Specialist risk assessment
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Does anyone know places other than LFF that do risk assessment? SW is recommending a specialist assessment as she does not feel qualified to do one. Which is good as she prob hasn't had specialist training in this area. But LFF are giving Sept as the earliest they can do one.
Amazing thankyou I will pass these names over to the SW
Please ask for a detailed specification from the SW. I speak from experience here.
CAFCASS wanted my partner to have an assessment for his family court case for supervised access to his kids. They were not ear at all on what they wanted. The judge made my partner look for minimum three specialists with their CVs. My partner found five (including some mentioned above). The judge chose out of the list, my partner paid about 2.5k for his assessment. But CAFCASS have turned around and said they are not happy with the report because they feel like the specialist doesn't have enough experience....we were fuming. Turns out the judge didn't consult CAFCASS with their decision.
I expected Steve Lowe to be chosen, he had the most direct experience. Not sure what made the judge chose the specialist. The one my partner used seemed to know what he was doing, and stated they used methodology from reputable sources.
We are not sure on what the outcome of CAFCASS's comments on the report will have on the family court case. In my opinion it is their fault they were not clear what they wanted. They essentially wanted to assess the risk he has to his own kids- but he is an online offender only.
Sorry I have gone off on one there lol. Essentially, make sure you have a clear critiera to save you the stress we are experiencing
CAFCASS wanted my partner to have an assessment for his family court case for supervised access to his kids. They were not ear at all on what they wanted. The judge made my partner look for minimum three specialists with their CVs. My partner found five (including some mentioned above). The judge chose out of the list, my partner paid about 2.5k for his assessment. But CAFCASS have turned around and said they are not happy with the report because they feel like the specialist doesn't have enough experience....we were fuming. Turns out the judge didn't consult CAFCASS with their decision.
I expected Steve Lowe to be chosen, he had the most direct experience. Not sure what made the judge chose the specialist. The one my partner used seemed to know what he was doing, and stated they used methodology from reputable sources.
We are not sure on what the outcome of CAFCASS's comments on the report will have on the family court case. In my opinion it is their fault they were not clear what they wanted. They essentially wanted to assess the risk he has to his own kids- but he is an online offender only.
Sorry I have gone off on one there lol. Essentially, make sure you have a clear critiera to save you the stress we are experiencing
Can I ask if we're better waiting for ss to request this or could my partner request one and is the £2,500 an average cost? Ideally I'd like it to be done for my peace of mind and I feel it would benefit my partner as he is struggling with the p word label he has been given. Any advice would be welcomed xx
Hi Lee,
I haven't been back to ss yet, case closed but I just wanted as much in our favour when I go back to them as possible. Ideally I'd like the risk to our child and any children to be assessed, mostly for my peace of mind and so I have something other than my word for any family members who may have concerns xx
I haven't been back to ss yet, case closed but I just wanted as much in our favour when I go back to them as possible. Ideally I'd like the risk to our child and any children to be assessed, mostly for my peace of mind and so I have something other than my word for any family members who may have concerns xx
Costs ranged from 1.5 to 2.5k. my partner's assessment was on the risk he presents to his children mostly, in a contact centre setting and a family supervision setting.
You could ask for your own assessment but we avoided this because we suspected we would need one later on for the family court. Despite the fact my partner has various evaluations done by probation these were not good enough for CAFCASS. We tried to avoid doing multiple assessments. How many ways are there to assess the risk?!
Also it is cheeky for SS or anyone else to request an assessment if they won't be paying towards it. I would have also thought SS do their own we have no direct contact with SS as my partner doesn't see his kids- hence the family court. SS will only get involved if the judge grants access.
You could ask for your own assessment but we avoided this because we suspected we would need one later on for the family court. Despite the fact my partner has various evaluations done by probation these were not good enough for CAFCASS. We tried to avoid doing multiple assessments. How many ways are there to assess the risk?!
Also it is cheeky for SS or anyone else to request an assessment if they won't be paying towards it. I would have also thought SS do their own we have no direct contact with SS as my partner doesn't see his kids- hence the family court. SS will only get involved if the judge grants access.
Hi dear
I am usually a quiet reader on this group. I was an active poster at one point when i was fighting with ss to bring my husband back home and receive alot of support for this group.
During our process our SW said the same thing that she is not specialist and wanted a specialist assessment but than her manager wasn't on board with it because they didn't want to pay for it. For them it was easy to spilt a family rather than paying for assessment so we ended up going to family court.
