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Contents

1. What is the Common Assessment Framework (CAF)?
2. At What Age is the CAF Appropriate for a Child / Young Person?
3. What About the Interface Between CAF and Specialist Services Such as Social Care, Youth Offending, CAMHS etc?
4. Who is Responsible for Implementation of the CAF Process?
5. Who Should use the CAF Process?
6. What About Children Involved in the CAF Process who Either Leave, or Move into Bradford?
7. So, What is the Process of Starting and Using the CAF?

1. What is the Common Assessment Framework (CAF)?

• A national initiative, combining guidance on good working practices with specific documentation to provide and record inter-agency assessment of the needs of children and young people.
• A process designed to promote early intervention with children and young people for whom there are concerns and who have unmet additional needs which cannot be met by a single agency. It provides an integrated cross agency process to improve outcomes for children/young people and their families.
• Based on 3 Key Principles:
  • The Team Around the Child. As needs increase services are engaged from other agencies. Individual staff from those agencies join the team and remain part of it until their role is no longer necessary.
  • The Step up-Step-down model where different services are engaged as needs increase. At the point where an agency disengages from the CAF process as needs decrease in response to services provided, they update the CAF with the work they have done and pass the updated CAF back to the Lead Practitioner.
  • The Lead Practitioner who takes responsibility for coordinating (by liaison or by inter-agency meeting) all the services being offered to the child, and ensures that the CAF is shared, reviewed and kept up to date.
• A set of documentation designed to develop a common language and understanding of need and vulnerability with families and between partner agencies, to promote a better knowledge of a child / young persons developmental needs and determine who is best placed to meet these needs.

Determining the level of need and informing the involvement of appropriate agencies and organisations is supported by the Common Assessment Framework Integrated Working Guidance

• It is intended to avoid duplication for professionals and families.  The Lead Practitioner is a single point of contact for the family and other professionals.  With Consent of the parent and/or young person, the CAF should be shared with all noted practitioners so the family will not have to repeat the same information to a number of different practitioners

While the individual nominated as Lead Practitioner may change as the child's needs increase or decrease over time, good practice ensures that there is always a nominated individual with an oversight of the child throughout involvement of different agencies, to prevent the child 'falling through the net'.

2. At What Age is the CAF Appropriate for a Child / Young Person?

• CAF is used and registered in respect of unborn children (from 24 weeks of gestation) up to and including young people of 18 years of age.
• If a child or young person has been looked after, that age limit is up to and including young people of 20 years of age.
• If an individual has a learning difficulty or disability and/or CAF is appropriate to enable the young person to have a smooth transition to adult services, the age limit is up to and including young people of 24 years of age.

NB: all CAF use with:

Children from 24 weeks of gestation up to and including young people of 24 years of age

...should be registered with the CAF Admin Team in line with the process detailed elsewhere in this document.

3. What About the Interface Between CAF and Specialist Services Such as Social Care, Youth Offending, CAMHS etc?

The current arrangement with these services is that the CAF is accepted and acted upon as the equivalent of a "referral". Only where the CAF cannot provide sufficient detail of the child's needs is additional information to be sought. When a specialist service has finished their work their 'closure summary' or equivalent is shared with those practitioners involved in the initial CAF assessment. (The Step up-Step-down process)

Inter-agency discussions about type and level of need and the involvement of appropriate agencies and organisations are supported by the document Common Assessment Framework Integrated Working Guidance

CAF does not replace Actions to Prevent or Stop Significant Harm:

If at any stage you are concerned that a child or young person is suffering or is at risk of suffering from Significant Harm, do not start or continue the CAF but follow the West Yorkshire Consortium Procedures, 3.3b Strategy Discussions in Bradford.

If the safeguarding procedures have been followed and there is no further requirement for a safeguarding intervention the Step up- Step down approach should be used.

4. Who is Responsible for Implementation of the CAF Process?

The responsibility for implementation of CAF rests with all Area Managers, Service Managers, Head Teachers and Chairs of School Governors in Bradford.  Those responsibilities are detailed in the letter from Kath Tunstall, Strategic Director, Services to Children and Young People of 29 June 2007.

