A recent good practice publication by the Family Rights Group has sparked discussion around Local Authority Viability Assessments and how carers can challenge them.

The ‘Initial Family and Friends Care Assessment: A good practice guide’ is a useful resource for carers and professionals and contains helpful guidance as to what an assessment should contain. It is suggested that the assessment should be conducted in the “spirit of enquiry and partnership”, i.e. the assessment needs to be carried out in a timely manner and with openness rather than a preconceived judgment about the family. The assessor must be sensitive to the situation which is more often than not going to be difficult for the carers. The assessor should remain focused on the child and importantly, explain the assessment and Court process as well as explaining the different Orders available to the Court and the support available to the carer.

If you are concerned that your viability assessment has not been conducted appropriately, Ridley & Hall have a specialist Kinship Care team who often represent grandparents and other family members wanting to care for their relatives because parents are unable to. You may be able to challenge your assessment if the Local Authority has not followed the guidance appropriately.

Helen Moody of Ridley & Hall commented, “Ridley & Hall have acted for numerous kinship carers over recent years who have been subject of a negative viability assessment which has then been successfully challenged in Court. The issue is that carers often don’t know of their right to challenge an assessment. They think that if it is negative, that is it. This is certainly not the case and we are able to offer advice for carers who are unsure what to do. Legal aid may be available.

At Ridley & Hall we take the time to go through negative assessments to make a decision as to whether, on the face of it, the assessment looks challengeable. We have often been successful and had children placed with relatives despite the initial concerns of a Social Work assessment”.

The guidance sets out clearly that if a carer could meet the needs of a child but would require support, the Local Authority should put support services in place to enable a child to be brought up within their extended family. A Local Authority cannot fail a carer because for example,  they need additional training or would not manage on a limited income. They have a duty to support a relative if that means that the child can be brought up with their family.

Kinship carers often do not understand that it is the Court who makes the final decision about placement of a child and in doing so, the Court must have regard to all realistic options for that child. This means that Courts regularly go against the recommendation of the Local Authority and a negative assessment. It is not unusual for them to do so.

Mrs Moody went on, “If you have been assessed negatively, it is vital that you make the Court and parties aware of your intention to challenge it at the earliest opportunity. The Court has limited time to decide upon the outcome of a case and will not extend the timetable unless there are exceptional circumstances. It is simply not worth leaving it until the last minute.

It is important that you seek to become a party to the proceedings if you are not already to enable your voice to be heard in Court. Without this, a child could be placed outside of the family without your input. Once you become a party, the Judge may decide to order the Local Authority to complete another assessment of you or for an Independent Social Worker to be instructed”.

If you are a kinship carer who has been negatively assessed, it is vital that you seek independent legal advice at the earliest opportunity to ensure that you have all the options available. Please call us on 0800 8 60 62 65 or email Helen Moody for further information.

Helen Moody – Solicitor