Resources for professionals working with young people

Shared Lives is a regulated community-based accommodation and care and support model that provides an anchor in a carers home. In England Shared Lives is regulated by the CQC, in Scotland the Care Inspectorate, in Wales Care Inspectorate Wales and in Northern Ireland RQIA.

The carer will have been assessed and received training to be a Shared Lives Carer and will ‘share their life’ with the supported person. This is likely to include taking part in family life and community activities as well as developing independent living skills and making decisions about their own lives as well as personal care if needed.

It can be either living with the carer of visiting for respite or day support.

Shared Lives has traditionally been a service for adults with a learning disability. However, it has proved itself to be a really successful option for young people transitioning from children’s to adult services who have an assessed need for support and accommodation.

In England this means those who have a Care Act Need for accommodation and support, as described in the Care Act below:

1. The adult’s needs arise from, or are related to, a physical or mental impairment or illness.
2. As a result of the adult’s needs, the adult is unable to achieve two or more of the specified outcomes (managing and maintaining nutrition, managing personal hygiene, managing toileting needs, being appropriately clothed, being able to make use of the home safely, maintaining a habitable home environment, developing and maintaining personal relationships, accessing and engaging in work, training, education or volunteering, making use of the local community inc. public transport and recreation activities and carrying out caring responsibilities for a child ).
3. As a consequence of being unable to achieve these outcomes there is, or there is likely to be, a significant impact on the adult’s wellbeing

In Wales, those eligible for care and support meet the eligibility criteria as per The Care and Support (Eligibility) (Wales) Regulations 2015 if both the below conditions are met: 

1. The need arises from the adult’s physical or mental ill-health, age, disability, dependence on alcohol or drugs, or other similar circumstances
2. This need means the adult cannot carry out one or more the following themselves, with the support they have available or through community services: 

• Self- care or domestic routines 
• Communicate their needs and wishes 
• Protect themselves from abuse or neglect 
• Access work, education, learning or in leisure activities  
• Maintain or develop family or social relationships 
• Involve themselves in the community 
• Fulfil the caring responsibilities for a child

In Scotland, each local authority has their own eligibility criteria, under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968.   The National Eligibility Framework determines the level of risk to a person’s independence, health and wellbeing if social care services are not provided: low, moderate, substantial or critical.  You can contact your local authority and they will share their local eligibility criteria with you. 

In Northern Ireland, the Health and Social Care Trust will complete an assessment of need. The assessment will evaluate the risk to a young person’s independence including: 

• Autonomy and choice  
• Health, safety and wellbeing
• Ability to manage personal and other daily routines  
• Involvement in family and community life 

This will be used to determine whether the young person has eligible care needs which are set regionally. 

It is worth considering Shared Lives where a young person has an EHCP in England/CSP in Scotland/IDP in Wales/Statement of special educational needs in Northern Ireland, autism, is neurodiverse or has complex trauma which is impacting on the areas listed above so that the relevant adult social care team and Shared Lives can advise on eligibility or in some areas this can be funded by Children’s Services, as leaving care support and accommodation provision. 

Planning starts from 14 -16 but usually the arrangement starts between a young persons 16th and 18th birthday in England and Scotland. In Wales and Northern Ireland people can access Shared Lives from the age of 18. 

At 18, if a young adult has a social care eligible need, Adult Services take over responsibility. Children’s Services (or transitions teams locally) may continue to provide some support to the young adult as they are care experienced, led by the Personal Advisor or Pathway Coordinator/Throughcare Worker in Scotland. 

If the young person doesn’t have an eligible social care need then Children’s Services/transitions team may fund an arrangement arrangement from 16 or 18, depending on the local scheme.

Fostering: It is like fostering in that it is individualised care and support in the carers home. Like fostering, it is regulated, although by CQC in England rather than Ofsted, by the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, Care Inspectorate Wales in Wales and RQIA in Northern Ireland.

The biggest difference is that the supported person is an adult and has choice and control over their life. This means they will be supported to manage their finances, make decisions about how they spend their time and who they spend it with.

For example, a Shared Lives carer wouldn’t be able to instruct someone to be home at a particular time or take their phone away from them, but they would likely have expected behaviours / house rules, just like any other group of people or family who live together.

Staying Put/When I am Ready/Continuing Care/Going the Extra Mile: It is also like these arrangements, in that the supported person is now an adult and living in the carer’s home. 

