The Common Assessment Framework

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• The Common Assessment Framework
• An Introduction to Multi-Agency Working
• Revised April 2007

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• Falling Through the Cracks Origins of Every
  Child Matters
• Victoria Climbie 12 chances to save her life in
  10 months not taken
• Analysing previous tragedies the common threads
  are
• Late intervention
• Lack of information sharing
• No one person with accountability
• Over stressed front line workers
• Even when tragedies dont happen, too often
  children who are experiencing difficulties at
  home or school get
• too little help
• help too late
• help only once it is a crisis

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LEVELS OF NEED

• 4 Tier Model

INCREASE IN AGENCY/ SERVICE INPUT
- Acute
500
) 10-15,000 )
)
- Complex
- Targeted
100,000
- Universal
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INTEGRATED WORKING
Information Sharing
Kirklees information sharing service
or Contact Point
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• Barriers to Information Sharing
• Concern about confidentiality and the impact of
  Data Protection legislation
• Lack of confidence about what, how and when to
  share
• Lack of common guidance for services
• Lack of understanding of different agency roles
  and responsibilities
• Communication difficulties
• Not knowing who to contact for support

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CAF SUPPORTING THE PRACTITIONER CAF IS NOT JUST A
FORM FILLING EXERCISE

• It is a tool to help practitioners
• Intervene as early as possible
• Gather relevant information to
• support early identification of
• concerns
• Work collaboratively with other
• agencies that the child is or has
• been known to
• Prevent duplication
• Prevent escalation in child
• family need

• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and
• Achieve
• Make a
• positive
• contribution
• Economic
• well being

..and it helps to build a picture
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Key aims and principles of the CAF
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• Content of the CAF

Pre-assessment Checklist
Process for undertaking a common assessment
Standard form
A checklist form to be used by an practitioner in
childrens service where a child is not making
age appropriate progress and concerns are not
child protection concerns

• Check that a CAF has not been previously
  completed
• If yes, contact professionals involved and
  up-date CAF where appropriate
• If no, access full CAF trained practitioner
  within agency to complete a CAF

Full CAF form to be completed by practitioner who
has received full CAF training to determine what
additional needs are and involve the right
agencies where necessary
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Domains and Elements of CAF
Parents carers
Development of Child
Family Environmental

• Basic care, ensuring safety protection
• Emotional warmth stability
• Guidance, boundaries stimulation

• Health
• Emotional social development
• Behavioural development
• Identity, including self-esteem, self-image
  social presentation
• Family social relationships
• Self-care skills independence
• Learning

• Family history, functioning well-being
• Wider family
• Housing, financial employment considerations
• Social community elements resources,
  including education

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• When to undertake a common assessment
• Undertake a common assessment when it will help
  the child/young person to achieve one or more of
  the ECM five priority outcomes.

• Likely to be of help when
• Age appropriate progress is not being made and
  causes are unclear
• The support of more than one agency is needed

• Need not be done when
• Progress is satisfactory
• Needs are already identified and are being met
• Needs are clear and can be met by
  family/assessing agency

• Note
• Base decisions on professional judgement in the
  light of local policy
• Can be used with any unborn baby, new baby, child
  or young person who has additional, unmet needs
  but does not need to be done with everyone
• Follow Local Safeguarding Childrens Board (LSCB)
  procedures where appropriate

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• CAF and its links to child protection
• If there is a concern about a child, LSCB
  (formerly known as Area Child Protection
  Committee/ACPC) child protection procedures
  should be followed. No need to start or complete
  a CAF first
• CAF does not replace the child protection
  procedures
• Where a CAF has started, this may subsequently
  inform a referral if concerns about the child
  emerge. The two processes are linked and should
  complement each other

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• Who will use the CAF?

• Every practitioner should
• Be able to recognise and respond to key signs of
  need
• Know the CAF basics
• Know how to have a common assessment completed or
  how to complete one
• Every agency will train some staff to complete
  common assessments
• Where more than one practitioner is involved, one
  will take the lead

• Agencies (statutory, community or voluntary
  sector) include
• Health
• Education
• Connexions
• Childcare
• Early years
• Social care
• Police and Youth justice

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• Lead Professional
• Evidence from practice suggests that the lead
  professional role is a key element of effective
  frontline delivery of integrated children's
  services. It ensures that professional
  involvement is rationalised, coordinated and
  communicated effectively.
• More importantly, it provides a better
  experience for children, young people and their
  families involved with a range of agencies.
• Not the same as a Key Worker
• Cont

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• Lead Professional cont.
• Where a child or young person with multiple
  additional needs requires support from more than
  one practitioner, the lead professional is
  someone who 
• Acts as a single point of contact that the child
  or young person and their family can trust, and
  who is able to support them in making choices and
  in navigating their way through the system 
• Ensures that they get appropriate interventions
  when needed, which are well planned, regularly
  reviewed and effectively delivered 
• Reduces overlap and inconsistency from other
  practitioners

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Establish a successful and trusting relationship
with child/family
Strong communications skills, diplomacy,
sensitivity
Empower child/family to make decisions and
challenge when appropriate
Understand boundaries of own skills and knowledge

• Skills and knowledge for lead professional

Understand implications of the childs
assessment, eg. In relation to risks and
protective factors
Knowledge of local and regional services for
children and families
Convene meetings and initiate discussions with
relevant practitioners
Support and enable child/family to achieve their
potential
Work effectively with practitioners from a range
of services
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Interim lead professional

• Main contact for family
• Arrange the multi agency support team meeting and
  chair this
• Facilitate the development and agree the multi
  agency plan at this meeting
• Ensure review timetable is in place for the plan
• Support the identification of the lead
  professional longer term

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• IMPLEMENTING CAF
• In order to implement CAF in Kirklees,
  practitioners at all levels across all agencies
  need to be prepared to encounter
• Some duplication with other assessments until CAF
  is analysed and embedded within existing
  assessment processes
• Some initial teething problems
• Changes during the first few months to help CAF
  fit in to existing systems and other newly
  introduced information sharing tools

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CAF DOES NOT REPLACE SPECIALIST ASSESSMENTS
OR
CHILD PROTECTION /SAFE GUARDING PROCEDURE
CAF PRE-ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST
CAF
OVERLAPS /REPLACES SOME REFERRALS/INITIAL
ASSESSMENTS
SPECIALIST ASSESSMENTS
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• The CAF Process is being developed to support
  vulnerable children and young people.
• It should be used to help them achieve the five
  outcomes identified in Every Child Matters.
• Being Healthy
• Staying Safe
• Enjoying and Achieving
• Making a Positive Contribution
• Achieving Economic Well Being

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• Other sources of information and training
• Information sharing guidance and training
  materials
• www.ecm.gov.uk/informationsharing
• Lead professional guidance and training materials
• www.ecm.gov.uk/leadprofessional
• Multi-Agency Working toolkit
• www.ecm.gov.uk/multiagencyworking
• Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the
  Childrens Workforce
• www.ecm.gov.uk/commoncore
• Guidance and training materials on What To Do If
  You Are Worried A Child Is Being Abused and
  Working Together to Safeguard Children
• www.ecm.gov.uk/safeguarding
• Integrated working fact sheets
• www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-practic
  e
• Integrated working case examples
• www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-practic
  e