Areas of Practice
Age Assessments
The need for age assessments is ever growing and evolving as the numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeking children arriving in the United Kingdom continues to grow and the practice guidance and legislation develops. Sarah has completed and quality assured initial enquiries and age assessments throughout her career and now as an independent Social Worker is able to specialise in this area of practice.
She takes pride in ensuring that the assessments completed are compliant with good practice principles and legislation, is detailed, thorough and robust to ensure that its conclusions are clear, explained and justified for both the young person and the instructing party.
Best Interest Assessments
Following her career as a front-line Social Worker, Sarah is confident given her experience within the asylum framework to complete immigration assessments. This assessments are completed to demonstrate the impact of deportation upon individuals, their children, families and extended families of removal.
These assessments can be completed at short notice given the court timescales and are a holistic assessment of need and vulnerability for all members of the family unit. They are completed in a manner which allows the subject to express their concerns, wishes and feelings whilst also considering the factual evidence available to ensure they provide a robust conclusion for the instructing party.
Reunification Assessments
Within her career, Sarah has seen the positive impact that family reunification can have upon children, young people and families. Sarah can complete assessment to consider the impact any reunification may have for family members with those who are residing abroad.
These assessments are completed to support applications for residence within the United Kingdom. They are holistic to consider both the positive impact any reunification may have for individuals within the United Kingdom as well as those living abroad.
Human Rights Assessments
As part of her role within the Local Authority, Sarah took responsibility for completing Human Rights assessments for adults where they had received a negative asylum claim and had been deemed appeals rights exhausted to assess whether these individuals were entitled to the public services.
As a independent Social Worker, Sarah is able to offer this service for Local Authorities considering all the information available whilst ensuring that the individual subject to the assessment is aware of their full entitlements and implications of their asylum decision.
Direct work with young people
Within her Social Work career, Sarah has extensive experience of working alongside unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
As an independent Social Worker, she is able to offer direct work to support young people, individuals or families within the United Kingdom when Local Authorities require additional assistance.
This can include initial stabilisation work to ensure they feel settled and safe within their community and have appropriate services or an extended involvement to support them throughout the asylum claim including supporting attendance at solicitor and Home Office appointments.