What is the CAF?

The CAF is a way of working out what extra support a child may need and how best to provide this support. With the family's agreement, a professional will have a conversation with the family to discuss needs and strengths. The CAF form will record what is going well for the family, what extra support may be needed and which professionals are best placed to work together with the family to find the best way forward. The CAF therefore supports good communication between agencies, enabling them to work together more effectively to meet the needs of children, young people and families.

When is a CAF used?

The CAF is designed to be used when:

• a professional is worried about how well a child or young person is progressing (e.g. concerns about their health, development, welfare, behaviour, progress in learning or any other aspect of their wellbeing)
• a child or young person, or their parent/carer, raises a concern with a professional
• a child's or young person's needs are unclear, or are broader than what an individual service can address.

The CAF is an entirely voluntary process and a professional must obtain informed consent from the child/young person and/or their parent/carer before being able to undertake a Common Assessment.

Which children and young people will benefit from the Common Assessment?

Children, young people and families experience a range of needs at different times in their lives. However, while all children and young people require access to high-quality universal services, some also have additional needs which may relate to their development, education, health, social welfare or other areas. The CAF is offered to children, young people and families who have additional needs to help make decisions about how best to meet those needs, in terms of both what the family can do and also what services could be provided.

How will the CAF help?

CAF has been tailored in North Yorkshire to provide the best help possible in supporting children, young people and families. It can help identify the right professionals to be involved with the child/young person and lead to quicker solutions.

The Common Assessment gathers together a range of information, including the views of the child/young person and their parents and this helps identify which services can best help support the child/young person. All this can happen more quickly because the information is held in one place and the young person and their family won't have to give the same information again and again to different agencies.

An action plan, agreed with the family is put into place to make sure the child/young person gets the right support. The whole process means that children, young people and families should only have to tell their story once and will have one main point of contact, the Lead Professional, and a dedicated team of other professionals working together to find solutions.

Practitioners must go on CAF training before they can be involved in a common assessment.  For practitioners who want to know more about the common assessment process or seek training, please visit our Information for Practitioners page.