Fostering Assessments 

The CoramBAAF Form F assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of potential foster carers. The assessment involves a series of interviews, home visits, and background checks to ensure that the prospective foster carers are suitable and able to provide a safe and nurturing environment for the children in their care. The Form F assessment is a rigorous process that considers factors such as the applicants' motivation to foster, their parenting skills, and their ability to work with professionals and support the child's relationships with their birth family. The assessment also examines any past experiences or challenges that may impact the foster carers' ability to provide effective care. Overall, the CoramBAAF Form F assessment is an essential tool for ensuring that children in care are placed with the most appropriate and capable foster carers.

Special Guardianship

An SGO is a legal order that places a child with a special guardian, who has parental responsibility for the child and the ability to make major decisions about their upbringing. It is a comprehensive evaluation of a prospective special guardian's ability to care for a child. The assessment is usually initiated when a Local Authority is considering placing a child with a family member or friend on a long-term basis. The assessment process typically involves interviews with the prospective special guardian, family members, and other relevant individuals, as well as a review of their personal circumstances, including their health, finances, and housing situation.

The assessment also considers the prospective special guardian's ability to meet the child's emotional and developmental needs, as well as their capacity to promote the child's cultural identity and maintain their relationships with birth family members. The SGO assessment is an important tool for ensuring that children who are not able to live with their birth parents can receive safe, stable, and nurturing care in the long-term. The assessment may also recommend support and intervention to help the special guardian to provide the best possible care for the child.

Adoption Assessments

Using a culturally matched social worker can be essential when working with families from ethnic minority backgrounds. Culture shapes our values, beliefs, and behaviours, and it can have a significant impact on the way that families interact with social workers and engage with services. When relevant, we are able to allocate assessments to culturally matched experts to build trust and rapport, ensure that services are responsive to cultural needs, and ensure that the family's voice is heard and respected in decision-making processes.

A culturally matched expert can bring a deep understanding of the family's culture and beliefs, which can help to build trust and rapport with the family. This can be particularly important when working with families from communities that may have experienced discrimination or marginalisation in the past, as it can help to address any mistrust or fear of authority. Using a culturally matched expert can also help to ensure that services are responsive and appropriate to the family's cultural needs. This can include aspects such as language, religion, diet, and family roles, which may differ from those of the majority culture. By understanding and respecting the family's cultural background, a culturally matched expert can help to ensure that services are delivered in a way that is respectful, meaningful, and effective.

Furthermore, a culturally matched expert can be instrumental in ensuring that the family's voice is heard and understood in decision-making processes. They can act as a bridge between the family and other professionals, helping to translate and interpret cultural differences and perspectives, where working with a translator may have created a barrier.

Merton Compliant Age Assessments

A Merton compliant age assessment is a process used to determine the age of an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child (UASC) who is seeking support from a Local Authority in the UK. The assessment is conducted in line with the Merton judgment, which sets out the legal requirements for age assessments.

​

The assessment involves a range of procedures, including an interview with the UASC, observation of their physical appearance, and the use of relevant documentation, such as birth certificates or passports. The assessment is conducted by trained social workers or other professionals, and it aims to determine the UASC's age to within a reasonable margin of error.

​

The Merton compliant age assessment is designed to be child-centred and sensitive to the UASC's needs and circumstances. It also takes into account the potential impact of the assessment on the UASC's welfare and wellbeing. The outcome of the assessment is used to determine the level of support and protection that the UASC is entitled to, based on their age. The Merton compliant age assessment aims to provide a robust and objective process that is compliant with legal requirements and supports the welfare of the UASC.

Connected Persons Assessments

The Connected Persons Assessment is a process that evaluates the suitability of family members or close friends who are willing to care for a child when they cannot live with their birth parents. The assessment involves a comprehensive evaluation of the potential carers' background, parenting skills, and ability to provide a safe and stable home environment. The assessment process also includes home visits, interviews, and background checks to ensure that the child's needs are met, and the carers can provide adequate support to the child.

The Connected Persons Assessment is a critical step in ensuring that children have a stable and loving environment when they cannot live with their birth parents. It allows for children to maintain a connection with their family or close friends while providing a safe and nurturing home environment.

