3 The Process of Assessing Children in Need Process of Assessment and Timing 3.1 Assessment is the first stage in helping a vulnerable child and his or her family, its purpose being 'to contribute to the understanding necessary for appropriate planning' (Compton and Galaway, 1989) and action. Assessment has several phases which overlap and lead into planning, action and review:
3.2 Prior to social services departments becoming involved with a child and family, a number of other agencies and community based groups may have had contact with the family. For some children, assessments will have already been carried out for purposes other than determining whether they are a child in need. In particular, health and education will have undertaken routine assessments as part of monitoring children's developmental progress. The familiarity of other agencies with the Assessment Framework will assist when making a referral to a social services department or contributing to an assessment of a child in need, thereby facilitating a common understanding of the child's needs within their family context. 3.3 The response from social services departments to an initial contact or a referral requesting help is critically important. At that point the foundation is laid for future work with the child or family. Children and families may have contact with social services staff in a wide range of settings. These may be as diverse as a family or day centre, a social services area office, an accident and emergency, adult or paediatric unit in a hospital, an education setting, an adolescent drop-in service or specialist services for adults. Not all staff in these settings will be professionals or qualified in work with children and families. This will apply particularly to those who work predominantly with adults. Whoever has first contact with a child or family member, however, has a vital role in infiuencing the course of future work. It is quite clear from research that the quality of the early or initial contact affects later working relationships with professionals. Furthermore, recording of information about the initial contact or referral contributes to the first phase of assessment. It is essential, therefore, that all staff responding to families or to referrers are familiar with the principles which underpin the Assessment Framework and are aware of the importance of the information collected and recorded at this stage. 3.4 For unqualified or inexperienced staff, the NSPCC chart Referrals Involving A Child (Cleaver et al, 1998) may act as a useful aide memoire to ensure that important information, which will assist later decision making, is not overlooked. It should not be treated as a check list but, used alongside local agency referral forms, it can serve as a reminder of:
The chart is included in Appendix C. 3.5 Arrangements for managing the reception of initial contacts or referrals vary widely according to local circumstances. It is important that social services for adults are aware of their responsibilities to children of adults who have parenting responsibilities and ensure that an initial assessment takes place to ascertain whether the children are children in need under s17 of the Children Act 1989 (Department of Health, forthcoming, a). 3.6 It is important also that each social services department has structures and systems in place to ensure an effective, accessible and speedy response to children and families. Some local authorities are developing innovative approaches to referrals and initial assessment. These include local telephone help lines, help desks, multi-agency information and advice centres and drop-in services. An example of this is the help desk service established in a rural county below (Figure 3). When there are such arrangements, it becomes imperative that reception staff are carefully selected and trained for their tasks. Reception staff will also need the support of qualified practitioners and managers to ensure that situations of serious or immediate concern about a child receive prompt and expert professional attention. Figure 3 Helpdesk for Children's Services in a Rural County
3.7 Time, as discussed in Chapter 1, is critical in a child's life. A timely response to responding to a child's needs means that the process of assessment cannot continue unchecked over a prolonged period without an analysis being made of what is happening and what action is needed, however difficult or complex the child's circumstances. Prior to the publication of the Government's Objectives for children's social services (Department of Health, 1999e), no timescales had been set for completing assessments of children in need, although there had been timescales for action to be taken to protect children where there were concerns that a child was suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. This has now been remedied and timescales have been specified in the objectives for children's social services. 3.8 There is an expectation that within one working day of a referral being received or new information coming to or from within a social services department about an open case, there will be a decision about what response is required. A referral is defined as a request for services to be provided by the social services department. The response may include no action, but that is itself a decision and should be made promptly and recorded. The referrer should be informed of the decision and its rationale, as well as the parents or caregivers and the child, if appropriate. 3.9 A decision to gather more information constitutes an initial assessment. An initial assessment is defined as a brief assessment of each child referred to social services with a request for services to be provided. This should be undertaken within a maximum of 7 working days but could be very brief depending on the child's circumstances. It should address the dimensions of the Assessment Framework, determining whether the child is in need, the nature of any services required, from where and within what timescales, and whether a further, more detailed core assessment should be undertaken. An initial assessment is deemed to have commenced at the point of referral to the social services department or when new information on an open case indicates an initial assessment should be repeated. All staff responding to referrals and undertaking initial assessments should address the dimensions which constitute the Assessment Framework. There is more detailed discussion about the contribution of respective agencies in Chapter 5. 3.10 Depending on the child's circumstances, an initial assessment may include some or all of the following:
