Although responsibility for an individual’s abusive behaviour should always remain with that person it has long been accepted that positive, protective parenting plays a crucial role in keeping children safe from victimisation. Yet, the determination of a non-offending parent’s capacity to protect a child from a risk or concern relating to sexual and/or domestic abuse in particular has been incredibly challenging for practitioners to conclude upon with any objective defensibility.

The origins of the Capacity & Ability to Supervise and Protect – Risk (CASP-R) framework was triggered by the absence of pragmatic ‘capacity to protect’ assessment tools which considered those issues uniquely relevant to the dynamics of intimate personal violence and/or child sexual abuse when considering how or if children could be safely supported at home.

The CASP-R was developed as a structured approach to assist practitioners in their assessment of a proposed carer’s;
• capacity and ability to supervise a person of concern’s (POC) interaction with a child at risk;
• resilience to manipulation of potential vulnerabilities and;
• ability to meet the child’s needs for safety, security and appropriate development.

This workshop will introduce participants to the CASP-R framework. Participants will have each of the assessed items explained to them against the theoretical and research-based rationale. Using videoed footage of a mock CASP-R assessment attendants will be provided with an opportunity to view the techniques of completing such an interview. Participants will then be encouraged to analyse the evidence from the video and rate the relevant items within the CASP framework. The workshop will culminate with a formulated understanding of the proposed carer’s needs and a recommended plan of intervention to address those areas of need.