foremost parents. But being a parent of a child or adult who needs additional support means you are a carer – and there’s help available for you too.
Can a 17 year old be a carer?
If you’re 16 or over and not in full-time education, you may be eligible for help finding work, as well as with your family’s finances (for instance, through benefits such as Carer’s Allowance).
Can a 16 year old be a carer?
Who are young carers and what do they do?
Young carers are people up to 25 years old who provide unpaid care and support to family members or friends who have a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, mental illness, an alcohol or other drug issue or who are frail aged. There are more than 235,000 young carers in Australia.
What has the Scottish Government done to support young carers?
This has included the Care 21 Report (Scottish Executive, 2006), the Scottish Government and COSLA strategy ‘Getting it Right for Young Carers’ (2010) and the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 which contains a discretionary power to support carers, including young carers.
What are my rights as a young carer?
As a young carer you may have more responsibility than many of your friends have. This can make having time for yourself difficult. The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 gives you rights as a young carer to help and support.
What age is a young adult carer?
In this report, the term ‘young adult carers’ refers to people aged 16-24 years, and the term ‘young carers’ to people aged 4-15 years. This is primarily due to the way in which the statistical data is organised and it is recognised that young carers are usually considered as those aged under 18 [3] .