AGFS AND REMOTE FAMILY ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES
At the time of COVID- 19 challenges to all areas of assessment and family intervention work, including within child protection and care proceedings arenas, technology becomes an ally. AGFS is an organisation which has utilised technology in most areas of our training and service delivery, including recruitment, training, support and supervision to our staff, as well as ISW assessments. This blog article aims to advise our existing and future Service Commissioners how we propose to continue working in this difficult time. It also offers helpful tips for our colleagues in the social care/statutory sector on effective ways of engaging with people indirectly, yet effectively.
Social Work Assessments.
Over the years AGFS has earned its reputation as an organisation which, amongst other key services, delivers high quality independent social work (ISW) assessments within the UK and abroad. We have regularly used video technology to engage with family members abroad as part of SGO viability assessment enquiries. Our significant experience has taught us that with good planning, a reliable video conferencing software and good assessment skills, indirect assessment interviews can be incredibly effective and helpful to the general assessment process. Our viability assessments abroad typically contain around 60%-70% of information one would reasonably expect to see in a full SGO assessment report. The reader might further benefit from reading another related blog article on the subject of robust viability assessment enquires, by accessing this link: https://www.agfamilysupport.com/blog/2018/12/18/a-guide-to-assessment-work-in-poland
We are of course not suggesting that parenting or full SGO assessments can or should be completed solely via indirect, video contact. Our position is, however, that indirect contact with families can greatly enhance an assessment process and be used to conduct most interviews during the months in which the World deals with the Corona virus pandemic. In collaboration with the families we engage with, our ISWs will ensure that all necessary safety precautions during direct contact are taken, including checking if everyone is well before agreeing to meet, providing the family members with an agenda for discussions so they have an opportunity to prepare for the interviews and thus for such to not take as long as usual, washing hands, keeping one’s distance, etc.
It may well be that in the weeks and months to come, children in care proceedings will have to wait longer that usual for matters to conclude. But we strongly feel that it is not necessary, or indeed safe, to put interventions and assessment work on hold. Indeed, robust video interviews with family members can and in most cases will provide the assessor and the court with a very good idea as to the applicant’s parenting capacity. When it is safe to do so, direct visits would follow and thus the assessment be completed as soon as possible.
We would suggest that assessors also lean to make good use of screen-sharing options when video conferencing with applicants (ie. to review documents/evidence). In our experience, although direct interviews with referees would be ideal, those can be replaced by video technology. We use professional-grade video conferencing software, called Zoom (https://zoom.us)
Video training and support for staff.
AGFS has a wealth of experience in using video technology as part of our recruitment and training strategies. As a nationwide company, we have to rely on technology to keep in touch amongst ourselves and to offer some of our workers rapid support and supervision when such may be needed. Moreover, our family support worker induction training material contains many online resources, including videos and group video webinars. Furthermore, aside from regular team training days, our managers utilise video conferencing technology to deliver guidance, training on topical issues and supervision to our workforce.
AGFS’s current guidance on safe working around COVID- 19 virus