Family Rights Group's family and friends care assessment approach
When the local authority is involved in placing a child away from home to live with a family member or friend, they will normally carry out an assessment to check the potential carer’s suitability. The type of assessment they carry out will depend on the child’s legal status. Family Rights Group is piloting a new form designed to encourage a collaborative approach between the local authority and the carers and to enable social workers to make informed recommendations to facilitate safe and secure placements. We are carrying out this work in partnership with the voluntary organisations BAAF and the Fostering Network, and with input from social workers, academics and carers. The distinctive features of the pilot assessment form are:
- It is designed to encourage the participation of family and friends carers in the assessment process. Clearly the final responsibility for making sure that the answers provide all the necessary information and for making a recommendation lies with the social worker;
- It is tailored to the legal requirements of different types of assessment;
- It is designed in modules, where the information already provided is not asked for again in another section of the form. Social workers and carers should not find themselves going over the same information when, for example, a foster carer who accepted a Regulation 38 placement offers to look after a child long-term.
Are you a local authority interesting in taking part in this pilot?
We welcome local authorities wishing to join the pilot. There will be a fee of £1,500 for participating. This charge is being made in order to cover the costs involved in developing the form and running and assess the pilot. In return for the fee, the team using the form in the pilot will receive a half day’s training from Family Rights Group’s Policy Adviser, who has been leading on the form’s development, and the local authority will receive a free place at the launch event for the finished form. The purpose of the pilot is to receive feedback from people who are using the form: carers, social workers, and panel members. It is essential that local authorities taking part in the pilot should ensure that evaluation forms will be completed by all these parties and returned to Family Rights Group. If you are interested in taking part in this pilot, please contact David Roth by emailing droth@frg.org.uk or phoning the Family Rights Group office on 020 7923 2628.