1© Child and Family Training 2014

HOPE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES PROGRAMME:

Child Protection Decision Making using the Safeguarding Children Assessment and Analysis Framework (SAAF)Stephen Pizzey

2© Child and Family Training 2014

Stage 1 Identification of harm and initial safeguardingConsider the referral and aims of the assessment

Stage 2 Gather assessment information on the child’s developmental needs, parenting capacity, and family and environmental factors

Collect information from available sources using an appropriate range of methods and approaches Create a chronology of salient information

Stage 3 Establish the nature and level of impairment of the child’s health and development Organise information using the Assessment

Framework and identify strengths and difficulties in all dimensions

Seven Stages in Assessment, Analysis and Planning Intervention

3© Child and Family Training 2014

Stage 4 Analyse the patterns of harm and protectionConsider the chronology of salient information Processes and impact

Stage 5 Child Protection Decision Making and Care Planning: The Safeguarding Analysis

Profile of harm and impairment of developmentPredict the likely outlook for the child: the risks of re-

abuse or likelihood of future harm (the systemic analysis)Determine the prospects for successful interventionSummary of safeguarding analysis

Stage 6 Develop a plan of interventionStage 7 Identify outcomes and measures for intervention

Seven Stages in Assessment, Analysis and Planning Intervention

4© Child and Family Training 2014

CHILD

Safeguarding &

promoting welfare

CH

ILD

’S D

EVELO

PM

EN

TAL

NEED

SPAREN

TIN

G C

APACIT

Y

FAMILY & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Health

Education

Identity

Family & SocialRelationships

Social Presentation

Emotional &Behavioural

Development

Self-Care Skills

Basic Care

Emotional Warmth

Stimulation

Guidance & Boundaries

Ensuring Safety

Stability

Assessment FrameworkA map of relevant data to be collected

5© Child and Family Training 2014

The Child’s Developmental Needs Domain maps Strengths and Impairment in Development

The Parenting Capacity Domain is concerned with Attributability

Where there is no observable or measurable impairment, the Parenting Capacity and Family and Environmental Factors Domains are relevant to the Likelihood of Impairment

Note that some impairments may not be attributable to parenting - e.g. Autism is genetic or Cerebral Palsy is congenital in most instances - but make greater demands which parents may not be able to meet.

Working with the Assessment Framework

6© Child and Family Training 2014

The HOME assessment of parenting and family life

Family pack of questionnaires and scales

Apps for communicating with children and young people

Assessing Families in complex child care cases

Communicating with children using the In My Shoes Interview

The Attachment Style Interview in child care cases

Resources for gathering assessment information

7© Child and Family Training 2014

Stage 1 Identification of harm and initial safeguardingConsider the referral and aims of the assessment

Stage 2 Gather assessment information on the child’s developmental needs, parenting capacity, and family and environmental factors

Collect information from available sources using an appropriate range of methods and approaches Create a chronology of salient information

Stage 3 Establish the nature and level of impairment of the child’s health and development Organise information using the Assessment

Framework and identify strengths and difficulties in all dimensions

Seven Stages in Assessment, Analysis and Planning Intervention (Child Protection)

8© Child and Family Training 2014

CHILD

Safeguarding &

promoting welfare

CH

ILD

’S D

EVELO

PM

EN

TAL

NEED

SPAREN

TIN

G C

APACIT

Y

FAMILY & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Health

Education

Identity

Family & SocialRelationships

Social Presentation

Emotional &Behavioural

Development

Self-Care Skills

Basic Care

Emotional Warmth

Stimulation

Guidance & Boundaries

Ensuring Safety

Stability

Organise Information using the Assessment FrameworkIdentify Strengths and Difficulties

9© Child and Family Training 2014

Stage 4 Analyse the patterns of harm and protectionConsider the chronology of salient information Processes and impact

Stage 5 Child Protection Decision Making and Care Planning: The Safeguarding Analysis

Profile of harm and impairment of developmentPredict the likely outlook for the child: the risks of re-

abuse or likelihood of future harm (the systemic analysis)Determine the prospects for successful interventionSummary of safeguarding analysis

Stage 6 Develop a plan of interventionStage 7 Identify outcomes and measures for intervention

Seven Stages in Assessment, Analysis and Planning Intervention (Child Protection)

10© Child and Family Training 2014

When examining processes consider:

the time relationships between impairments in the child’s development and life events and stressors

which

can raise hypotheses about processes influencing the child’s health and development

Chronology of Salient Information

11© Child and Family Training 2014

Distinguish:

What has brought things about from the past What keeps things going in the present

both of which

Can help to predict what’s likely to happen in the future if things carry on as they are

Principles Underlying Analysis - Processes

12© Child and Family Training 2014

The two key elements of Impact are: Severity of difficulty: the weight of a negative factor or

process Magnitude of strength: the weight of a positive factor

or process

Thus once the processes have been analysed consider:

What processes are having the biggest effect on the child’s health and development or processes that affect it?

Which are the greatest protective processes?

