What assessments can the Local Authority do with my family?

Depending on what stage your case is at, the Local Authority could propose to undertake a number of different types of assessments when Social Services become involved with your family.

What is a Section 47?

Every child who has been referred to the Local Authority children’s social care, may have a Section 47 enquiry and this may be referred to as a Child Protection enquiry or a Child Protection Investigation. This investigation assesses whether a child might be suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm in the form of physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect. The outcome of this investigation will determine whether any action should be taken and what type of action is necessary to safeguard and promote the welfare of a child.  The investigation must be completed within 45 days of the initial referral being made.

What is a Parenting Assessment?

A parenting assessment will be conducted by the allocated Social Worker and on some occasions can be completed by an Independent Social Worker. A parenting assessment is designed to work out what knowledge a parent has about their child’s needs. During the assessment, parents will be asked questions about their personal history and their attitude towards parenting. The Social Worker will also assess on how the parent deals with difficult behaviour from their child. Other aspects of the parenting assessment will include the child’s basic care, routine, ensuring safety, stability, and emotional connection.

In Care Proceedings, a report of the conclusion of the parenting assessment will be provided to the Court with a recommendation about whether the parents are able to care for the child in the long term. The report may provide recommendations of what support, if any, is needed to care for the child safely.

What is a ParentAssess Assessment?

For more information about this type of assessment, please refer to our recent article.

What is a Psychological Assessment?

This assessment will be an assessment of capacity to parent based on the mental health of the parents. It looks at your emotional and mental wellbeing and how these impacts on your ability to parent a child. A psychological assessment may be required for parents who have a history that includes issues such as mental health difficulties, substance misuse, or domestic violence. This assessment will consider a person’s psychological state in relation to parenting tasks. If you are being asked to undertake a psychological assessment, you should seek legal advice to ensure that the questions being asked of you are fair, proportionate, and targeted to address the issues in your case.

What is a Cognitive Assessment?

A cognitive assessment assesses a person’s ability to understand and retain information. This assessment will be completed when there are concerns of a parents’ learning difficulties. This can help professionals understand the best way to guide and support you. A psychologist will be able to accurately assess a parent’s level of cognitive functioning. If you feel that you may need extra support and you are asked to undertake a cognitive assessment, then this can be positive and will give Social Services and other professionals, a better understanding of how you best understand information.

Social Services cannot force you to take any assessments, but it is important that you fully understand what is being asked of you and it may be worthwhile seeking legal advice before agreeing or disagreeing to any of the assessments.

How can we Help?

If you are subject to a Child Protection Plan, Pre-Proceedings, or Care Proceedings and would like to discuss any of these assessments further, please get in touch with Johnson Astills today and we would be more than happy to discuss your requirements further. Please call us at our office in Leicester on 0116 255 4855 or our office in Loughborough on 01509 610 312 and ask to speak to a member of the Care Team. Alternatively, you may prefer to email us at legal@johnsonastills.com or fill in our enquiry form.