child protection decision-making: the safeguarding children assessment and analysis framework (saaf)

Child Protection Decision-Making: The Safeguarding Children

Assessment and Analysis Framework (SAAF)

Stephen Pizzey, Phil Heasman and Carla Thomas

Arnon Bentovim, Antony Cox, Liza Bingley Miller and Simon Tapp

www.childandfamilytraining.org.uk

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2© Child and Family Training 2015

Please discuss with the person next to you;

What makes a safeguarding case complex?

Complex child protection cases


Definition of child protection is where the concerns about the safety of the child are such that there is serious consideration of:

the child having to be moved away from their current care setting (or not to be returned to their previous care setting)

in order to

prevent further or likely future major impairment of the child’s development

Definition of Child Protection


The severity of the child’s impairment (attributable or non-attributable)

The severity of the difficulty of the factors and processes operating on a child’s impairment (i.e. parenting capacity and family and environmental factors)

Modifiability of the impairing/negative processes to the child attributable to the parents/carers. i.e. whether it is likely to be possible to change: What the parents do Factors and processes that affect what the parents do

Whether parents are child-centred Whether they are able to cooperate with professionals

Reasons for considering a change in the child’s care setting


Stage 1 Identification of harm and initial safeguardingStage 2 Gather information on the child’s developmental

needs, parenting capacity and family and environmental factors

Stage 3 Establish the nature and level of impairment of the child’s health and development

Stage 4 Analysis of patterns of harm and protection Stage 5 Child Protection Decision Making and Care Planning and

Care Planning: The Safeguarding AnalysisStage 6 Developing a plan of interventionStage 7 Identifying outcomes and measures for intervention

Seven Stages in Assessment, Analysis and Planning Interventions


Assessment FrameworkA map of relevant data to be collected

7

Health

Education

Identity

Family & SocialRelationships

Social Presentation

Emotional &Behavioural Development

Selfcare Skills

CHILD

’S D

EVEL

OPM

ENTA

L NEE

DSPARENTING CAPACITY

FAMILY & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Basic Care

Emotional Warmth

Stimulation

Guidance & Boundaries

Ensuring Safety

Stability

Wider Fam

ily

Housing

Employm

ent

Income

Family’s Social

Integration

Family History

& Functioning

Comm

unity

Resources

CHILDSafeguarding

& promoting

welfare

© Child and Family Training 2015

The Assessment Framework provides a map for assessing the needs of children •The Child’s Developmental Needs Domain of the Assessment triangle 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 isgenetic 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


Consider the referral and the aims of the assessment

The awareness of harm arises in many contexts

Multi-agency child protection conferences - have to judge current risk and future harm

Extent of harm to the child and nature of parenting capacity and family and environmental factors often unknown

Stage 1: Identification of Harm and Initial Safeguarding


In order to make a full assessment of the child’s needs, parenting capacity and family and environmental factors the assessor needs to:

Gather information from available sources including using assessment tools

Create comprehensive chronology of salient information

Good assessments use multiple sources of information. An assessment should not rely on one source of information.

Stage 2: Making a full assessment and create comprehensive chronology


Stage 2: Making a full assessment Case Study: Ben Bradshaw aged 5 years 6 months


Gina27

Susan Moore25

Ben5yrs 6 months

Frank29

Annie6 months

Sasha8

Gina Bradshaw is: caring well for Annie who is thriving making over frequent visits to GP with Annie finding Ben’s behaviour increasingly difficult to manage

The Health Visitor is concerned about: Ben’s aggression towards Annie Gina’s hostility towards Ben

Ben has hit his teacher and is aggressive to other children in school

Historical Information: First 9 months poor weight gain and frequent minor accidents as

a toddler questioning supervision Aged 2 fractured elbow and dislocated shoulder. Gina reported

pulling Ben away from electric stove.

Stage 2: Making a full assessment Case Study: Ben Bradshaw aged 5 years 6 months - Referral


Gina was sexually abused as a child for a number of years by an uncle.

Gina had a troubled adolescence and early adulthood:• truanting, aggression to staff and exclusion from school; • running away from home and accommodated by local authority; • extensive drug use• termination aged 15• series of violent relationships• overdosed twice• convictions for shoplifting to fund drug habit

Gina found it difficult to bond with Ben because he was a boy and felt protective towards Annie because she was a girl.

