Assessment Process
A qualified and experienced psychologist, working alongside skilled and experienced residential childcare staff, undertakes the Safe Steps Assessment Process. It consists of both formalised psychological tests and the recording of observed behaviour. The specialist residential environment provides an ideal setting to undertake a thorough and detailed assessment, maximising the chances of success in the foster placement.
Safe Steps Assessment process has several distinct functions:
- To assess the suitability of each child/young person for foster care element of the Safe Steps Programme
- To inform the ‘Matching Process’ and assist in finding a suitable Safe Steps family placement
- To provide data to inform a Behaviour Support Plan/Reactive Plan to be used as the basis of therapeutic interventions in both residential and fostering elements of the Safe Steps Programme
- To provide data upon which specific interventions (as part of the ‘wrap-around’) service can be planned and evaluated
- To highlight any specific training requirements for foster carers and others, in order to fully meet the child/young person’s need
The success of every Safe Steps placement is dependent upon the success of this assessment. Most children and young people are admitted to the Safe Steps programme on the basis that the initial period of residential care is for a period of 13 weeks. However, this presumption is made often without detailed information on the child/young person’s specific needs. It should be noted that, in some circumstances, the assessment may suggest that either the residential element of Safe Steps be extended (for a maximum of an additional 13 weeks), or that the Child/Young Person may require a longer period of residential therapeutic care before they could make a successful transition to a family placement. One of the main objectives of Safe Steps is to break the cycle of repeated placement disruption. On occasion this means the recommendation will be that the Child/Young Person is not, at this juncture, likely to succeed in a family placement (even a specialist, heavily supported family placement). The reasons for such a recommendation may include:
- Extreme Challenging Behaviour (including serious violence) that require high levels of professional staff intervention to manage safely
- Highly Specialist Needs (such as serious mental health problems and self-harm) that require high levels of professional staff intervention to manage safely (including regular administration of psychotropic medication)
- High Levels of Vulnerability (including repeat absconding) that that require high levels of constant supervision to manage safely
- Repeated and Serious Offending (including sexual offences and fire-setting) that might pose a serious risk to the foster placement/local community unless high levels of constant supervision could be provided
- The Child/Young Person themselves actively opposed to a Family Placement
Such circumstances are the exception, and the vast majority of children and young people move on successful to a stable Safe Steps foster placement.
Please refer to the Safe Steps Assessment Schedule which accompanies this process.
