Content

Case summary
Inspector’s comments
Take-away learning

Back to engagement in case supervision Next chapter: planning for engagement

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Assessment should focus sufficiently on engaging the service user. Practitioners should:

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Case summary

Kate is a 19-year-old female sentenced to a 12-month community order with 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days for a public order offence. She is both a victim and perpetrator of domestic abuse and has a history of violent and anti-social offending behaviour. She presents a potential risk to staff, having assaulted police officers and support workers in the past.

The initial stages of engagement with Kate, and with a number of partnership agencies supporting her, contributed to a clear analysis of her childhood experiences and how they have impacted on her current vulnerabilities and offending behaviours. The assessment explored her feelings of low self-worth, identifying links to previous suicidal ideations, self-harm and being a victim of grooming. Kate disclosed using cannabis to manage her emotions, and agencies were identified to support her to address her substance misuse and mental health needs.

The initial assessment provided a very clear analysis of the offence, previous offending behaviour, Kate’s attitude towards it and her motivation and readiness to change. It also identified her new partner as a supportive factor, and he is described as a positive influence; he is in full-time employment and has never used substances.

During the initial interview for the assessment, the responsible officer took time to explore the support available to Kate. Her compliance with probation supervision in the past had been poor. The responsible officer explored the reasons for this with Kate, and also liaised with other agencies to gather relevant information. Kate continued to receive some support from children’s social care, having left the care system, and they were seen as a key stabilising factor and likely to support her compliance with the new order.

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Inspector’s comments

The inspector particularly liked the level of engagement with the service user in this case, which was evidenced from the start of the order. The responsible officer actively involved Kate in the assessment process and communicated with other agencies effectively to confirm ongoing support and access to resources and services to promote compliance. For example, as a former looked after child, Kate was entitled to funding from children’s social care and this was discussed and explored further by the responsible officer.

The assessment was thorough and detailed. It included information from the youth offending service and children’s services, and also incorporated Kate’s perspective. It was clear that Kate had a high level of complex needs, which were recognised and responded to and supported by various agencies to ensure that she engaged positively with the new order. It was very clear in the assessment that the responsible officer had demonstrated the ability to understand the impact that Kate’s experiences had on her offending and risk of harm and how they might influence her engagement and motivation to change.

As a result of this strong assessment, Kate had wrap-around support, leading to her securing independent accommodation and seeking suitable employment. Overall, the level of engagement with Kate was impeccable. The responsible officer had recognised her experience of trauma as a child, experience of being in care, suicide attempts and high vulnerability. All of this informed their interaction with Kate and ultimately resulted in a series of positive outcomes.

During the interview for the inspection, the responsible officer explained that they had completed a lot of the OASys assessment collaboratively with Kate and let her read it when it was complete. The responsible officer used this as a tactic to build Kate’s trust and confidence in the supervision process. This is excellent practice.

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Take-aways – applying the learning

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This case summary is intended for training/learning purposes and includes a fictional name.