Transition to adult care
From children’s to adult social care
Is your young person moving from children’s services into adult social care in Cambridgeshire or going to need to in future?
The transition is explained on the county council’s website where you can find out about how the move is planned – it’s called the “transfer pathway”.
Work should start with young people from when they are 14 (at least) and cover areas including independence, preparing for work, future living and support, health and money.
If your young person has a social worker already, preparation for the move will start in their 16th year. Children’s social workers will ask the council’s SEND Service Young Adults Team to start to plan and put in place social care support for when they turn 18. The team will support young people with learning disabilities and autism.
The most appropriate Adult Social Care Team will be identified for them and provide support as young people turn 18.
These teams are:
- Adult Autism and Support Team (AAT)
- Mental Health Service
- SEND Service Young Adults Team supporting 18 -25s
- Physical Disability Team
- Sensory Team
Some young people who do not have a children’s social worker but who will or may need social care support as an adult. Where this is the case, the appropriate adult social care team will start working with a young person from around the age of 16 to assess eligibility and arrange adult support if needed.
Contact social services through the council’s contact centre on 0345 045 5203. Or if your child or young person has an EHCP, you should be discussing this at your annual review.
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Contact
Young Adults Social Care Team (18 – 25)
For general queries, please call 01480 372669. Or to make a referral or ask for an assessment phone the contact centre on 0345 0455203.
Useful reading
- Special Needs Jungle article on transitioning to adult social care from children’s services.
- Leaving school: transition planning for a young person with autism – by Rachel Babbidge, Transition Support Service Coordinator at The National Autistic Society.
- SEN Magazine’s September 2017 issue has a feature about the law supporting young people with SEN in the transition to adulthood, written by Specialist SEN solicitor Douglas Silas. Read the article