Parenting/Other Services
Viability Assessments
These assessments are shorter in length and are used to consider the appropriateness
of offering a full assessment, whether this is residentially or in the community.
The foundation of the assessment model is the ‘Framework for Assessment’
but the emphasis is about predicting whether the parents have the potential
to change and if so will this be within their children’s timescales.
A viability assessment can sometimes be the starting point with a family
where the parents are resident in the Residential Family Centre but the
child is still looked after elsewhere.
An assessment programme will be established which will include contact being
observed in order to consider the potential success of reuniting the family.
These programmes are particularly useful where concerns may be chronic and
where we would not wish to disrupt a child’s placement. It may also
be used where the known risks are very high and where it is felt that there
needs to be a gradual testing out of reunification. Viability assessments
are normally 4-6 weeks in length.
Kinship/Family Assessments
Assessments involving family members require experienced practitioners who
have a good knowledge of family dynamics, as well as a good understanding
of risk and child protection. We have consultants who have a combination
of both child protection and fostering and adoption experience who can consider
the impact/risks that continued contact with a parent/carer will have on
a child.
Residence and Contact
Private law applications concerning residence and contact can be complex
with parents becoming locked into conflict that becomes more about their
own difficulties rather than what is in the best interests of their child/ren.
We are able to offer child focused assessments that are independent of either
parent, which can provide positive outcomes for children.
Anger Management Assessments
For the purposes of an assessment we describe anger as a normal emotional
response to hurt, frustration, threat or loss, which we define further as
‘instrumental’ or as ‘aggressive/hostile’. Instrumental
anger may be understood as feelings of anger that are positively channelled,
for example competitive drives that can be focussed appropriately to achieve
work related goals. Aggressive/hostile anger may be described as when feelings
are expressed with inappropriate behaviours, such as violence, assault,
threat, coercion, property damage, emotional outbursts, etc.
The above is a fairly simplistic overview of the complexities involved when
identifying observable behaviours that may represent felt emotions such
as anger. However, in the assessment time available it enables some distinctions
to be made between a person’s expressed thoughts/feelings and their
described behaviour/responses.
Because of the possible links between anger and other issues, the assessments
are broadly structured on relevant aspects of an initial Mental State Assessment
Protocol, with a subsequent customised assessment focussing on identifying
past and present anger difficulties.
