Residential

We receive referrals from local authorities and children’s hearings looking for an expert independent assessment on the difficult decisions they face when a child may be at risk. We seek to work collaboratively with all parties involved to gain a thorough understanding of the unique difficulties each family is facing and the risk these difficulties may present to the children of the family.

We provide families with an intensive residential assessment that provides an evidence based recommendation as to whether the parents are able to meet their child’s needs and the ongoing support that they may require in order to do so.

Our Residential and Outreach assessment teams have extensive expertise in working with complex life circumstances of adults and children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences.

We accept referrals and are able to begin working with a parent or family from ante-natal stages to the age of 16.

With the right support the LGT also undertakes assessments of parents who are themselves young people. Our assessments usually last around twelve weeks. However, we do not prolong assessments where it is clear that the parent is unable to meet the child’s needs and it is therefore not in the child’s best interests to continue.

Due to the complexity of some families’ needs we are finding that some families require more time, and an extension can be agreed with the family and referrer.

The Lilias Graham Trust offers an Outreach Service, at an additional cost, to help provide continuing support for the family once they relocate back into the community.

Outreach

This service provides individual support to families in their own homes and community settings following their period of residential assessment supporting sustaining change.

We provide practical and emotional assistance to improve family living and make it safer, healthier and happier for parents and their children. The service recognises that for some families they will require the scaffolding of services throughout a child’s life and that is okay.

The focus on outreach services is to build families’ strengths in the community through community partnership working to sustain change and provide opportunities.

Contact consists of home and community visits together with regular telephone contact. Frequency and duration of support is dependent on support needs and is tailored to each family.