5. Who Should use the CAF Process?

Subject to arrangements in your own agency, CAF is designed to be used by any practitioner in any agency working with children and young people.

All practitioners participating in the CAF process are required to have a current, enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.

Each agency and service working with children and young people will determine whether the CAF process will be initiated and supported by individual practitioners or via a nominated person with the specific responsibility to process CAFs. 

Advice on the agreed process for your agency can be gained from your nominated "CAF Manager."  If you don't have a CAF Manager yet, or If your agency doesn't already have an agreed CAF process, please contact:

The CAF Administration Team:

Telephone: 01274 437902 or 437685
Email: cafhelpdesk@bradford.gov.uk 

6. What About Children Involved in the CAF Process who Either Leave, or Move into Bradford?

NB: This is a developing area of policy which may not be fully resolved until the national e-CAF solution is implemented. The guidance below cannot cover every situation. If in doubt, please discuss with your line manager, your agency CAF Manager, or the CAF Administration Team.

Firstly, the specific Consent of the parent or child/ young person must be gained before you share any information with another Local Authority.  If we are seeking or receiving CAF information from another Local Authority, you should check that they have gained the appropriate specific consent.

When a child moves out of Bradford during a CAF assessment, or during delivery of the action plan, the Bradford Lead Practitioner should gain the consent to contact their counterpart in the same agency in the new Local Authority.

The practitioner in the other local authority should be sent the CAF documentation and it is then their decision as to whether they continue to engage the family in the CAF process. Once the other authority has acknowledged receipt of the CAF material, the CAF should be closed in Bradford (See Stage 10)

The reverse is also the case...If a child moves into Bradford during a CAF assessment, or during delivery of the action plan, it is the responsibility of the Lead Practitioner in that authority to make contact with their counterpart in the same agency in Bradford. (The CAF Admin Team will help make that link if they are informed that a child has moved into the area)

It will then be the responsibility of the Bradford practitioner to make the decision whether they engage the family in the CAF process. However, as CAF is a national initiative, the presumption would be that we should continue to work with children who were involved in the CAF process in their previous authority.

Once a decision is reached in Bradford which leads to either:

• Continuing work on an open CAF from another authority or
• Commencing a new CAF for a child who has moved into Bradford...

That CAF should be registered (See Stage 4.)

7. So, What is the Process of Starting and Using the CAF?

Click here to view the IWG-14 CAF Flowchart.

Stage 1. When should I consider using the CAF process?

A CAF can be used whenever there is concern that a child has unmet needs which cannot be met by a single agency and may result in a poor achievement against the five Every Child Matters outcomes: 

• Achieve Economic Well-Being
• Enjoy and Achieve
• Be Healthy
• Make a Positive Contribution
• Stay Safe 

This judgement would be reached after discussion of the situation with the child/ young person, the parent(s) and your manager.

Examples of situations where the use of CAF should be considered appear on Page 5 of the "Practice Guidance"

NB: Forthcoming statutory guidance: "Revised Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities on Children Missing from Home or Care" (2009) will identify CAF as an appropriate tool to provide holistic assessment of the needs of this specific group.

Stage 2. How do I decide whether the CAF process is appropriate?

The pre-assessment checklist forms part of the CAF and should be used by all practitioners to support and evidence the decision that a CAF assessment is needed.

Click here to view the CAF pre-assessment checklist.

Stage 3. Check if a CAF already exists:

Once a decision is reached that a CAF would be appropriate, the practitioner needs to check the CAF Register via the CAF Administration Team to see if a CAF already exists:

You will need to provide details of the child / young person's:

• Name
• Date of Birth
• Home Address
• Ethnicity

If a CAF is already open the practitioner will need to liaise with the current "Lead Practitioner" as an opportunity to contribute to the CAF.

If a CAF does not exist or has previously existed but is now closed the practitioner will need to initiate the CAF process by contacting the CAF Administration Team:

Stage 4. Informing the family and starting the CAF process:

Explaining CAF to children, young people and families is supported by the Common Assessment leaflet.

A decision to complete a CAF should be made in consultation with parents, and where appropriate with the young person.

Effective inter-agency working requires you to seek information from and share any relevant information with other agencies to better inform the assessment and to achieve the child or young person's action plan.

