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Before this decision is made the social worker has to do a lot of checking to make sure that it’s ok for you to live at home. This is called an ‘assessment’. The sorts of things they would check would be:
- How well your parents could care for you;
- Whether your parents will be able to look after your physical needs, like making sure you have enough food and clothes and that you have good medical and dental care when you need it;
- How well they could keep you safe from people that may want to harm you;
- That your parents will be able to help you to feel good about yourself by showing you love and care.
- That they can meet any needs you have to do with any religious beliefs, your racial, cultural and language background, and any disability you may have;
- That they could help and support you to learn and do well in school;
- That your parents could help teach you how to get on well with your family and with other people;
- Whether the house is ok for you to live in;
- Whether everyone else living in the house who is over 18 years old is safe for you to be living with;
- How healthy your parents are now and how healthy they have been in the past;
- Who your parents’ family members are and how they get on together. This includes everyone that lives in the house where you would be living;
- Any other relationships your parents may have, especially those people that are likely to see you a lot;
- If there is, or has been, any violence between people who live in the house, including your parents;
- Your parents’ family history. This means looking at things like what their life was like for them when they were children, and how their parents or carers brought them up;
- How your parents got on with their education. How well they did or if they had any difficulties or disabilities;
- Details of any other relatives, like grandparents for example, and what their relationship is with you and your parents;
- Whether your parents have ever had any convictions for a criminal offence or if they’ve been cautioned by the police;
- Whether your parents go out to work and what money they have coming in to the home to pay for things you need;
- What it’s like in the area where your parents live. What sorts of things would be available for you to join in that may help both you and your parents, like for example after-school clubs, shops, leisure centres and youth clubs.
In some unusual cases the social worker may decide you can live at home with your parents before checking all these things out. They must only agree for you to live with them before the assessment is completed if they think this is best for you. Even if this happens, your social worker will still have to ask your parents for as much of this information as possible, especially the things that might affect your safety.
The social worker then has to check all the rest of the things within 10 days of you living back at home, and make a decision at your case review meeting (what's this?) whether you can continue to live there.
You won’t be able to live with your parents if the court has made a rule saying you could not have contact with them or if they said it would not be safe for you to live there. This is to keep you safe from harm.
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