The use of whole family assessment to identify the needs of families ...

Department for EducationThe Use of Whole Family Assessment to Identify the Needs of Families with MultipleProblems3.33 The Information Desk provides an accurate and up to date summary (theFamily Intelligence Report) of all relevant family information, highlightingpresenting issues or risks and flagging any intelligence gaps. It providesaccurate information on:who the family are, where they live, the family composition, a detailedbreakdown of all immediate and significant family members/friends,and specifically highlighting any risks to workers;what are the presenting issues/risks;what are the information gaps, what do we not know about this familythat is either a presenting issue, a risk or a potential barrier to change;who is already working with the family;what interventions have the family received in the past, what hasworked and, more importantly, what has not (to avoid duplication ofresources).3.34 The Information Desk Family Intelligence Report is initially used to informthe TAF meeting and Care Plan (a multi-agency action plan for the familyagreed with the consent of the family). The report comprises a writtensummary and also a Family Network Chart and, where required, a FamilyTimeline (see Figure 3.9 for an example) using the ‘I2 (Analysts Notebook)’software to provide a visual chronology of the family story.3.35 Following the initial TAF meeting the Information Desk provides a proactive,real time, intelligence function to the team, ensuring that the TAF are awareof any developments in relation to family members and specifically any risksto workers.22