As part of any initial assessment, the child should be seen. This includes observation and talking with the child in an age appropriate manner. This is further discussed in paragraphs 3.41 to 3.43. 3.11 A core assessment is defined as an in-depth assessment which addresses the central or most important aspects of the needs of a child and the capacity of his or her parents or caregivers to respond appropriately to these needs within the wider family and community context. While this assessment is led by social services, it will invariably involve other agencies or independent professionals, who will either provide information they hold about the child or parents, contribute specialist knowledge or advice to social services or undertake specialist assessments. Specific assessments of the child and/or family members may have already been undertaken prior to referral to the social services department. The findings from these should inform this assessment. At the conclusion of this phase of assessment, there should be an analysis of the findings which will provide an understanding of the child's circumstances and inform planning, case objectives and the nature of service provision. The timescale for completion of the core assessment is a maximum of 35 working days. A core assessment is deemed to have commenced at the point the initial assessment ended, or a strategy discussion decided to initiate enquiries under s47, or new information obtained on an open case indicates a core assessment should be undertaken. Where specialist assessments have been commissioned by social services from other agencies or independent professionals, it is recognised that they will not necessarily be completed within the 35 working day period. Appropriate services should be provided whilst awaiting the completion of the specialist assessment. 3.12 The Department of Health has published an Initial Assessment Record, which has been developed for all staff to record salient information about a child's needs, the parents' capacity and the family's circumstances, to assist in determining the social services' response and whether a core assessment should be considered. This record is consistent with the Core Assessment Record. These have been developed to assist in assessing the child's developmental needs in an age appropriate manner for the following age bands: 0-2 years, 3-4 years, 5-9 years, 10-14 years and 15 and upwards. These age bands are the same as those used in Looking After Children Assessment and Action Records (Department of Health, 1995b). The initial and core assessment recording forms have been designed to assist in the analysis of a child and family's circumstances (Department of Health and Cleaver, 2000) and in the development and reviewing of a plan of action. 3.13 At the conclusion of either an initial or core assessment, the parent(s) and child, if appropriate, should be informed in writing, and/or in another more appropriate medium, of the decisions made and be offered the opportunity to record their views, disagreements and to ask for corrections to recorded information. Agencies and individuals involved in the assessment should also be informed of the decisions, with reasons for these made clear. This sharing of information is important to assist agencies' own practice in their work with the child and family. Local authorities are required by section 26 of the Children Act 1989 to establish complaints procedures, and children and parents should be provided with information about these. Parents who have a complaint about a particular agency's services should take it up with the agency concerned.
3.14 The maximum timescales for completing an analysis of the needs of children and the parenting capacity to respond to those needs are represented in Figure 4. The needs of some children, in particular those who require emergency intervention, may mean that the initial assessment stage is brief. It may also be brief where the needs of the child can be determined in a period of less than seven working days. The same considerations apply to the minimum and maximum timescales for the core assessment. 3.15 At any stage, should there be suspicions or allegations about child maltreatment and concern that the child may be or is likely to suffer significant harm, there must be strategy discussions and inter-agency action in accordance with the guidance in Working Together to Safeguard Children (1999). Assessment of what is happening to a child in these circumstances is not a separate or different activity but continues the same process, although the pace and scope of assessment may well have changed (see paragraphs 5.33 to 5.38 in Working Together to Safeguard Children (1999)). A key part of the assessment will be to establish whether there is reasonable cause to suspect that this child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm and whether any emergency action is required to secure the safety of the child. 3.15 The way in which the initial and core assessments have been integrated into the processes for children who are considered to be, or likely to be suffering significant harm are set out in Figure 5. This fiow chart concerning individual cases is reproduced from Working Together to Safeguard Children (1999, p.116). 3.16 As indicated in paragraphs 5.39 to 5.41 of Working Together to Safeguard Children (1999) sometimes it will be appropriate to undertake an investigative interview of a child who may have been a victim to a crime or a witness, with a view to gathering evidence for criminal proceedings. These interviews should take account of information known from any previous assessments. A child should never be interviewed in the presence of an alleged or suspected perpetrator of abuse, or somebody who may be colluding with a perpetrator. The guidance (which is currently being revised) in the Memorandum of Good Practice on video recorded interviews for child witnesses for criminal proceedings (Home Office and Department of Health, 1992) should be followed for all video-recorded investigative interviews with children. 