Our assessment was done by Dr. Craig. Assessment was done on both me and my husband. For me to see my protective capabilities. I would suggest to let SS choose who they want to do assessment with. You can suggest them names to show you are being proactive and on board with it but if you choose one yourself and pay for it they can discard it as they love to do things in there own way.
Good luck for everything
I am usually a quiet reader on this group. I was an active poster at one point when i was fighting with ss to bring my husband back home and receive alot of support for this group.
During our process our SW said the same thing that she is not specialist and wanted a specialist assessment but than her manager wasn't on board with it because they didn't want to pay for it. For them it was easy to spilt a family rather than paying for assessment so we ended up going to family court.
Our assessment was done by Dr. Craig. Assessment was done on both me and my husband. For me to see my protective capabilities. I would suggest to let SS choose who they want to do assessment with. You can suggest them names to show you are being proactive and on board with it but if you choose one yourself and pay for it they can discard it as they love to do things in there own way.
Good luck for everything
Hoping the best, can I be cheeky and ask how the family court went? We in theory should get a conclusion in July tho see your situation was different to ours, as the mother is not at all keen for any contact with the children.
My partner is representing himself with no legal support...can't afford it.
My partner is representing himself with no legal support...can't afford it.
Hi majestictopaz
Thatsabsolutely fine. I am happy to answer any questions.
Family Court went really well and we won the case. It has been almost 2 yrs since my husband is back home.
It was a long and stressful process mainly due to SS being stubborn. They were not in favour for my husband to move back to family home even after positive assessment and us doing the work recommend in the assessment.
Judge was really good. She was in favour of keeping family together and told Ss off on various occasions.
The main thing is to keep cafcass happy and do whatever they ask you to do as Judge always listen to them.
It must be hard for your partner representing himself as our lawyers were the one who did most of the fight. We got legal aid so didn't had to pay for them.
I believe once your partner do the assessment and it is positive, things will get better than as court prefers kids to have contact with parents If it is safe to do so. Your partner's ex have to provide a strong argument of why she doesn't want kids to have contact with their dad.
Thatsabsolutely fine. I am happy to answer any questions.
Family Court went really well and we won the case. It has been almost 2 yrs since my husband is back home.
It was a long and stressful process mainly due to SS being stubborn. They were not in favour for my husband to move back to family home even after positive assessment and us doing the work recommend in the assessment.
Judge was really good. She was in favour of keeping family together and told Ss off on various occasions.
The main thing is to keep cafcass happy and do whatever they ask you to do as Judge always listen to them.
It must be hard for your partner representing himself as our lawyers were the one who did most of the fight. We got legal aid so didn't had to pay for them.
I believe once your partner do the assessment and it is positive, things will get better than as court prefers kids to have contact with parents If it is safe to do so. Your partner's ex have to provide a strong argument of why she doesn't want kids to have contact with their dad.
Thanks for sharing, and gives me some hope. Despite the assessment being relatively positive (as in the specialist is happy to recommend supervision with his kids as he doesn't display an interest in them). CAFCASS aren't too please with the specialist but we should get their final report next week.
If it doesn't go well my partner does have money set aside for legal support, but he was hoping to use that to reduce his SHPO or at least remove the no contact with 16 year olds without parents and SS agreement.
I do believe kids deserve to have contact with their parents if there is no direct threat to then. My partner will bend over backwards to be there for them. Covid hasn't helped at all, he submitted just before the first lockdown and we in theory should hear an outcome soon, but delays have happened a few times. I think the judge is somewhat supportive, but because it has been years since the kids have had any contact the authorities have to consider the impact the reconnection will have on the kids in the short and long term.
As part of his suspended sentence he did Training on reconnection with kids and we will defo listen to advice from authorities on how to work around a relationship. Crossing fingers for my partner. I dread what he will be like if this ends up with him losing contact with his kids forever as worst scenario. If I had more money I would pay for his legal bills. It is very hard to see if my partner has any chance. I like to think because he is an online offender only and going for supervision the risks are well mitigated
If it doesn't go well my partner does have money set aside for legal support, but he was hoping to use that to reduce his SHPO or at least remove the no contact with 16 year olds without parents and SS agreement.
I do believe kids deserve to have contact with their parents if there is no direct threat to then. My partner will bend over backwards to be there for them. Covid hasn't helped at all, he submitted just before the first lockdown and we in theory should hear an outcome soon, but delays have happened a few times. I think the judge is somewhat supportive, but because it has been years since the kids have had any contact the authorities have to consider the impact the reconnection will have on the kids in the short and long term.
