Form Informal Care form
Key requirement
1. Do I need to meet the child who is being cared for by the claimant?
Guidance: Please use your professional judgement about whether seeing the child is necessary to making this assessment. If you have previously met this child in this caring arrangement it may not be necessary to see them again.
Key requirement
2. Do I need to meet the claimant?
Guidance: Yes. However, if you or a colleague have recently met the claimant in the course of your professional duties as a registered social worker and feel capable of making this assessment, then doing so for these purposes is not necessary. Please bear in mind that the circumstances of the claimant may have changed since they were last visited or met. Therefore, if a recent meeting has not taken place another should be scheduled for completing this form. Please use your own discretion in judging whether you need to meet the claimant in their home or not.
Key requirement
3. If the child has been cared for by the claimant for a long time, when should I assess the child as would likely otherwise be looked after by a local authority?
Guidance: You should make an assessment at the point they joined the household.
Key requirement
4. Do I have any legal responsibilities to inform any authorities if I have any concerns about this caring situation?
Guidance: Completing this form and meeting the claimant will not bring in any additional legal responsibilities to your existing professional obligations. You will continue to operate within your professional duty of confidence and any legal obligations you currently have. For example, safeguarding children and the public.
Key requirement
5. How should I judge if the child would otherwise be looked after by a local authority?
Guidance: Please exercise your professional judgement in making a decision about whether the child would otherwise be looked after. This will involve an assessment of the credibility of what you have been told by the claimant and that it is consistent with the tick boxes in section 3. The claimant is not required to provide any documentation though they may wish to do so in your further questions meeting(s).
Key requirement
6. Do I need to be a registered social worker in the local authority in which the claimant is a resident, or the local authority where the child was previously living with their parents?
Guidance: For these purposes it does not matter which local authority you work for, as long as you feel able to make the judgement about whether the child would likely otherwise be looked after by a local authority.
Key requirement
7. What does the form mean by “normally living with them”?
Guidance: The child is considered to be living with the carer as their normal residence, meaning regularly, usually, typically lives with them, which allows for temporary or occasional absences.
Key requirement
8. What should the claimant do with the form after completion?
Guidance: It is the responsibility of the claimant to return the form to DWP (if the claimant is on Universal Credit or Income Support) or HMRC (if the claimant is on Child Tax Credit). There is guidance on the final page of the form to help them. HMRC or DWP may contact you to confirm your authentication.