As a social care provider we assure you that 24 hour in the home assessment for Reverse Community Assessments means full time joint living where the social worker joins the family over an 8-12 week period to conduct the assessment.
This approach mirrors a Residential Assessment in that observation by fully trained social worker team is constant throughout the process. One of the notable differences however is that the assignment for the social worker requires residence with the family.
As part of the assignment we take note of the Hawthorne Effect (more commonly known as the “observer effect”) in that the family are fully aware of the agency is there to observe parenting skills in the home environment and this has been proven and is shown to provide an overall positive impact on the home. During the period of the assignment we note that the observer effect wears off and there is a very natural integration to the family setting where the care worker assists throughout with time-off for medical appointments and other errands that are necessary during the proceedings.
The social worker is fully monitored and supported during the assignment with reporting and communications strategies to ensure all safeguards are in place to support the programme of assessment. The assignments are found to be rewarding and this close integration of social care and lived experience provides much deeper insights for reporting to the court and providing recommendations, which otherwise may not have been acknowledged.
In terms of care, the parents benefit hugely in terms of additional micro rest-bite allowing for the family to live without what can be considered huge anxiety during separated living in a typical residential assessment. This level of social care is of the highest form of care and is only delivered by social workers who have received ongoing professional development from ourselves.
The whole service is backed by contingency care and should the person assigned to the case work need to come away for a bereavement or personal matter we have all the processes in place to ensure continuity without disruption or concern to the family.
