Request a care assessment

Assessments occur at all stages from when you make first make contact with us to a complex assessment with a social worker. It can take place in a variety of places including your own home.

The process is about gathering information about you, your circumstances, your strengths and the things that you find difficult. It is also about understanding what you want to be able to do to and about recognising your strengths; these include the people that support you and your wider community support.

An assessment is a form of conversation which is recorded.  In some cases, it may be that your view and that of the person undertaking the assessment differ. Where this is the case the assessment will make this clear.

It is a duty of the City of Wolverhampton Council under the Care Act to ensure that you are always provided with a copy of the assessment regardless of whether you are eligible for support from us. You will also be asked if the assessment can be shared with people and organisations that can play a part in supporting you.

If you are eligible for care and support from us, we will list all your needs in an assessment summary and agree a care and support plan with you. Your care and support plan will cover:

• Needs identified in the assessment
• Which of the identified needs meet the eligibility criteria
• Which of the needs identified will be met by the Council
• How will the care and support provided help you to achieve the things which are important to you
• Any information and advice that will help you to prevent or delay future care and support needs
• How much money is in your personal budget
• How you have chosen to use your personal budget
• If you have chosen a Direct Payment, the payments to be made and how often
• Any contribution you have to make towards your care and support
• What you can and can't use your personal budget for
• Contact details of the team to contact about your care and support
• When reviews will take place to make sure your plan is working or if your needs or circumstances have changed
• What to do if you're unhappy with the service

Social care needs are based on things you may require some help with, such as:

• Making sure you eat well
• Looking after yourself
• Being able to move around your home
• Being able to look after your home
• Having contact with family and friends
• Being able to access other community activities, such as work opportunities or education
• Emotional wellbeing and mental health
• Other caring responsibilities you may have
• Supporting your family and friends to care for you

Under the Care Act, every adult who appears to have care and support needs is entitled to an assessment, there is no charge for this. It is important to understand that an assessment can be quite an in-depth process during which you will be asked some difficult questions. For some, this can be an emotional experience as they explore their care and support needs and the impact that these needs are having for both themselves and those around them.

It is important that the assessment you take part in is proportionate to your needs. For instance, in many cases, the first stage of your assessment would be a conversation with one our service information officers (the person who you will speak to when you first contact us) who can talk to you about your needs and the things that are important to you and signpost you to activities, support or services that are available to help. For many people, this will provide them with the information and advice they need to resolve any issues they may have and achieve the things they want to.

If as a result of your conversation, it becomes clear that you need a more complex assessment then we would find a person with an appropriate level of knowledge and skills (such as a social worker) to work with you.

You are also entitled to help from an independent advocate if you have difficulty participating in the assessment or other parts of the process and do not already have someone who can act as an advocate for you. If we identify that this may be the case, we have a duty to arrange an independent advocate for you who can act on your behalf. You can find more information about independent advocacy on the Wolverhampton Information Network.

If you're an unpaid carer, our duty is to offer you a carer's assessment, which looks at the support you need to look after someone else. You can have a carer's assessment even if the person you look after doesn't want to have their own needs assessment or isn't eligible for help from us.

Your needs assessment will look at your needs and identify whether any of them meet the national eligibility criteria for adult social care.  Our assessor will work with you to create a care and support plan for your eligible social care needs.

You will have eligible needs if you meet all of the following:

• You have care and support needs as a result of a physical or mental condition
• Because of those needs, you can't achieve two or more of the outcomes specified in your needs assessment
• As a result, there is a significant impact on your wellbeing

Together we'll work out how much your independence and wellbeing is at risk if you don't have help.

If you're not eligible for care and support from us, we'll still give you information about other organisations that may be able to help you. You can find details of a wide range of organisations on the Wolverhampton Information Network.

There are a range of services on offer and support available which may be able to prevent or delay your need for on-going services, as part of the assessment we will consider if you might benefit from these, regardless of your eligibility.

Ask our assessor to explain their decision again so you are clear about the reasons for it.  You can ask them to call again when you have someone there to support you. If you're still not satisfied, you can ask the Council to reconsider its decision. If you're still not satisfied with the outcome, you can make a complaint as described in the Health and Social Care complaint process.

Depending on your financial circumstances, you may have to contribute something towards the support we provide. We will carry out a financial assessment to see how much you need to contribute. Find out more information about the process.

We will provide you with a personal budget and discuss with you how you can use this to meet your needs via a range of options including Direct Payments, this will help you to better understand the likely costs of your care and support and your contribution. This gives you choice and control over the support you get.

We will aim to undertake a proportionate review of your needs and how your care and support is working after about six weeks and then at least once every year. You can also ask us for a review if your needs or circumstances change.