Assessment Services
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Foward4Families undertake;
- Parenting Assessments
- Viability Assessments
- Private Law Assessments (Section 7)
- Connected Persons Assessments – Special Guardianship and Friends and Family
- Pre-Court Assessments
- Standards of Care Investigations
- Risk Assessments
- Age Assessments
- Pre-Birth Assessments
- Sibling Together and Apart Assessments
- Cubas and ParentAssess Assessments
Special Guardianship Assessments
These assessments are completed to determine if an applicant can provide a stable, safe, and nurturing environment for a specific child. The assessment involves interviews with the applicant, home visits and background checks and are usually completed within 10-12 weeks of receipt of viability assessment and instruction.
To make an enquiry or referral: info@forward4families.co.uk
Connected Person’s Assessments
These assessments are completed to determine if a person with a pre-existing relationship to a child can become a foster carer to the named child. The assessment involves interviews with the applicant, home visits, and back ground checks and are usually completed within 10-12 weeks of receipt of viability assessment and instruction.
To make an enquiry or referral: info@forward4families.co.uk
Standard Parenting Assessments
A standard parenting assessment is completed when there are no concerns about a parent having any additional needs. All of our assessments are tailored to the family and their circumstances and these assessments are usually completed within 8 -12 weeks of receipt of a Letter of Instruction and supporting information. A longer period may be required if a parent has an additional learning need.
During the course of the assessment, there will be individual interviews with parents, individual interviews with children, where appropriate, observation of contact and the consideration of other expert assessments together with historic information provided.
To make an enquiry or referral: info@forward4families.co.uk
CUBAS/Parent Assess
These are specialist frameworks designed to assess parents with a learning disability or additional needs such as trauma, domestic abuse, mental health, offending, or substance misuse. These assessments are usually completed within 8-12 weeks of receipt of letter of instruction.
To make an enquiry or referral: info@forward4families.co.uk
Fostering Assessments (Form K, formally Form C)
This Fostering Assessment is a detailed process to assess the suitability of individuals applying to become foster carers. These assessments are usually completed within 12-18 weeks of receipt of letter of instruction.
To make an enquiry or referral: info@forward4families.co.uk
Civil Abuse Litigation
We have a small number of social workers who can assist claimant solicitors in cases of recent or non-recent child abuse when a claim is being made against a local authority of potential negligence. Our service includes creating a chronology of events with a preliminary report or full expert report. The timescales of these reports vary in accordance with the length of the disclosure provided.
To make an enquiry or referral: info@forward4families.co.uk
Domestic Abuse: The Safe and Together Model
This is a model used when assessing domestic abuse to help map perpetrator patterns. The principles of the model are to keep children safe and together with the non-offending parent, partnering with non-offending parent as a default position, and intervening with the perpetrator to reduce risk and harm to a child. This model can be used in assessing domestic abuse within standard parenting assessments/CUBAS/Parent Assess or as a stand-alone intervention and assessment.
To make an enquiry or referral: info@forward4families.co.uk
Section 7 Reports
This is a report requested by the court in child welfare cases, typically when there are disputes about who a child should live with or spend time with. It provides the court with information and advice to help make decisions about child arrangements, focusing on the child’s welfare and best interests, independent of either parent, and is usually completed within 8 weeks from receipt of papers and Letter of Instruction.
To make an enquiry or referral: info@forward4families.co.uk
Initial Viability Assessments
Undertaken over a period of 2 weeks from instruction, Initial Viability Assessments are undertaken to establish the suitability and appropriateness for a further full Connected Persons or Parenting Assessment. Robust Initial Viability Assessments prevent the progression of assessments which stand little chance of succeeding, due mainly but not exclusively to risk factors, thus avoiding delay and minimising risks to the child.
Bespoke Assessments
Our ISWs have a wide range of experience from cultural expertise to neurodivergence.
To make an enquiry or referral: info@forward4families.co.uk