3.17 All such interviews with children should be conducted by those with specialist training and experience in interviewing children. Additional specialist help may be necessary if the child's first language is not English; the child appears to have a degree of psychiatric disturbance but is deemed competent; the child has an impairment; or where interviewers do not have adequate knowledge and understanding of the child's racial, religious or cultural background. Consideration should also be given to the gender of interviewers particularly in cases of alleged sexual abuse. 3.18 Following the publication of Speaking Up For Justice (Home Office, 1998), the report of the Working Group on Vulnerable or Intimidated Witnesses, Part II of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 extends the range of measures available to assist child witnesses. Figure 5 Working Together to Safeguard Children (Individual Cases Flowchart) The Act provides different levels of protection for three groups of child witnesses according to the nature of assistance each group is considered to need. These are:
There is a presumption that all children who are giving evidence in cases involving other offences will give evidence-in-chief by means of a video recording, and will be cross-examined on live link at the trial. 3.19 The Act also provides a range of other measures to assist child witnesses including:
The majority of these measures will be available to the Crown Court and youth courts by the end of 2000. Use of Assessments in Family Proceedings 3.20 It may be appropriate to use evidence gathered during the assessment process for family proceedings. This may arise where an assessment has been completed before the commencing of proceedings or because it is necessary to undertake an assessment during the proceedings. The following paragraphs set out some issues around the interface between the assessment processes and reporting in writing in family proceedings. 3.21 The term family proceedings is one that is defined statutorily in section 8 of the Children Act 1989. It includes all public law applications (care, adoption, emergency protection, contact) and a large range of private law matters concerning divorce and separation, including those within applications under section 8 for contact, residence, specific issue and prohibited steps. Care Applications and Assessment 3.22 In court proceedings involving the local authority, such as an application for a care or supervision order, the local authority's main evidence will be set out by way of one or more formal statements. These include the relevant history and the facts to support the threshold criteria (ie. significant harm) for an order under section 31. Information concerning the welfare checklist (section 1(3)) to which the court must have regard will also be included in the application. 3.23 Before making any order, the court must also consider the no order principle (section 1(5)). The court will look to the detail of the local authority's care plan for evidence as to how the care order, if made, would be implemented. Guidance about the structure and contents of care plans was issued in 1999 (Care Plans and Care Proceedings under the Children Act 1989 LAC (99(29)). 3.24 Evidence arising from assessments may be used within the proceedings in one or more of the following ways by providing evidence:
3.25 In family proceedings, documents produced by parties are normally shared among all parties - typically, the local authority, the parents and the guardian ad litem. It should be remembered that an assessment undertaken for the purpose of the proceedings will generate information for the court and this cannot, save exceptionally with the court's agreement, be withheld in full or in part because aspects may be unfavourable to one of the parties. 3.26 Assessments may be commissioned before the commencement of court proceedings or where such proceedings have not been anticipated. Where such an assessment includes information, opinions and recommendations from professionals not employed by the local authority (such as specialists in child and adolescent mental health), those persons should be advised that their contribution may be used in family proceedings. 3.27 Appendix D sets out a number of practice issues to be considered when using information gathered during assessment for family proceedings. 3.28 A range of assessments may be made without legal restriction in respect of a child who is not the subject of care or related court applications. 3.29 Section 38(6) provides that where the Court makes an interim care order or interim supervision order it may give such directions (if any) as it considers appropriate with regard to the medical or psychiatric examination or other assessment of the child. By subsection (7) a direction may be to the effect that there is to be no such examination or assessment unless the Court directs otherwise. 3.30 Rule 18 of the Family Proceedings Courts (Children Act 1989) Rules 1991 provides that no person may without leave of the Justice's Clerk or the Court cause the child to be medically or psychiatrically examined, or otherwise assessed, for the purpose of the preparation of expert evidence for use in the proceedings. (See also paragraphs 3.61 to 3.62 in An Introduction to the Children Act 1989 (1989) which deal with assessments in the context of care proceedings.) There are corresponding Rules for the County and High Court. Where care proceedings are underway, the nature and scope of any specialist assessment to be commissioned should be discussed in advance with legal advisers. Legal advisers will also help ensure that the implications of relevant case law, Practice Directions, Human Rights Act 1998, European Court of Human Rights judgments and other authoritative guidance are brought to the attention of those preparing assessments and subsequent reports for courts. 