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1. The Solihull Model for Multi Agency Support of Children, Young People and Their Families, known as LINCS (Local Integrated Needs-led Coordinated Support), incorporates the  Common Assessment Framework Procedures and provides an important tool to support early intervention and multi-agency working.
2. The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is designed so that a complete picture of a child’s needs (including any unmet needs) can be obtained at an early stage, and enables information to be gathered in a structured way. A CAF can only be undertaken with the consent of children, young people and their families. The aim is that children and families can be helped to access the right services earlier and so, wherever possible, prevent the escalation of difficulties. It also means that where a child is referred to a specialist service, the CAF can be built on rather than there having to be a new assessment; and the child does not have to go through the time-consuming and potentially distressing process of telling their story over and over again.
3. The most important way of ensuring that these children can be identified earlier and helped before things reach crisis point is for everyone whose job involves working with children and families to keep an eye out for their well-being, and be prepared to help if something is going wrong.
4. The LINCS (Local Integrated Needs-led Coordinated Support) and CAF Procedures have been developed to help do this; further information can be found on the Solihull Children and Young People's Workforce website
5. The Model includes an agreed framework of need and risk (illustrated in the ‘Positive Outcomes Model’, also known as the Windscreen). The nature of the Model suggests that some children’s level of need may change whilst other may remain complex (at Level 3), due to multiple, long-term needs.
6. It creates a structure for agencies to work together, reducing the negative impact of agencies working in isolation, through a Keyworker and Lead Professional system where families are involved in identifying their own strengths, networks of support and additional services that they might need.
7. It covers all needs, not just the needs that individual services are most interested in. Even if a practitioner is not trained to do a common assessment him or herself, knowing about the Solihull Model and CAF will help them recognise when it might help so that they can arrange for someone else to do the assessment.
8. N.B. The CAF is not for when there is concern that a child may have suffered or may be at risk of suffering Significant Harm. In these circumstances a Referral to Children’s Social Work Services must be made under the Referrals Procedure and the procedures set out in Part 3 of this Manual must be followed.
9. See also “The Common Assessment Framework for children and young people: Practitioners’ Guide”, 2006, which can be found at the Every Child Matters Website.

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