Common Assessment should lead to coordinated intervention. Assessment is not a means to an end, but a means to more effective interventions which support children/young people/families.
A completion of a common assessment may also, at any stage in the process, identify the requirement for Early Intervention Fund support.
When a common assessment is undertaken there are a range of possible outcomes that may be agreed by the child and family in order to meet identified needs.
1. Needs can be met within universal provision
The child’s/family’s needs can be met within universal provision as no additional needs have been identified. The practitioner will continue working with the family as normal.
2. Single agency support
The needs identified require intervention by child and/or their parent or carer, with input from the practitioner’s own agency which is a universal service.
3. Signpost to local services
The needs identified can be addressed by advising the child/parent to approach and engage with local agencies/organisations that can meet those needs. These can be identified from the practitioner’s own knowledge, or by accessing The Family Hub
4. Multi-agency support
The identified unmet needs require a coordinated approach via a multi-agency plan following a multi-agency /Team Around the Child (TAC) meeting led by a Lead Professional
5. Specialist referral to another agency
Subject to the views of the child/parent or carer, and it being in the best interests of the child, Common Assessment information should be shared between practitioners and services where it is necessary to enable joint working or in support of a request for specialist intervention.
Where a specialist request is made the Common Assessment Episode stays open until the practitioner who initiated the assessment is clear the request has been accepted.
Interagency agreement
Agencies in Leeds agree that the Common Assessment can be used in the majority of cases as part of referral processes. It is important to ensure the information captured during the assessment is sufficiently detailed to allow informed decision making about service delivery.
Separate guidance is available on Common Assessment and working with Children and Young People’s Social Care (CAFCYPSC)
Information sharing
Practitioners need to be aware of information sharing protocols within their own agencies and the wider Children Leeds arena. All information sharing must comply with the Data Protection Act 1998. In most cases the decision about whether and how information is shared will be taken by the CAF practitioner/lead professional in consultation with the young person or their parent/carer.