3.31 The assessment provides the basis for formal written evidence for use in the proceedings. However, it may be necessary for the professional(s) undertaking the assessment to give additional evidence orally. In family proceedings, there is less emphasis on restrictions such as hearsay and generally the proceedings are considered to be less adversarial than non-family cases. The key worker should liaise closely with the local authority legal department in anticipating those issues likely to be raised. Working with Children and Families 3.32 Gathering information and making sense of a family's situation are key phases in the process of assessment. It is not possible to do this without the knowledge and involvement of the family. It requires direct work with children and with family members, explaining what is happening, why an assessment is being undertaken, what will be the process and what is likely to be the outcome. Gaining the family's co-operation and commitment to the work is crucially important. Families often have a number of fears and anxieties about approaching social services departments for help or about being referred to them by other agencies. Parents are fearful, for instance, that they will be perceived as failing in some way (Cleaver and Freeman, 1995; Aldgate and Bradley, 1999). They are also very clear about what they value from the professionals they meet, even in the most difficult circumstances. In particular, parents ask for clear explanations, openness and honesty, and to be treated with respect and dignity. Children's needs for explanations of what is happening may sometimes be overlooked. They should be informed clearly and sensitively even when they do not communicate through speech and where professionals may be unclear how much of what is being said is understood. They do not want to be kept in the dark or patronised. Studies have found that 'children are particularly sensitive to professionals who treat them personally, with care, and above all respect' (Jones and Ramchandani, 1999). It is especially important to help children handle uncertainty while plans are being formulated. 3.33 Different ways of providing explanations to families have been developed, some in written form accompanying the use of local authority records or materials for gathering information, which are shared with family members. An example of one such approach developed by a local authority is included above (Figure 6). Other local authorities have produced leafiets for families or use materials published by specialist groups such as Family Rights Group, NSPCC or Who Cares? Trust. Key to the use of written materials is that they must be accompanied by direct communication and involvement by practitioners with family members and that repeated explanations may be necessary. Figure 6 Explaining Assessment to Family Members: An Example Accompanying a Written Record
3.34 The issues of working with children and families where there are concerns that a child is being maltreated are explored in The Challenge of Partnership in Child Protection (Department of Health, 1995a). That publication provides detailed practice guidance about how to work with families throughout the process of enquiries being made and action taken to protect a child. It warns that 'those under the stress associated with allegations of child abuse may drift away from a working method which is sensitive to families' needs and which encourages their participation in the process' (p.46). 3.35 There will be situations where family members do not wish to work co-operatively with statutory agencies. This may be for a variety of reasons; they are too afraid or they believe they or their child have no problem or they are generally hostile to public welfare agencies. They may be resistant because of the nature of their own difficulties, such as psychiatric illness or problems of alcohol and drug misuse, or because of allegations being made against them. Whatever the reasons for their resistance, the door to co-operation should be kept open. At the very least, family members should be informed of what is happening and how they could participate more fully. Ways should be explored to engage some family members in the assessment process. The experience of research and practice confirms that, even after initial difficulties, the prospect of working in partnership with one or more family members may not be lost for ever, and that to do so will have long term beneficial outcomes for the child and family. The desirability of working with family members, however, must not override the importance of ensuring that children are safe. 3.36 Where there is resistance, 'a determination not to be overwhelmed, distracted or immobilised by the parents' initial response is essential' (Department of Health, 1995a). However, in a small number of instances, resistance to co-operation by a parent is accompanied by overtly aggressive, abusive or threatening behaviour or by more subtle underlying menace. Staff may be aware of the threat and in response either avoid family contact or unwisely place themselves in situations of danger (Cleaver et al, 1998). It is in these circumstances that access to available, skilled, expert supervision is essential so that the nature of the threat can be understood, the implications for the child and other family members identified and strategies found for maintaining work with the family. These may include co-working with experienced staff within or across agencies, changing times and venue for meetings with the family and other measures. Concerns about such matters should always be taken seriously and acted upon. It may be necessary to involve the expertise of professionals from a number of agencies to arrive at an understanding of the risks a particular individual may pose to the safety of staff, as well as to family members. 3.37 Gathering information requires careful planning. However difficult the circumstances, the purpose of assessing the particular child and the family should always be kept in mind and the impact of the process on the child and family considered. It has to be remembered that:
