Carers (including young carers) experiencing negative outcomes due to their caring role are more likely to report a lower sense of coherence. This article explores young carers’ support needs for support provided by professionals. A total of 20 interviews with young carers and the persons for whom they provide care were analysed by applying Antonovsky’s paradigm of salutogenesis. The dimensions of manageability, comprehensibility and meaningfulness served to categorise the data. The findings show various needs for support within all three dimensions of the sense of coherence. The results outline key support strategies that professionals can use to build the competencies, confidence and resilience of young carers and their families.
Background/Objectives: Children and adolescents who care for family members with illness, disability, or mental health conditions face challenges across educational, health, and psychosocial domains. Although research and practice have developed conceptual models and assessment tools to better understand and address young carers’ situations, a persistent gap remains between their needs and available support, reflecting structural fragmentation across health, education, and social care systems. To address this gap, this article presents the development of a family-centred framework spanning these sectors. Methods: The framework was developed through an iterative, empirically grounded process based on two studies within a larger research project on young carers in Switzerland. Key themes, structural challenges, and support-related factors were identified by systematically synthesising the findings of the two studies and integrated into an overarching framework linking young carers’ family contexts with cross-sectoral service structures. Results: The Caring in Context Framework synthesises empirical findings into a coherent framework for understanding and addressing young carers’ situations. By systematically extending the whole family approach to include a cross-sectoral dimension, it bridges relational family dynamics and structural service contexts. Sustainable support is conceptualised as dependent on the structural visibility and institutional recognition of young carers across all system levels, positioning identification and recognition as prerequisites for coordinated responses in research, policy, and practice. Conclusion: The framework advances conceptual clarity by integrating family-centred and cross-sectoral perspectives. Rather than creating new services, it emphasises adapting and coordinating existing structures while ensuring systematic recognition of young carers to support coherent, sustainable, and inclusive strategies.