QSA project hailed as ‘best practice’
The 'Move On Up' project for young adult carers has been highlighted as an example of 'best practice'
A shared Quaker Social Action (QSA) project has been profiled as an example of ‘best practice’ in a report by The Children’s Society which looked at gaps in provision for young adult carers.
The ‘Move On Up’ project run by QSA with Commonweal Housing was praised in the Shaping our Future: Improving Assessment and Support for Young Carers Transition to Adulthood report for its support in housing young adult carers. The report, commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care, outlines gaps in provision as well as good practice in providing transitional support for carers between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four.
According to the report, the ‘Move On Up’ project, which provides four properties to twelve young adult carers to use as their base after leaving the family home, ‘aims to give them a living space where they feel safe, supported and independent’. The carers can live there for up to two years.
According to The Children’s Society: ‘Young adult carers have complex needs and face a multitude of decisions that require joined up services… including statutory services, education and employment to mental health and housing. But often the support young carers receive is a postcode lottery and thousands… receive little or no support.’
The report calls for the government to set up a cross-party task force ‘to look into transition planning for teenagers as they move into adulthood’, as well as a ‘transition assessment’ for young adult carers, particularly as services end when the carer reaches eighteen.
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