Assessment SERVICE
Our experienced, independent social workers can provide you with excellent quality initial assessments, core assessments and pre-birth assessments – within fast turnaround times.

We are able to provide a more holistic approach, drawing on the different disciplines and referring on to other specialist services if available.

We consider ourselves to be an approachable company, and the Directors are happy to share their knowledge and discuss suitability of the different experts to meet specific needs.


THE WORK WE DO


Parenting Assessments

We can offer you three main types of parenting assessment.

• Parenting capacity assessments
• Extended community-based assessments
• Viability assessments

Parenting Capacity Assessment

If you need to undertake parenting capacity assessments, our experienced consultants can assess attachment relationships and children’s developmental progress as well as evaluating factors that might place children at risk of harm.

We also offer significant expertise in undertaking parenting capacity assessments in situations with significant child protection concerns, including neglect or a risk of sexual or physical abuse, parental violence or substance abuse.

We also draw heavily on Attachment and Child Development Theories, as well as research regarding parental issues including drug and alcohol misuse, domestic violence, mental health and learning difficulties. Issues of migration, culture, and socio-economic status are also vital in understanding a family’s functioning.

Work with families will usually include the following
	Weekly Individual and / or couples sessions
	Individual sessions with children
	Observations in the family home or at contact
	Family sessions
	Play sessions

Sessions are usually one to two hours, though this may depend on the type of session, and are usually held at the Abacus centre. There may also be home visits and visits to children at school or in their placements.

Assessments may also be conducted alongside the child’s contact with family members and information from contact will contribute towards the overall assessment.

We also request parents’ permission to contact other professionals in the network regarding their views, level of involvement, and any areas of further support required or concerns noted.

Viability Assessment

When you need a preliminary view about the suitability of a parent or extended family member to care for a child or children, we can use our network of experienced independent social workers to complete a viability assessment quickly. We can then undertake a more comprehensive assessment if required.

Kinship, Fostering & Adoption Assessments and Services

Our network of experienced, independent social workers can provide you with a full range of kinship, fostering and adoptions assessments and services, including:

• Kinship assessments
• Special guardianship reports
• Fostering assessments

Kinship Assessment

We can complete full kinship assessments for you within 6 weeks, using the latest BAAF report templates.

It is increasingly important that these assessments are conducted fast. The revised court guidance in the Public Law Outline places greater emphasis on local authorities’ preparation of cases before proceedings, avoiding unnecessary delay by ensuring all necessary steps have been completed.

Our assessments include all kinship care options being fully explored and our consultants have significant experience undertaking these assessments both within and outside civil proceedings.

Special Guardianship Report

If you need Special Guardianship reports in completed quickly in accordance with statutory guidance.

Individuals such as a child’s grandparent or foster carer may apply to a court for a Special Guardianship Order, giving them various rights that include parental responsibility for a child, the right to take them abroad for up to 3 months and the responsibility for making certain decisions relating to their welfare.

Fostering Assessment

Our practitioners have many years’ experience working within local authorities and Independent Fostering agencies and are available to complete Form F1s and F2s.

Psychological Assessment

Our HPC registered consultant psychologists can offer a wide range of services for children in care, including the following:

• Expert assessment of parents in public law and family law proceedings
• Assessment of psychological functioning
• Cognitive assessments
• Assessment of educational needs
• Responding to children’s emotional and behavioural difficulties
• Forensic Risk Assessment