Our Connected Persons assessments are undertaken by experienced independent social workers, who are able to thoroughly explore a carer’s motivation and ability to care for a child in, often, difficult circumstances, in order to preserve a child’s link to their family of origin, culture and identity.

Using the National Minimum Standards for Fostering as a framework, assessors will consider:

• The nature of prospective carer’s  relationship with the child and birth parents
• Any risks the above may pose to the child and carer and how these can be safely managed
• Any support required by the carers to provide good care to the child in the short or long term
• How carers might navigate contact between the child and their parents.

These dynamics can be particularly complex and it’s often difficult for carers to think about how they might do this, especially in situations where the parents or birth family pose a significant risk to the child, which needs to be acknowledged and mitigated by the connected carers.

All of our independent social work reports focus upon the needs of specific children and comply with the requirements identified by the Court of Appeal in Re B-S. Not only will they provide a list of the factors that are relevant to the central decision to be made, but also a narrative account of how they fit together. This will include a thorough analysis of the pros and cons of the various options that might be under consideration for a child.

Our teams can provide you with details of Independent Social Workers available to complete an assessment, their timescales and costs. We will always be clear on the timescales involved so that panel and court deadlines can be effectively planned.