At the moment, families are falling through a gap between the differentservices, which means young carers are suffering, said the group. Thegroup also fears the gap could widen as children's services are broughttogether in children's trusts.
The Family Policy Alliance, which represents Parentline Plus, the FamilyWelfare Association and the Family Rights Group, has joined forces withThe Children's Society, the Disabled Parents Network and The PrincessRoyal Trust for Carers.
"We don't just want to help young carers who are taking on aninappropriate caring role; we want to stop them becoming young carers inthe first place," said Alex Fox, head of young carer development at thetrust. He said a vital step was ensuring adult services assessed andsupported clients and helped them "be the parent they want to be".
Department of Health guidance says councils must do this but many stilldo not ask about children. Meanwhile, changes in the way care is fundedshould help families tailor spending. But Fox said some direct paymentschemes offered by local authorities were still too restrictive.Disabled adults should be able to use cash for help with parenting.
He called on the Department for Education and Skills and Department ofHealth to produce joint guidance.
- The coalition is developing a model protocol atwww.youngcarers.net/professionals.