Consent To undertake a CAF you must always obtain the consent of the parent and if appropriate the consent of the young person. "Information Sharing: Guidance for practitioners and managers" (DCSF 2008):  If the young person is 16 or older they are presumed to be able to give informed consent. If they are under the age of 16 and over the age of 12, they generally can be expected to have sufficient knowledge, understanding and intelligence to give informed consent. Children under 12 may have sufficient knowledge, understanding and intelligence to give informed consent. In practice, for any child under 16 the professional judgement that they can appropriately give informed consent needs to be recorded. If partial consent is given and families do not want information shared with certain agencies then this should be respected and recorded on the CAF form. It is practical to start to work with verbal consent at the start of the assessment and this must be recorded on the form. It is preferable to also have written consent at a later stage. When consent is not given the practitioner will consider whether it is in the child/young person's best interest to over-ride consent, see Sharing Information Without Consent, on the Bradford website. NB: A CAF must be signed by the parent or young person and the Lead Practitioner before it is considered completed.

Where the consent to undertake a CAF has been gained, that CAF should now be registered with the CAF Administration Team.

You will need to advise the CAF Administration Team:

• The date that the CAF was started.
• Your name and contact details.
• The name and contact details of the "Lead Practitioner".
• The name of the child / young person.
• Home address of the child / young person.
• Date of birth of the child / young person.
• Ethnicity of the child / young person.

A completed and signed CAF can also be registered by posting it to the CAF Team marked "Private and Confidential." 

Address: CAF Team, 2nd Floor, Olicana House, Chapel Street, BD1 5RE.

Once the CAF is registered, you will be provided with details of a Secure email System which will allow you to share CAF information electronically with other involved practitioners who are listed on the CAF. If other practitioners become involved in the CAF (who should also have a current, enhanced CRB check), they can also request this secure e-mail information so you can all use the system. 

Secure email requests should be addressed to: the CAF Administration Team:

Stage 5. Undertaking the "CAF":

Use the CAF form to assess the situation of the child / young person:

Information should be gained from all the professionals identified in the consent obtained from the parent / young person. Pending identification of a "Lead Practitioner", the responsibility for coordinating this process rests with the professional who started and registered the CAF.

This information gathering and identification of a Lead Practitioner might be done by arranging a specific multi-agency meeting or by using an existing multi-agency meeting or forum such as:

• Family Support Meetings
• Family Support Clinics - CAMHS
• School Action Plus Meetings
• Children Support Panel - MAST/BIP
• Young People Support Panel - MAST/BIP
• Focus Groups - Positive Futures
• CAF Pilot Panels - BBEC, Buttershaw, Keighley and Windhill.

Irrespective of the method used, the process of gathering information and undertaking assessment should result in a completed CAF form containing:

• The relevant basic identifying information.
• Name and contact details of the "Lead Practitioner" (See information below)
• An assessment of the child's strengths and needs.
• Conclusions, solutions and actions.
• Prioritised action plan with identified responsibilities and timescales.
• Indicators which will evidence improvement.
• Comments of the child / young person and parent / carer.
• Names and contact details of other involved practitioners.

The completed and signed CAF form should then be sent to the CAF Team by post marked "Private and Confidential".

The Role of the Lead Practitioner A Lead Practitioner will be selected where children/young people either already have multiple input from different agencies or have had an assessment completed with them suggesting that a multi-agency response is required A Lead Practitioner can be selected from a wide range of staff working with children/young people and their families. The Lead Practitioner should be someone who is the most relevant person to the child/young person's Action Plan and who has the most appropriate skills and competence levels to co-ordinate and deliver and review an integrated response. Where a CAF assessment results in the involvement of social care, the allocated worker assumes the role of the Lead Practitioner. Once the issues leading to social care involvement have been addressed and/or resolved, lead practitioner responsibility in respect of "additional needs" passes to either the originating CAF practitioner or the most relevant practitioner at the time A Lead Practitioner will act as a single point of contact. S/he will have a general overview of the child/young person's circumstances and the range of services currently in place. S/he will receive support through the CAF support arrangements in their agency and via other practitioners involved in delivering the Action Plan. The Lead Practitioner will co-ordinate the sharing of information between practitioners and the family. This can take place by telephone, fax or home visits. The Lead Practitioner will make sure that an Action Plan is agreed and in place with intended outcomes and clearly stated tasks for individuals with time-scale, dates and the review arrangements. The Lead Practitioner will co-ordinate reviews to check whether the Action Plan and provision of service has achieved the intended outcomes. S/he will make sure that Action Plans are updated where necessary or if a change of plan is needed in light of new developments. All partner agencies will facilitate this process through establishing the CAF support arrangements in their own agency.