However, the carer is no longer a foster carer and covered by fostering regulations and the arrangements is time limited. 

This is usually until the young adult turns 21 but in practice it tends to be less time than this. 

There is often no requirement around the levels of support and training provided to these carers. Best practice is for Shared Lives to be used where the care experienced young adult has an eligible social care need. 

Supported Lodgings: Supported Lodgings is most like Shared Lives as it is for young people who are 16+, is provided in the hosts home and may be regulated.

However, it is lighter touch support (max. 10 hours per week), focusing more on the person’s housing need and is time limited.

If a young person just wants a room to stay in or is already independent, it is likely that Shared Lives may not be quite right for them.

Also, young people who need constant supervision, or more than 2 to 1 support are also unlikely to find this the right option for them.

We love this answer – it is for as long as they need to.

Obviously, carers do retire, or their situation changes but if Shared Lives is the right option we would do all we could to find another match for the supported person so they can remain part of Shared Lives.

Usually supported people move on to independent living when they are ready, but they take the network of relationships that they built in Shared Lives with them.

The referral process varies between authorities and on whether the arrangement will be funded by Children’s or Adult services.

We advise you contact your local Shared Lives Scheme – contact details here to ask about your local referral processes.

Up until a young person turns 18 all costs are usually covered by Children’s Services. After this, there are three elements to the fee. This includes: 

• Care and support fee: usually from adult social care, health or the supported person, if self-funding.  
• Accommodation contribution: for the rent of the room for ‘live in’ arrangements, usually paid via housing benefit/element or from the supported person.  
• Board and lodgings contribution: for food, utilities and household bills. This is paid directly by the person drawing on support, to the Shared Lives carer. 

As a Children’s Social Worker your role is usually to consider Shared Lives as an option for young people who you think may benefit from a Shared Lives arrangement. If they are interested then you will also be key in making sure everyone is communicating well with each other, whilst keeping the view of the young person at the heart of the planning. This means you will likely be checking that the right people are involved and that you have made the referral to adult services, if applicable, and to the Shared Lives scheme. The right people are likely to include the young person, Personal Advisor (or Pathway Coordinator/ Throughcare Worker in Scotland), current carer or key worker in their placement, Independent Review Officer in England and Wales, Adult Social Worker, Shared Lives Scheme Worker, family member and anyone else such as their education placement, health professionals and maybe an advocate or mentor.

As a Personal Advisor (or Pathway Coordinator/Throughcare Worker in Scotland), your role is to bring the leaving care expertise and help the team think about the young person’s needs resulting from them having been in care. This is likely to include sharing the pathway plan, and making sure this forms part of any assessments and is the key document all professionals and the young person is inputting into. Finances for young people in Shared Lives can be complicated, so they will need your support to make sure that they are claiming any finances they are eligible for and that they (and their Shared Lives carer) are aware of the local offer and what is available to them.

As an Independent Review Officer your role will be to make sure things are happening in a timely way, including starting to raise awareness of Shared Lives as an option from 14. It is important that you are aware of the referral process for Shared Lives in your Local Authority, so that you can connect everyone together to carefully plan for the young person. There are two main groups, those who are in foster care where a foster carer is interested in transitioning to Shared Lives with the young person, and young people where it would be a new arrangement, they may be in supported accommodation, residential or a fostering placement, that cannot continue for whatever reason.

As an Adult Social Worker your role will be to do the social care assessment and ensure that the Shared Lives scheme have the information they need to organise an arrangement in a planned way. You will also be securing the funding for the arrangement.

As a Supervising Social Worker/fostering worker your role is to provide information to the Foster Carer about Shared Lives, particularly about being registered as a Shared Lives carer and a foster carer, linking them in with the Shared Lives scheme early so they can find out more about the scheme and start the assessment process if they want to become a Shared Lives carer.

They can:

• Read the FAQ’s for young people, or the easy read version available from the scheme
• Speak to the scheme who may be able to put them in touch with a young person who is already living in a Shared Lives arrangement. They could also meet with one of the Shared Lives Team who will be able to answer their questions.
• Read the leaflet below

They can:

• read the FAQ’s for Foster Carers, available from the Shared Lives scheme,
•  speak to their Fostering Team who should have information about Shared Lives.
• Or speak with the scheme who may be able to put them in touch with another foster carer who has transitioned to Shared Lives.

You can speak to your local Shared Lives scheme who will be happy to answer your questions and share more information.