Faster court process cuts residential parenting assessments

The Department for Education-commissioned research into the use of residential assessments, which take place in specialist centres and last around three months, found that the act’s 26-week time limit for care proceedings was already reducing their use.

Among 44 assistant directors of children’s social care surveyed for the report, more than a fifth said the new time limit had led to a reduction in residential assessments.

Residential parenting assessments are used to help social workers and courts decide whether parents are able to care for a child, as well as to offer further support for problems such as substance misuse. Councils are increasingly looking to shift this process to community workers, the report found.

The report also found that many residential-based assessments are being unnecessarily commissioned and community assessments would be more appropriate.

In 13 out of 31 cases looked at in detail by an expert panel and researchers it was found that residential parenting assessments should not have been commissioned. In some cases they found the residential assessment offered little new evidence in deciding on whether a child was at risk. In others it was found assessing parents in their own home would have provided a more realistic picture.  

Costs of carrying out residential assessments varied markedly with the cheapest among those cases looked at costing £899 and the most expensive costing £127,000. The researchers found the cost of a residential assessment was justifiable in only 43 per cent of cases.

Among mothers assessed, half had been a victim of child abuse and a third had been in care themselves. Two-fifths of mothers involved were substance misusers, while half of fathers had drug and alcohol problems.

A separate DfE report looked at parents whose children are at risk of being taken into care and their ability to change.

Shame and lack of confidence were among reasons cited by parents who resisted working with social workers to improve their ability to care for their child.

The report urges social workers to ensure they develop strong links with health visitors and adult services support workers who some parents feel more comfortable dealing with.