Early Help Assessment (EHA) information for professionals

Find more important information professionals may need to know before making an EHA referral.

Safeguarding

If there are safeguarding concerns about a family while they are receiving Family Support services, the concerns should be discussed with the Practice Manager or Lead. The team will involve the social care team as needed.

There may be a transfer meeting to decide if the social care team should take over the case. The aim of the transfer meeting is to agree what action needs to take place to make sure the child/young person is safe. Concerns should be discussed with the family beforehand unless that would put them at risk.

At the transfer meeting, they will decide if the case meets the threshold for a social work assessment. If not, social care will advise the Family Support team on further helping the family.

The best practice would be that the Family Support Practitioner (FSP) or Young People's Worker (YPW) would discuss any safeguarding concerns with other professionals involved prior to transfer meeting, to make sure that we have all information needed for the discussion.

If you have any immediate safeguarding concerns, you must contact Customer First.

MASH may recommend an Early Help Assessment

After a Multi-Agency Referral Form (MARF) is completed, the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) may recommend an Early Help Assessment.

It is important to follow all the steps for an assessment. Such as, involving the family, asking if they want a family assessment, and completing all the information in a family assessment.

If the family declines an early help assessment after it is recommended by the MASH, let the MASH know so they can review the situation.

What to do if families aren't engaged

Sometimes families are reluctant to engage in an early help assessment even when professionals think it would be beneficial. The family must agree to move forward.

Tips to get families to engage:

  • Direct them to information explaining the assessment process and benefits. Use this to answer any questions.
  • Contact your local Family Support team for advice on services that could be offered. Share this with the family.

If a family still doesn't engage:

  • The support team will follow the engagement policy by calling at least 3 times a day, sending letters, contacting the referrer, and visiting their home.

Then if they still don't engage, the team will:

  • Close the assessment if no risks are identified.
  • Discuss with social care to decide next steps if risks are present.

More guidance

You can find more guidance on EHAs and how to complete an EHA using the SOS+ approach below.

Early Help Assessment guide