3.38 It is essential, therefore, that the process of assessment should be carefully planned, whatever the pressure to begin work. 'Preparation, process and outcome are inextricably linked' (Adcock, 2000). This planning should take place in discussion with the child and family members unless to do so would place the child at increased risk of significant harm (Working Together to Safeguard Children, 1999, paragraph 5.6). As part of the preparation, key questions should be considered:
3.39 The nature of concerns about a child's needs will determine how the process is carried out and the extent of detail collected. The greater the concern, the greater the need for specificity, for use of specialist knowledge and judgement in the process and, therefore, the need for careful co-ordination and management of work with the family and other agencies. The more complex or difficult the child's situation, the more important it will be that multiple sources of information are used. These may include:
3.40 As a general principle, any records of assessments, plans or reports should be routinely shared with family members and children as appropriate, in addition to being shared with relevant professionals. These may require explanation and re-explanation to family members. Copies of assessments and plans, in their first language, should be given to family members wherever possible. Care should be taken to ensure that the meaning and implications of assessments are understood by the child and family members, as far as is possible. 3.41 In responding to a request for help or a referral, the importance of working with family members has been emphasised. However, if the process of assessment is to be child centred, an understanding of what is happening to the child cannot only be gained from information contributed by family members or other professionals who know the child. Direct work with children is an essential part of assessment, as well as recognising their rights to be involved and consulted about matters which affect their lives. This applies to all children, including disabled children. Communicating with some disabled children requires more preparation, sometimes more time and on occasions specialist expertise, and consultation with those closest to the child. For example, for children with communication difficulties it may be necessary to use alternatives to speech such as signs, symbols, facial expression, eye pointing, objects of reference or drawing. Communicating with a child with very complex difficulties may benefit from help of a third party who knows the child well and is familiar with the child's communication methods (see Chapter 3 in Department of Health, 2000a). Children whose first language is not English should have the opportunity to speak to a professional in their first language, wherever possible. It is particularly important at turning points in their lives that 'children are enabled to express their wishes and feelings; make sense of their circumstances and contribute to decisions that affect them' (NSPCC et al, 1997). 3.42 It is essential that a child's safety is addressed, if appropriate, during the course of undertaking direct work with him or her. There are five critical components in direct work with children: seeing, observing, talking, doing and engaging:
3.43 Children have been asked what they consider to be good professional practice. They value social workers who:
3.44 The exercise of professional judgement will be important in deciding when and how to communicate with children during the assessment process and how to interpret their communication in the context of the circumstances. Consideration should be given as to how children are informed and involved at each stage of the process, so that they have the opportunity to agree what the key issues are, what they would like to happen and to discuss what is possible and not possible. 'Children need to trust that they will be understood as individuals in their own right; usually they will want reassurance about what their parent/carer will be told about what they say' (Brandon, 1999). 3.45 Consideration of when and how to involve specific professionals with expertise and experience in assessing children's development will also be important throughout the assessment process. Professionals in a variety of child welfare agencies may be able to assist social services staff through discussion or advice based on their understanding and interpretation of information and views gathered from children. There may, however, be aspects of children's development and behaviour which require specialist assessment, either by joint work or referral to specific agencies. For example, assessing the strength of a child's attachment to a parent in circumstances of maltreatment or the educational potential of a school leaver who is living rough on the streets and seeking help. Children will require careful and straightforward explanations about why new professionals are being involved. 3.46 When a family approaches social services for help or is referred, the family is generally the first and most important source of information about the child and the family's circumstances. However, in establishing whether this is a child in need and how best those needs may be met, it is likely to be important to gather information from a number of professionals who have contact with and knowledge of the child and family. 3.47 Personal information about children and families held by professionals and agencies is subject to a legal duty of confidence and should not normally be disclosed without the consent of the subject. However, the law permits the disclosure of confidential information if it is necessary to safeguard a child or children in the public interest: that is, the public interest in child protection may override the public interest in maintaining confidentiality. Disclosure should be justifiable in each case, according to the particular facts of the case, and legal advice should be sought in cases of doubt. 3.48 Children are entitled to the same duty of confidence as adults, provided that, in the case of those under 16 years of age, they have the ability to understand the choices and their consequences relating to any treatment. In exceptional circumstances, it may be believed that a child seeking advice, for example on sexual matters, is being exploited or abused. In such cases, confidentiality may be breached, following discussion with the child. 