Any individual can potentially be eligible for an advocate at some point in their life. This could be an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA), an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) or a Independent Care Act Advocate (ICAA).
Under the Care Act, West Sussex County Council's Adults' Services and its partnership organisations must make a referral for an Independent Advocate for any adult they are working with who has substantial difficulty with:
- understanding information
- retaining information
- using information to make a decision
- communicating their views, wishes and feelings
- not having an appropriate relative, friend or carer to support their involvement.
Making a referral
If you are a professional working for one of WSCC's partnership organisations and wish to refer an adult for an Independent Advocate, please contact the Adults Social Care support team via the assessment form below.
Request for an assessment form (external link)If you are a friend, relative or carer of someone you believe would benefit from an assessment of their social care needs, please refer to the How to get adult social care help page. You can also find more information about advocacy on West Sussex Connect to Support.