The Trust works holistically, and provides the following services:
Multi-Disciplinary Community Based Family Assessments
. The Trust has a wide range of experts (psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, social workers and support staff) that can provide comprehensive expert reports for local authorities to assist with future care planning or within Court timetables in Family Law proceedings. The Trust’s service specification aims to report on referrals within 12 weeks. The service works in accordance with the expert witness guidance provided in the Protocol for Judicial Case Management in Public Law Cases [Lord Chancellor’s Dept 2003].
Viability Assessments. Viability Assessments can be used to support a timely determination of the most appropriate way forward in complex Child Care Proceedings, especially when the parties disagree as to how the case should proceed.
Day Service Programme. Individual care packages can be formulated to support children and young people who are experiencing difficulties within their home environment, in school or with their peers. The Trust provides a wide range of professionals to support families in the community with structured, time-limited programmes, individually designed to address areas of both risk and need. Comprehensive reports are provided to the commissioning agency upon completion of the assessment.
Contact Dispute Assessment. This service has been developed to enable non-resident parents either to re-establish or maintain contact with their children during the assessment process.
The assessment will focus on the quality of relationships and reasons why contact between the parties and the children is problematic. This is a unique service offered to separated families, that affords all parties the opportunity of meeting together in a safe, neutral and supportive environment, combined with the additional benefit of an independent Contact Supervisor present throughout all the sessions.
Supervised and Supported Child Contact.
The Trust is accredited by the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC) CLICK HERE TO CONTACT US.
Training. The Trust offers professional development short courses, NVQs in social care and a foundation degree in foster care in partnership with Christchurch University.
Contact Room Hire. The Trust has two large contact rooms that can be hired for independent contact and assessment work. Additionally, the two rooms have a two-way screen, equipped with audio and visual recording equipment that can be used for observation, assessment and therapeutic work with families.
Client Transport. Service Users can also be supported when attending appointments with the Trust, as we have a new and comfortable company vehicle, which is a large eight seater MPV. This will ensure all clients, including those with disabilities, can be transported safely and with dignity, whilst maintaining confidentiality, as the vehicle does not have signage and is fitted with privacy glass to the rear windows. Please contact the Trust if you wish to commission the use of this service, as we also offer escorts for vulnerable children and their families, if required.
Collaborative Arrangements. The Trust has a contractual arrangement with Next Step Fostering, to ensure that, together the two organisations offer services that provide for both the needs of families and commissioning agents. The collaborative arrangements between the two organisations offer timely and joined-up services across the spectrum of statutory childcare. Next Step Fostering has a number of specialist foster carers that have extensive experience in working with parent and baby placements and young people being discharged from Secure Placements, (Section 25, Children Act 1989) or young people remanded into the care of the Local Authority.