3.49 All agencies working with children and families should make their policies about sharing personal information available to users of their services and other agencies. This includes ensuring that such information is accessible and appropriate to children and families. Individual professionals should always make sure their agency's policies are known to the family with whom they are working. There will be variations in policy between agencies in accordance with their roles and responsibilities. Personal information about a child and family should always be respected but, in order to achieve good outcomes for the child, it may be appropriate to share it between professionals and teams within the same agency. Sensitive and careful judgements are required in the child's best interests. 3.50 In obtaining consent to seek information from other parties or to disclose information about the child or other individuals under the Data Protection Act 1998 it is important that explanations include:
3.51 The Data Protection Act 1998 allows for disclosure without the consent of the subject in certain conditions, including for the purposes of the prevention or detection of crime, or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, and where failure to disclose would be likely to prejudice those objectives in a particular case. 3.52 Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights states that:
3.53 Disclosure of information without consent might give rise to an issue under Article 8. Disclosure of information to safeguard children will usually be for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others, and for the prevention of disorder or crime. Disclosure should be appropriate for the purpose and only to the extent necessary to achieve that purpose. 3.54 Obtaining consent and respecting confidentiality may not always be straightforward, particularly in situations of family confiict or dispute, or where a number of parental figures including absent parents are involved or where there are allegations of abuse about which enquiries are being made. The consent of any one parent acting alone, rather than all those with parental responsibility, is required to disclose information about a child (section 2(7) of the Children Act 1989). 3.55 Where there are concerns that a child may be suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, it is essential that professionals and other people share information for it is often 'only when information from a number of sources has been shared and is then put together that it becomes clear that a child is at risk of or is suffering harm' (Working Together to Safeguard Children, 1999, paragraph 7.27). Unless to do so would place the child or children at increased risk of significant harm the nature of the child protection concerns should be explained to family members and to children, where appropriate, and their consent to contact other agencies sought. This requires careful explanation in plain language. It may be helpful to have written as well as verbal explanations (an example of this is the statement for family members on pages 39 and 40). For some families under stress or coping in difficult circumstances, explanations may need to be repeated several times. In all cases where the police are involved the decision about when to inform the parents will have a bearing on the conduct of police investigations and should inform part of the strategy discussion. 3.56 In any potential confiict between the responsibilities of professionals towards children and towards other family members, the needs of the child must come first. Where there are concerns that a child is or may be at risk of suffering significant harm, the overriding principle must be to safeguard the child. In such cases, when it is considered that a child may be in danger or that a crime is being or has been committed, the duty of confidence can be overridden. However, it will be important that the respective duties and powers of different agencies are clearly understood by all parties. 3.57 These matters are fully discussed in paragraphs 7.27 to 7.46 of Working Together to Safeguard Children (1999) in the context of the legal framework and professional guidelines for different agencies. In this publication, Appendix E reproduces an abridged version of the Data Protection Registrar's checklist for setting up information sharing arrangements. Assessment of Children in Special Circumstances 3.58 Some of the children referred for help because of the nature of their problems or circumstances, will require particular care and attention during assessment. These are children who may become lost to the statutory agencies, whose wellbeing or need for immediate services may be overlooked and for whom subsequent planning and intervention may be less than satisfactory. This may be for a number of reasons including the following:
3.59 There are common features which apply to the assessment of children in all these and other similar situations:
3.60 It is significant that, where adolescents are the subject of assessment, studies emphasise the importance of staff finding time to engage in direct work with young people and getting to know them well, although it may be difficult sometimes 'to get below the surface' (Sinclair et al, 1995). Sadly, such studies reveal that all too often assessments with older children fail to be completed, especially where specialist professional assessments are required. Even greater efforts are necessary to co-ordinate and achieve co-operation from all parties in these situations. Assessing the Needs of Young Carers 3.61 A group of children whose needs are increasingly more clearly recognised are young carers for example those who assume important caring responsibilities for parents and siblings. Some children care for parents who are disabled, physically or mentally ill, others for parents dependent on alcohol or involved in drug misuse. For further information and guidance refer to the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995: Policy Guidance and Practice Guide (Department of Health, 1996a) and Young Carers: Making a Start (Department of Health, 1998a). 