Stage 2: Making a full assessment Case Study: Gina Bradshaw Background


Frank Bradshaw’s early experiences included:

• disruption in early childhood – older brother aged 8 sent to grandparents;

• regular school attendance; • occasional drug use;• a series of brief relationships;• unhappy relationship with Susan mother of his daughter, Sasha• private law proceedings regarding Sasha – monthly contact

which petered out• clinical depression

Stage 2: Making a full assessment Case Study: Frank Bradshaw Background


Watch short extracts from:

• a Family Assessment interview with the whole family;

• an Early Childhood (3-6) HOME Inventory Assessment of Be

n’s experience of care in the family with Ben and Gina.

Take detailed notes of what observed and what reported

Stage 2: Making a full assessment Case Study: Ben Bradshaw


Stage 2: Making a full assessment Ben Bradshaw – Family Assessment Interview


Stage 2: Making a full assessment Ben Bradshaw – HOME Inventory Interview (1)


Organise information using the Assessment Framework

•Record information on the Assessment Framework handout in the following dimensions:

• Emotional & Behavioural Development• Family & Social Relationships• Emotional Warmth• Guidance and Boundaries• Family Functioning

•Identify strengths and difficulties

Stage 3: Establish the nature and level of harm and harmful effects on the child



19

Health

Education

Identity


Social Presentation


Selfcare Skills

CHILD

’S D

EVEL

OPM

ENTA

L NEE



Basic Care

Emotional Warmth

Stimulation


Ensuring Safety

Stability

Wider Fam

ily

Housing

Employm

ent

Income

Family’s Social

Integration

Family History

& Functioning

Comm

unity

Resources

CHILDSafeguarding

& promoting

welfare


In analysing the categorised information consideration should be given to:

Processes – the pattern of influences

&

Impact – the weight/effect of factors/processes

Note

What is central is whether there is impairment or likelihood of impairment of the CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT.

Difficulties/impairments in Parenting or broader Family and Environment may or may not be producing impairments in the child’s development.

Stage 4: Analysis of patterns of ham and protectionAngold et al 1995 Bentovim et al 2009


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

Stage 4: Analysis of patterns of harm and protection


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

Stage 4: Analysis of patterns of harm and protectionDevelop a chronology of salient information


Linear or circular processes:

Stage 4: Analysis of patterns of ham and protection


Identify Strengths and impairments in the child’s development

• What are Ben’s strengths in health and development and how have they been brought about?

• What are Ben’s impairments in health and development and why have they occurred?

Stage 4: Analysis of patterns of ham and protection



25

Health

Education

Identity


Social Presentation


Selfcare Skills

CHILD

’S D

EVEL

OPM

ENTA

L NEE



Basic Care

Emotional Warmth

Stimulation


Ensuring Safety

Stability

Wider Fam

ily

Housing

Employm

ent

Income

Family’s Social

Integration

Family History

& Functioning

Comm

unity

Resources

CHILDSafeguarding

& promoting

welfare


Stage 4: Analysis of patterns of ham and protectionWeight of Factors/Processes

Difficulties Child’s Developmental Needs, Parenting & Family and

Environment

Factors and Processes

Impairment of child’s development - Significant Harm

Protection and Resilience

Risk and Vulnerability

Modifiability - Change

Intrusiveness - Depth

Pervasiveness - Breadth

Unusualness

Frequency - How often

Duration - How long

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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: Analysis of patterns of ham and protection- Impact


The Safeguarding Analysis:

•The profile of harm and impairment of the child’s health and development

•Predict the likely outlook for the child; the risks of re-abuse or likelihood of future harm (the systemic analysis)

•Determine the prospects for successful intervention

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

Bentovim et al 2009


To make an assessment of the profile of harm, risks of future harm to the child the following must be considered: Child’s Developmental Needs

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

Stage 5: Child Protection Decision MakingProfile of harm and impairment of

the child’s health and development


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Harmful Maintaining Factors and Processes

Present:

Precipitating Trigger Factors and Processes:

Protective Maintaining Factors and Processes:

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

Predicting Likely Future of Child’s Health and Development:

Predict the likely outlook for child: the Systematic Analysis

Harmful Maintaining Factors and Processes

Present:

Ben: male child; increasingly defiant behaviour leading to anger from Gina.Gina repeatedly locks Ben in room and physically chastises him. Frank: spending increasing time out of the house;Frank’s passivity and conflict avoidance.

