Your rights and choices as a young carer

There are legal guidelines that say when you may be doing too much as a young carer.

As a young person, you should not have caring responsibilities that:

• make you feel worried, sad or lonely
• affects your physical or mental health
• affects your social life or stops you spending time with your friends
• stops you doing well in your studies
• stops you getting or keeping a job
• stops you achieving your goals for the future.

If a family member has cancer, it is natural to want to try your best to help them. But your needs are also important. You should not do all the same things as an adult carer, or spend too much time caring for someone. This may affect your studies, emotions, leisure time or other parts of your life.

The person with cancer may be able to get to help from:

• their local council in England, Scotland and Wales
• or their Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland.

This means they should not have to rely on you to care for them.

If you are approaching adulthood, you can get a different carer’s assessment depending on where you live. This assessment is done before you reach the age of 18.

If you live in England or Wales, the period when you approach becoming an adult may be called transition. You can ask for a transition assessment when you are ready to start thinking about your future. This is different from a young carer’s assessment. It is a chance for you to talk about your future plans, such as going to university or getting a job. The assessment decides what support you and the person with cancer need after you are 18.

You can have a transition assessment at any age, but it should happen well before you become 18. It is important to allow enough time to discuss and decide which practical or emotional support should be ready when you are 18.

After the assessment, you should get a written report with information and advice to help you plan for your future.

All carers aged 18 or over have the right to an adult carer’s assessment. We have more information about adult carer’s assessments.

If you live in Scotland, any young carer statement continues to apply when you become 18, until you get an adult carer support plan. If you do not want to continue being a carer, you can choose not to have an adult carer support plan.

If you live in Northern Ireland and are aged 16 or 17, you can ask for an adult carer’s assessment instead of a young carer’s assessment. But guidance suggests that this will only rarely be in your best interests. It may be better to have a young carer’s assessment and wait until you are 18 to get an adult carer’s assessment.