A Child Impact Assessment framework
Support for children with a parent in contact with the justice system
Background
Children with a parent in contact with the justice system rarely receive the support they need; many are judged and stigmatised. PRT published the Child Impact Assessment framework in December 2022 to ensure children who have a parent in the justice system feel listened to, supported, and included in decision-making about that support.
What is a Child Impact Assessment?
Child Impact Assessments are not about assessing children, rather their needs. They are not about the parent who is in contact with the justice system; instead, the focus is on the child and their feelings. Importantly, Child Impact Assessments are not a statutory procedure; they are offered to children with the aim of providing support through a guided conversation. They can be used by a wide range of practitioners (teachers, social workers, specialist services) as well as within families themselves.
The Child Impact Assessment resources are available for children with a mother, father, or brother who is in contact with the justice system. The accompanying notes for practitioners provide an insight into the emotions a child might be experiencing as well as suggestions for actions that might help.
The resources below are free to download and use. Please note that the resources are updated from time to time. To ensure that you always have access to the most recent versions, we suggest that you use a link to this page in any publications and website links, rather than downloaded documents.
Why do we need Child Impact Assessments?
There is compelling evidence from children that Child Impact Assessments will lead to a better understanding of their needs and increased support.
“If I’d had set questions like these to ask me how I was feeling and how I was doing, it would’ve been a lot better for me… It would’ve really helped me.”
Ellie (not her real name), aged 14 when her father went to prison
Who should support children with a Child Impact Assessment?
Child Impact Assessments can be used by a wide range of staff and practitioners, from statutory and voluntary services, as a way of understanding children’s needs. Keeping children safe, listening without judgement, and sharing information sensitively are vital. Training is key.
The work on Child Impact Assessments is laid out within PRT’s “This is me” toolkit, initially developed to support children with a mother in the justice system, all the information within the toolkit applies to children whose fathers are in the justice system, and the resources have been adapted accordingly. The toolkit contains an array of case studies and resources.
The following documents may be particularly helpful:
Guiding principles
This document provides a summary of guiding principles for support for children with a parent in the criminal justice system, which place their best interests at heart.
Frequently Asked Questions
This document provides a list of questions that organisations and individuals may have about using the Child Impact Assessment framework.
Further training and useful resources
This document provides a list of further training and resources available to support children and train staff.
Contact
For further information about Child Impact Assessments, or to arrange a bespoke training session, please contact Sarah Beresford.
Pictures with kind permission from Time-Matters UK
