The Community Care Assessment

You may be eligible to receive all or some of the help you need free of charge or for a small payment. In order to find out you need to request a Community Care Assessment from your local authority Social Work Department. This should be requested in writing: see specimen letter.

To see an example of a Community Care Assessment (CCA) form click :

(They will open in a new window)

CCA form Page 1          CCA form Page 2          CCA form Page 3         

The purpose of the Community Care Assessment is to find out how much and what kind of help help is required to meet your needs and to help you to do the things you would like. The social worker will ask about matters such as personal care, household tasks, health, accommodation, emotional needs and social activities.

After the assessment the social worker will talk to you and your carer(s) about what help is available and about which services suit you best. There is a charge for some services, depending on your income and savings. You should be given a written statement of any charges, and information about any benefits you may be entitled to and how you can claim. After your assessment you should be sent a printed version of the form you signed, called a Care Plan. The Care Plan is a description of your needs and of the help and services that have been agreed. The social worker should check from time to time in case changes in your services are needed.

It is important to plan for your Community Care Assessment - by thinking about your needs for personal care, help with household tasks, accommodation and social/leisure/recreational activities. If you have worked through the programme above, you will have already done this. Make sure that you have your weekly plan completed, so that you can discuss this with the social worker who comes to do the Assessment.

You may find it helpful to discuss this with family members and/or professionals who are involved with your care. It may also be a good idea to have someone with you to speak up for you (as an advocate) during the Assessment. If so, the advocate should have a full discussion with you (and possibly also with your carer or professional) at an earlier stage in order to prepare for the Assessment.

In most cases you should be able to choose between having care provided by the local authority social work department or being provided with a direct payment to enable you to purchase services yourself (for example a personal assistant, leisure and recreational facilities, short and longer breaks, personal development programmes).

During the assessment process the social worker should ask what help you get from relatives and other carers and whether they are willing and able to carry on. If a friend or relative provides or intends to provide you with regular and substantial care they are entitled to a Carer's Assessment - to identify their needs and assess what help they may need to continue to support you.