Principles Underlying Analysis - Impact

13© Child and Family Training 2014

In general:

the more dimensions of domains that show difficulty;

the more frequently those difficulties are manifest;

the longer the difficulties have existed;

the less the difficulties are modifiable;

then the greater the severity of the problem

Stage 4: Summary of Principles Underlying analysis - summary

14© Child and Family Training 2014

Stage 4 Analyse the patterns of harm and protectionConsider the chronology of salient information Processes and impact

Stage 5 Child Protection Decision Making and Care Planning: The Safeguarding Analysis

Profile of harm and impairment of developmentPredict the likely outlook for the child: the risks of re-

abuse or likelihood of future harm (the systemic analysis)Determine the prospects for successful interventionSummary of safeguarding analysis

Stage 6 Develop a plan of interventionStage 7 Identify outcomes and measures for intervention

Seven Stages in Assessment, Analysis and Planning Intervention

15© Child and Family Training 2014

To analyse the profile of harm the following must be considered:Child’s Developmental Needs

Severity of impairment of the child’s health and development and impact on the child

Parenting capacity Severity of parenting difficulties

Family and Environmental Factors Severity of individual and family difficulties Severity of environmental difficulties

Parenting, protection and therapeutic help child requires

Profile of Harm and Impairment of Child’s Health and Development

16© Child and Family Training 2014

The instrument is structured in terms of the Assessment Framework domains and comprises:

Areas to be considered

Descriptors

Scale: lower to higher level of concern

which are summarised in the summary grids

The Structure of the Profile of Harm and Impairment of Child’s Health and Development

17© Child and Family Training 2014

Systemic Analysis of Patterns of Harm and Protection

Harmful Maintaining Factors and Processes

Present:

Parent’s longstanding drug addiction;

Social contacts within drug sub-culture;

Chaotic household routines.

Precipitating Trigger Factors and Processes:

Grandmother ill; one parent in house – father out buying drugs; father in prison

Protective Maintaining Factors and Processes:

Supportive grandmother who keeps house clean;

Parents use drugs at different times so one is available for child

The Child’s Current Health and Development Including Harm to the Child:

No speech; underweight; listless; unresponsive; home alone twice (once in cot for 6 hours)

Predicting Likely Future of Child’s Health and Development:

Irreversible developmental delay (cognitive, physical and emotional); high accident risk.

18© Child and Family Training 2014

To determine the prospects for successful intervention the following must be considered: Nature of harm suffered and the child or young person’s

wishes and feelings Parental child-centredness

the capacity of the parents to recognise, understand, acknowledge and take responsibility for difficulties

Modifiability the parents level of motivation and capacity for change regarding

the identified difficulties; and whether the child’s circumstances can be improved with safety

within a reasonable period taking account of the child’s developmental timeframe

Parent’s ability to co-operate with professionals and agencies

Determine the Prospects for Successful Intervention

19© Child and Family Training 2014

The instrument is structured in terms of the:

Areas to be considered

Descriptors

Scale: better to poorer prospects for intervention

which are summarised in the summary grids

The Structure of the Prospects for Successful Intervention Instrument

20© Child and Family Training 2014

The summary of the safeguarding analysis provides 3 part scales regarding:

Overall level of harm and impairment to the child’s health and development (low/moderate/high)

Future outlook for the child’s health and development if no intervention: overall level of risk of re-abuse or likelihood of future harm (low/moderate/high)

Overall prospects for successful intervention (poor/moderate/good)

The Summary of the Safeguarding Analysis

21© Child and Family Training 2014

What are the options for interventions which might: (a) help support strengths in health and development and/or (b) help meet impairments in health and development?

Towards which strength/impairment in health and development is each intervention targeted?

What resources are available? Which of those available is the family most likely to cooperate

with? Which intervention is likely to produce the most immediate

benefit and which might take time? What should be the sequence of interventions and why? What is the likelihood of achieving sufficient change within the

child’s timeframe?

Planning Interventions

22© Child and Family Training 2014

Ispcan workshop 2014Hope for Children and Families

A resource manual of modular systemic Interventions

Empowering frontline practitioners to deliver evidence

based approachesArnon Bentovim -Child and Family Training UK

Jenny Gray – President ISPCANMarianne Bentovim – Child and Family Training -UK

23© Child and Family Training 2014

The key outcome is the child’s developmental progress

To assess outcomes of intervention need to measure change over time in:

The Child’s Development

Factors and Processes thought to influence the Child’s Development

Need baseline and follow-up measures

Identifying Outcomes and Measuring Change

24© Child and Family Training 2014

Bentovim, A., Cox, A, Bingley Miller, L. and Pizzey, S. (2009) Safeguarding Children Living with Trauma and Family Violence: A Guide to Evidence-Based Assessment, Analysis and Planning Interventions. London: Jessica Kingsley.

Bentovim, A., Bingley Miller, L., Pizzey, S. and Tapp, S. (2013) The Safeguarding Assessment and Analysis Framework. York: Child and Family Training.

Department of Health, Department for Education and Employment, and Home Office (2000b) Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families. London. The Stationery Office.

Contact: Stephen.Pizzey@childandfamilytraining.org.uk

The Safeguarding Children Assessment and Analysis Frameworkwww.childandfamilytraining.org.uk