Age Assessment Trained Staff Procedure

  1. The expectation is that the lead assessor will be identified within the team where the young person’s case is currently held. This will usually be within DAT, CIC or O&U. The lead assessor must be a qualified social worker.
  1. The team manager with case responsibility will identify a second assessor from the Trained Staff list. This second assessor can be from any service area. The second assessor should also be a qualified social worker other than in exceptional straightforward cases where the outcome is unlikely to lead to any threat of Judicial Review.
  1. The Trained Staff List will be held by Diana Huzar/Joyce Carter – they will maintain a spread sheet which identifies when each person completes an Age Assessment so that requests can be equally shared amongst all service areas.
  1. The team manager with case responsibility should check this spread sheet to identify a second assessor and ensure that requests are being shared amongst all workers on the Trained Staff List.
  1. The team manager for the requested second assessor will make every effort to release the worker at short notice to complete the assessment – exceptions being court dates or CP/CIC conferences or reviews.
  1. One assessor must have had previous experience of completing an age assessment, and one can be a newly trained worker. The two assessors will agree which roles they will take in the age assessment and who will write up the outcome. The expectation would be that the lad assessor would write up the age assessment, although this can be negotiated if there are significant work pressures in a particular team.
  1. Consideration can be given to matching the skills of assessors with the young people requiring assessment eg for older young people a colleague from O&U
  1. The team manager with case responsibility will authorise the age assessment.
  1. If anyone on the Trained Staff List is consistently unavailable or refuses to participate then this must be raised with their Head of Service.

Carolyn Greenaway 09.10.15 version 2