Precipitating Trigger Factors and Processes:

Ben’s aggression to Annie causing Gina to be furious; Annie female

child making Gina more protective

Protective Maintaining Factors and Processes:

Frank’s positive relationship with Ben including reading and playing games with Ben

Clean well maintained home.

Adequate provision of basic care: personal hygiene, nutrition, clothing.

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

Healthy, articulate, well dressed assertive. Aggressive to Gina, Annie,

teacher and peers. Difficulties regulating behaviour and emotions.

Predicting Likely Future of Child’s Health and Development:

Ben likely to: be seriously physically injured by Gina; suffer emotional harm; develop serious behaviour

problems at home and school

Predict the likely outlook for Ben : the systemic analysis

Gina: sexual abuse resulting in negative feelings towards Ben and overprotectiveness of Annie; propensity to depression

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There is a poor prognosis for change where:

• Child subject of serious abuse• Continuing parental denial of abuse/impairment• Considerable family difficulties with few strengths• Severe parental pathology, personality disorder or level of

addiction which implies changes cannot be made in child’s timeframe

• Resources unavailable to intervene given severity of situation

• Parents who refuse/don’t cooperate with help

Stage 5: Child Protection Decision MakingDetermine the prospects for successful intervention

Bentovim et al 1987 & Jones 1991, 1998


To analyse the prospects for successful intervention the following must be considered:

Nature of harm suffered and child or young person’s wishes and feelingsParental child-centredness regarding

Child’s health and development and any harm suffered and its impact Parenting Individual, family and environmental processes

Modifiability i.e. parents level of motivation and capacity for change regarding difficulties in

Impairment of child’s development and any harm suffered Parenting Individual, family and environmental processes

Parent’s ability to cooperate with professionals and agencies

Stage 5: Child Protection Decision MakingDetermine the prospects for successful intervention


What interventions are required to ensure the safety of the child What are the options for interventions which might:

(a) help support strengths in the child’s health and development &/or

(b) help reduce impairments in the child’s health and development? Towards which strength/impairment in child’s 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

developmental timeframe?

Stage 6: Developing a Plan of Intervention Planning interventions


The key outcome is the child’s developmental progress

The aims are to assess :• Whether the child has progressed and in which dimensions (child’s

development);

• How improvements or deteriorations have come about (factors and processes thought to influence the child's development)

Need baseline and follow-up measures to assess change over time

Stage 7: Identifying and Measuring Outcomes Assessing outcomes of intervention


Stage 1 Identification of harm and initial safeguardingStage 2 Gather information on the child’s developmental

needs, parenting capacity and family and environmental factors

Stage 3 Establish the nature and level of impairment of the child’s health and development

Stage 4 Analysis of patterns of harm and protection Stage 5 Child Protection Decision Making and Care Planning and

Care Planning: The Safeguarding AnalysisStage 6 Developing a plan of interventionStage 7 Identifying outcomes and measures for intervention

Seven Stages in Assessment, Analysis and Planning Interventions


Angold, A., Predergast, M., Cox, A., Harrington, R., Simonoff, I. and Rutter, M. (1995) ‘The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA).’ Psychological Medicine 25, 739–753.

Bentovim, A., Elton, A. and Tranter, M. (1987) ‘Prognosis for rehabilitation after abuse.’ Adoption and Fostering 11, 26–31.

Bentovim, A. and Bingley Miller, L. (2001) The Family Assessment: Assessment of Family Competence, Strengths and Difficulties. York: Child and Family Training.

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 Children Assessment and Analysis Framework. York: Child and Family Training.

Caldwell, B.M. and Bradley, R.H. (2003) HOME Inventory: Administration Manual Comprehensive Edition. Little Rock, AR: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Cox, A., Pizzey, S. and Walker, S. (2009) The HOME Inventory: A Guide for Practitioners – The UK Approach. 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.

Jones, D.P.H. (1998) ‘The Effectiveness of Intervention.’ In M. Adcock and R. White (eds) Significant Harm: Its Management and Outcome. Croydon: Significant Publications.

The Safeguarding Assessment and Analysis FrameworkContact: [email protected]


child protection decision-making: the safeguarding children assessment and analysis framework (saaf)

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