Wales
Shared Lives in Wales
In Wales Shared Lives supports adults ages 18 and over. Shared Lives carers can support up to three people at any one time.
Shared Lives is well established in Wales with each of the 22 local authority areas served by eight Shared Lives schemes. In 2024-25, 918 people were supported by 748 Shared Lives carers in Wales.
Shared Lives schemes are registered and inspected by Care Inspectorate Wales.
In Wales Shared Lives schemes most commonly support those with a learning disabilitiy, dementia, mental ill health, or autism spectrum disorder.
No matter where you live in the UK Shared Lives centres around matching based on shared interests and values, offering choice of who provides support and how you live your life.
Read the latest Wales state of the Shared Lives sector report
“To all Shared Lives carers and schemes, I offer my thanks for your compassion and the difference you make to others, many more people now, and in the future, will understand the benefits of Shared Lives services, and make a positive choice to use them.”
Information for professionals
The key pieces of legislation, regulations and standards in Wales for Shared Lives schemes are:
All social care workers who are new to the sector, organisation or job role should complete the All Wales Induction Framework (AWIF). This includes Shared Lives carers.
Social workers and Shared Lives scheme managers are required to register with Social Care Wales.
Shared Lives in Wales aligns with the Welsh Government’s commitment to improve the independence of disabled people1 and promote preventative services by providing a stable home and enabling a person to receive the support they need to live their best life as independently as possible in their community.