As part of his suspended sentence he did Training on reconnection with kids and we will defo listen to advice from authorities on how to work around a relationship. Crossing fingers for my partner. I dread what he will be like if this ends up with him losing contact with his kids forever as worst scenario. If I had more money I would pay for his legal bills. It is very hard to see if my partner has any chance. I like to think because he is an online offender only and going for supervision the risks are well mitigated
I have an update- unfortunately a very frustrating one.
Apparently CAFCASS are still not satisfied and want my partner to pay for another (!!!!) Assessment to asses the risk and benefits of his kids reconnecting with him! They have been totally useless. They gave vague criteria in the first place.its like a damn delay tactic.
This family court case is going on as long as his investigation! We are now not sure how to feel about the upcoming 'final' court hearing. We are not made of money and this is about the risk my partner poses to his kids, surely it is the social services and CAFCASS that are qualified to assess if it is too detrimental to the well-being of the kids. I dont understand the purpose of CAFCASS if they can't make a decision themselves.
Apparently CAFCASS are still not satisfied and want my partner to pay for another (!!!!) Assessment to asses the risk and benefits of his kids reconnecting with him! They have been totally useless. They gave vague criteria in the first place.its like a damn delay tactic.
This family court case is going on as long as his investigation! We are now not sure how to feel about the upcoming 'final' court hearing. We are not made of money and this is about the risk my partner poses to his kids, surely it is the social services and CAFCASS that are qualified to assess if it is too detrimental to the well-being of the kids. I dont understand the purpose of CAFCASS if they can't make a decision themselves.
Hi majestictopaz
I am so sorry to hear that. This is so frustrating. Unfortunately SS and CAFCASS are not specialist in sex offense therefore they always wants a specialist assessment.
Isn't your partner get his specialist assessment done during the court process. Did CAFCASS choose the specialist? In our case SS and cafcass altogether choose the specialist and also set up bunch of questions for specialist they wanted us to access for. So there was no way they could change their mind. Although SS tried to discard the assessment but they couldn't as we were in court arena.
I would recommend for your partner to atleast get a one off advice from a family lawyer. Our lawyers were really good and very good in challenging things.
In case your partner is thinking to do another assessment. I would say to let CAFCASS decide who he should do assessment with and advice specialist what question to ask.
I hope judge understand the situation and go in your favour in final hearing. These assessments are not cheap.
I am so sorry to hear that. This is so frustrating. Unfortunately SS and CAFCASS are not specialist in sex offense therefore they always wants a specialist assessment.
Isn't your partner get his specialist assessment done during the court process. Did CAFCASS choose the specialist? In our case SS and cafcass altogether choose the specialist and also set up bunch of questions for specialist they wanted us to access for. So there was no way they could change their mind. Although SS tried to discard the assessment but they couldn't as we were in court arena.
I would recommend for your partner to atleast get a one off advice from a family lawyer. Our lawyers were really good and very good in challenging things.
In case your partner is thinking to do another assessment. I would say to let CAFCASS decide who he should do assessment with and advice specialist what question to ask.
I hope judge understand the situation and go in your favour in final hearing. These assessments are not cheap.
Hi Majestic,
I'm sorry to read that CAFCASS are moving the goal posts with regards to your partners contact - what a joke! Although, I am not surprised that they gave vague criteria. It does sound like they are pushing him into financial hardship, in the hope that he'll drop contact.
I don't have any advice, but I do hope there is a formal procedure for complaints. It's not acceptable for them to expect your partner to pay for another assessment, and you also raise a very good point that they are the "child experts." It just sounds like they are trying to shift the ownership of the decision should it go wrong. I certainly think a judge would agree with you.
As for the "detrimental impact" to his children, I'm sure there are lots of research papers/case studies that could be applied to your partners case, "the importance of fathers in the healthy development of children" being one of them - maybe this will help? X
I'm sorry to read that CAFCASS are moving the goal posts with regards to your partners contact - what a joke! Although, I am not surprised that they gave vague criteria. It does sound like they are pushing him into financial hardship, in the hope that he'll drop contact.
I don't have any advice, but I do hope there is a formal procedure for complaints. It's not acceptable for them to expect your partner to pay for another assessment, and you also raise a very good point that they are the "child experts." It just sounds like they are trying to shift the ownership of the decision should it go wrong. I certainly think a judge would agree with you.
As for the "detrimental impact" to his children, I'm sure there are lots of research papers/case studies that could be applied to your partners case, "the importance of fathers in the healthy development of children" being one of them - maybe this will help? X