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How many young carers are there then?
We don’t know !! but the 2001 census – self-declaring – suggests 175,000 and is likely to be an underestimate….
There are almost 3 million children living in a family where someone has health problems or a disability that is limiting…. So this would suggest that about 6% of children in such family circumstances become active ‘young carers. Overall this would equate to about 1.5% of all children.
National surveys of young carers who are being supported by specialist projects have shown that :
such projects grew from 2 pilots in 1995 to over 200 by 2003
young carers in these surveys had grown from 641 to over 6000
and the 2003 survey of these young carers showed:
56% girls ; 44% boys
56% lived in lone parent families
The people with care needs split - 50% of a physical nature
29% mental health related
17% learning disabilities
3% sensory impairments
Of these young carers:
66% provided domestic help
48% carried out nursing type tasks
82% provided emotional support
18% provided intimate personal care
11% provided child care for younger siblings
one in ten provided care for more than one person
half of these young carers provided care for < 10hrs a week
a third for 10 to 20hrs a week
16% for over 20hrs a week
and about 2% for over 50hrs a week
27% of these young people of secondary school age were missing school or had other indicators of educational difficulties
rising to 40% of those caring for people who misused drugs or alcohol
taken from Young Carers ResearchGroup, LoughboroughUniversity
in The Educational Network
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