3.62 An assessment of family circumstances is essential. Young carers should not be expected to carry inappropriate levels of caring which have an adverse impact on their development and life chances. It should not be assumed that children should take on similar levels of caring responsibilities as adults. Services should be provided to parents to enhance their ability to fulfil their parenting responsibilities. There may be differences of view between children and parents about appropriate levels of care. Such differences may be out in the open or concealed. The resolution of such tensions will require good quality joint work between adult and children's social services as well as co-operation from schools and health care workers. This work should include direct work with the young carer to understand his or her perspective and opinions. The young person who is a primary carer of his or her parent or sibling may have a good understanding of the family's functioning and needs which should be incorporated into the assessment. 3.63 Young carers can receive help from both local and health authorities. Where a child is providing a substantial amount of care on a regular basis for a parent, the child will be entitled to an assessment of their ability to care under section 1(1) of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 and the local authority must take that assessment into account in deciding what community care services to provide for the parent. Many young carers are not aware that they can ask for such an assessment. In addition, consideration must be given as to whether a young carer is a child in need under the Children Act 1989. The central issue is whether a child's welfare or development might suffer if support is not provided to the child or family. As part of the National Strategy for Carers (1999a), local authorities should take steps to identify children with additional family burdens. Services should be provided to promote the health and development of young carers while not undermining the parent. The Assessment Framework and Children Looked After 3.64 The Assessment Framework has been designed to assess children's needs across the same developmental dimensions as the Looking After Children materials (Parker (eds), 1991; Department of Health, 1995b). This will enable the Looking After Children system to be revised during 1999-2001 in a way which will result in an integrated model for assessing and providing services to the wider group of children in need and their families than looked after children. Most children who come into contact with social services departments do not enter the care system. However, should a child need to be looked after, congruence in the system will ensure that good quality baseline information is available about the child's developmental and wider needs at the point of entry to the looked after system. This will support improved assessment of the child's needs which will enable better placement matching in foster and residential care. The parenting capacity domain within the Assessment Framework can also be used with foster carers in assessing suitability for a particular child. It will also inform the provision of services to children and birth and foster families during the care episode. When children return home, or are placed with a permanent substitute family, using the same Assessment Framework will ensure continuity of planning to secure the best outcomes for the child. 3.65 The parenting capacity dimensions in the Assessment Framework will be particularly useful for evaluating improvements in parenting capacities as part of any decision making processes and, where appropriate, a reunification programme. This information will also be important in planning and managing contact. Once baseline information on parenting capacity has been collected during the core assessment, it will be possible to identify key areas for change and target social work and other resources more effectively whilst the child is looked after and reunification plans are being implemented. It should also enable social workers to decide when family reunification will not be possible and an alternative placement is required. Children Being Placed for Adoption 3.66 In circumstances where there are children for whom adoption is planned, the Assessment Framework may be used as part of the assessment of the capacities of potential adopters, matching children with approved adopters, and planning what kinds of services a child and adopting parents might benefit from post placement and post adoption. These services might include help to understand any specific needs the child has and how best to respond to them. Some needs may require time limited interventions whereas others may exist on a continuing basis. The medical adviser to the social services department has a critical role to play in offering advice and information from the point at which a child is being considered for adoption and throughout the adoption process. A holistic approach to the consideration of what are likely to be complex needs of the child requires good inter-disciplinary co-operation and co-ordination. 3.67 Where children leave care and live independently of their families, family links often remain very important. Research has pointed to the considerable potential of working in partnership with the child and their family during this transition period (Marsh and Peel, 1999). 3.68 The Children (Leaving Care) Bill which has been introduced in the 1999/2000 Parliamentary Session will, subject to Royal Assent, provide for every looked after child to have a personal adviser and a pathway plan by their sixteenth birthday. The pathway plan will be informed by an assessment of need based on the Assessment Framework and will, in effect, extend existing assessment and planning requirements to cover the child's transition to adulthood. The plan will be subject to regular review irrespective of whether the child remains looked after or has left care and the Bill provides for the continuation of the plan and contact by the personal adviser until the young person reaches the age of 21 and, where supported in higher education and training, up to the age of 24.
Prepared 29 March 2000 |
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