Initial Viability Assessment

An initial viability assessment is the first step in the process of becoming a foster carer or Connected Persons foster carer. The assessment is a preliminary evaluation of the suitability of a prospective carer to provide care for a child, and involves a home visit by an expert, who will interview the prospective carer and their family members to assess their suitability for fostering or special guardianship. The assessment will cover a range of topics, including the prospective carer's motivation for fostering, their personal circumstances, and their experience with children. The initial viability assessment is a crucial tool for ensuring that only those individuals who are suitable and have the capacity to provide safe and nurturing care for children are approved to become carers.

Community Based Parenting Assessment 

A community-based parenting assessment is a process that evaluates a parent's ability to care for their child within their community. The assessment involves a comprehensive evaluation of the parent's skills, understanding, and capacity to parent their child in their home environment. This type of assessment is useful for parents who are struggling with parenting skills or who have experienced difficulties in the past, such as substance misuse or mental health problems. The assessment process involves home visits, interviews, and our expert will complete observations within the community to assess the parent's ability to provide a safe and stable environment for their child. The community-based parenting assessment is a useful tool for helping parents to identify areas where they need additional support and guidance, and for social workers to work in partnership with parents to improve their parenting skills and help them to provide the best possible care for their child.

Parent Assess Reports

The ParentAssess framework provides a structured, evidence-based approach to parenting assessments, that covers a wide range of areas, including parenting skills, emotional wellbeing, mental health, and the child's needs. Use of the ParentAssess framework can enhance the quality, accuracy, and fairness of assessments. It also provides evidence-based recommendations for interventions and support, which can lead to better outcomes for parents and children.

The ParentAssess framework includes several key components:

• Pre-assessment: Before conducting the assessment, our expert gathers information about the family's history, background, and current circumstances. This information can be gathered through interviews, questionnaires, and reviewing records and reports.

• Assessment process: The ParentAssess framework provides a clear structure and process for conducting the assessment, ensuring that all relevant areas are covered. The assessment process includes gathering information about the parent's parenting skills, emotional wellbeing, mental health, and the child's needs. This is done through a combination of interviews, observations, and standardized questionnaires and rating scales.

• Analysis and interpretation: The expert analyses and interprets the information gathered during the assessment, looking for patterns and themes that can help to identify the parent's strengths, weaknesses, and areas that require support or intervention.

• Recommendations: Based on the analysis and interpretation, the practitioner makes evidence-based recommendations for interventions and support. These recommendations are tailored to the family's needs and may include referrals to other services, such as counselLing or parenting classes.

Sibling Assessments, Beyond Together Or Apart

A "Beyond Together or Apart" sibling assessment is a specialist assessment that focuses on the relationship between siblings who are in care or who have been adopted. The assessment is usually conducted when there are concerns about the impact of separation or disrupted contact between siblings, and it aims to identify the best way to support and promote the siblings' relationship.

​

The assessment process typically involves interviews with the siblings, their carers, and other relevant professionals, as well as observations of the siblings' interactions. The assessment also considers the siblings' history and experiences, their emotional and developmental needs, and any factors that may be affecting their relationship, such as trauma, placement disruption, or changes in family circumstances.

The "Beyond Together or Apart" assessment is designed to be collaborative and inclusive, and it aims to involve the siblings and their carers in the decision-making process. The outcome of the assessment is used to develop a plan to support the siblings' relationship, which may involve regular contact, joint activities, or other forms of support.

The assessment process is an important tool for ensuring that siblings who are separated due to care or adoption can maintain a meaningful and supportive relationship, which can have long-lasting benefits for their wellbeing and development.

Community Based Parenting Assessment 

A community-based parenting assessment is a process that evaluates a parent's ability to care for their child within their community. The assessment involves a comprehensive evaluation of the parent's skills, understanding, and capacity to parent their child in their home environment. This type of assessment is useful for parents who are struggling with parenting skills or who have experienced difficulties in the past, such as substance misuse or mental health problems. The assessment process involves home visits, interviews, and our expert will complete observations within the community to assess the parent's ability to provide a safe and stable environment for their child. The community-based parenting assessment is a useful tool for helping parents to identify areas where they need additional support and guidance, and for social workers to work in partnership with parents to improve their parenting skills and help them to provide the best possible care for their child.