What is an initial viability assessment?
If there are safeguarding concerns about a child, Children’s Services (sometimes referred to as social services or the local authority) start to think about whether there are any other alternative carers within the family network that could care for that child, if they can’t safely remain with their parents.
This is something that Children’s Services must consider if they are in pre-proceedings or care proceedings.
Pre-proceedings is that final stage before the Children’s Services go to court, and it is an opportunity for parents to address any concerns. Care Proceedings is when Children’s Services make an application to court because they believe that a child is suffering, or at risk of suffering, significant harm. If there is an application to court, Children’s Services are usually asking the court to remove the child from the care of their parents, either to another family member or to foster care.
Children’s Services have to start identifying and assessing alternative carers as early as possible. This is usually in the pre-proceedings process. However, if Children’s Services skip the pre-proceedings process due to urgency, it must be as soon as possible in care proceedings.
Parents will be asked to identify people within their support network who they would like to care for their children if they can’t remain at home. This might be family members or friends. The proposed alternative carers should then be contacted, and Children’s Services should undertake an initial viability assessment (an IVA).
An IVA is the first part of the assessment process, and it is to consider whether the person put forward is a realistic option to care for the child. This assessment will either be positive and Children’s Services will progress to a full connected persons assessment, or it will be negative. If the assessment is negative, Children’s Services are in effect saying that the proposed alternative carer cannot meet the child’s needs and that they should not progress to a full assessment.
Why is an initial viability assessment important?
At the beginning of care proceedings, Children’s Services may be saying that a child should no longer be in their parents’ care for the duration of the proceedings. Children’s Services should consider alternative carers first before they look at foster care. Children’s Services will not recommend that a child is be placed with an alternative carer that has a negative IVA. Similarly, a court is very unlikely to agree to place a child with an alternative carer who has a negative IVA.
At the end of care proceedings, it may be that child is not able return to the care of their parents. If this is the case, Children’s Services must look at all other realistic options. If there are no other realistic options, they may be saying to a court that a child should be placed for adoption or be placed in long term foster care. For a court to be able to place a child with an alternative carer instead of placing them for adoption or in long term foster care, they must have a full assessment for them.
If a carer has a negative IVA and does not challenge it by asking for a full assessment, they will never be considered a realistic option to care for the child.
What can you do?
If you have had an IVA and it has concluded negatively, you have the right to challenge that decision.
Children’s Services should write to you with your assessment to inform you of your right to challenge the conclusion, and to tell you when the next court hearing is. They normally give you seven days to set out the parts of the assessment that you do not agree with and to confirm that you are challenging the outcome.
It is very important that you take action quickly and we would always encourage you to take advice from a specialist lawyer. The first step is to contact Children’s Services in writing to confirm you are challenging the outcome of your assessment, to set out the reasons why and to ask them to review their decision about doing a full connected. You may also choose to make a formal complaint using the internal complaints procedure with the Children’s Services that have assessed you. However, relying on the complaints procedure alone is likely to cause too much delay.
If Children’s Services do not agree to review the outcome of your IVA and give you a full assessment, or if they are taking too long to deal with your request, you need to make an application to court for a full connected persons assessment by an independent social worker. Once the court have your application, they may list a quicker hearing. The court will then decide whether you should be allowed to have a full assessment.
If you have had a negative IVA and care proceedings haven’t started for the child you wish to care for, you should wait until they have and make your application ready for the first hearing. The reason that you need to act quickly is because the law says that care proceedings should only take 26 weeks and full connected persons assessments can take several months to complete. If alternative carers are identified late in proceedings, or if a negative IVA is challenged too late in proceedings, a court may not allow you to have any further assessment.
The children team at Boardman, Hawkins & Osborne LLP have vast amounts of experience and they understand that is it a very difficult time when a child in your family network is subject to care proceedings. They are on hand to advise if you have received a negative IVA and assist you with further steps.
If you want to explore this further, please contact us and make an appointment to see one of our specialist children lawyers. You will be able to discuss your eligibility for legal aid with the team. More information about the availability of legal aid is available here.
Beth Hancock, Solicitor