Stage 6. Agreeing the outcomes and action plan with the family:

There are four broad possible outcomes from this common assessment process:

1. No further action -the family's and the practitioner's concerns have been resolved and no further needs have been identified.
2. Child / young person / family action - The needs identified require action by child/young person and/or the family.
3. Single agency action - the needs identified require action by child/young person and/or the family, and by the practitioner's own agency.
4. Multi-agency action - the needs identified require action by the child/young person and/or the family and other agencies. Where more than one service is required a Lead Practitioner will be appointed.

In all cases, it is important that the child / young person / family and involved professionals are given a copy of the agreed outcomes and actions planned.

Stage 7. Action by family and involved services:

The Lead Practitioner will ensure the family is supported to enable them to undertake their own actions agreed during the CAF process.

The Lead Practitioner will monitor the progress of the family on the actions they have agreed to undertake.

The Lead Practitioner will coordinate and monitor any ongoing delivery of services in line with the action plan.

NB: The Lead Practitioner is not responsible or accountable for services delivered by other agencies. Each practitioner is responsible for his/her part of the action plan, and line management accountability is with the home agency and through the Children's Trust Arrangements and the Director of Children's Services.

Stages 8 and 9. Reviewing and/or amending the action plan:

Review of the CAF is to be undertaken as specified in the original assessment. All involved agree the review format which could be a visit, phone calls, emails or a meeting.

Practitioners can use existing multi agency meeting forums to review a CAF (See "Stage 5" above).

Record your Review on the CAF Form using the section "How will you know when things have improved" on page 7 Use plain accessible language so everyone feels included. Focus on positives using solution focused approaches and credit the family or young person with their successes. Family and practitioners report on their actions, concentrating on and emphasising the positive actions and results Record any barriers or difficulties in making changes and look for alternative solutions. Agree new actions or continue working on current actions which are able to affect change Agree a new review date

If there are concerns that agreed services have not been provided then the lead practitioner should enlist the support of their own line manager / supervisor to resolve the matter with the agency / service involved.

NB: Please note that copies of reviews, medical records, and other assessments are not to be sent to the CAF Team.  The Lead Practitioner should keep these documents in the CAF file.  Advise the CAF Team only if the Lead Practitioner changes or if the CAF is closed, even if it is closed because a child / young person / family moves. 

In all cases, it is important that the child / young person / family and involved professionals are given a copy of the revised outcomes and actions planned.

Stage 10. Closing a CAF if appropriate:

If the following criteria are met the practitioner can close a CAF:

• During a review a decision is reached that most of the intended/desired outcomes in the action plan have been achieved
• The family decide they no longer want to be involved with the CAF and the child/young person's progress is satisfactory.
• The Lead Practitioner concludes with other relevant practitioners that the child/young person's progress is satisfactory and further involvement is not needed.
• The child/young person is transferred to Adult Services at age 19
• If a child moves out of the area, contact the CAF Manager in the child's new area and send them a copy of the CAF to prevent the child falling through the cracks.  If you need help doing this, contact the CAF Helpdesk.

To close a CAF the Lead Practitioner must record the decision on the CAF form in the section "How will you know when things have improved" followed by the CAF outcomes of how concerns were resolved: "CLOSING THE CAF - OUTCOMES" Concern resolved via: Family/child/young person planned actions YES/NO Single service planned actions YES/NO Multi agency provision and Lead Practitioner  YES/NO Other: Consent withdrawn YES/NO Consent overridden (safeguarding issue)  YES/NO Tier 3 service (engagement of Social Care)  YES/NO

And inform the CAF Team to register the decision and CAF outcome:

Tel: 01274 437902 or 437685

Email: cafhelpdesk@bradford.gov.uk

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