AIM2 Initial Assessment of Need and Risk

The AIM2 Initial Assessment of Need and Risk is a research/evidence based method of assessment that was developed to assist early stage assessments of young people, of mainstream educational ability, aged between 12 – 18 years, who are known to have exhibited harmful sexual behaviour on one or more occasions.

Harmful sexual behaviour includes sexual activity that does not involve mutual consent by the individuals involved or where their relationship includes an imbalance of power, i.e. age, intellectual ability, race or physical strength and where behaviour has the potential to cause physical and/or emotional harm. (G-Map, 2012).

The model is based on 4 domains: harmful behaviours, development; family and environment, thus the model links with the Core Assessment (Children and Families Safeguarding) and ASSET tool used within the Youth Justice forum. AIM2 also uses ‘Level of Supervision Required’ to differentiate those whose scores indicate most likely to commit further abuse from those who are less likely.

More details are available upon request.


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Comprehensive AIM Assessment

It is only through an extensive knowledge of a young person that we can begin to understand not only the reasons for their problem behaviours and consequently what needs to change, but also what might motivate change.

The G-Map comprehensive assessment model that is offered provides a framework for organising and conducting such assessments and analysing the wide ranging information that is gathered so that relevant, realistic and targeted individual goals can be established. (G-Map, 2012)


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Family Assessments

For a child/young person returning home or living with carers it is crucial that work is undertaken with the family to support the individual work that has been/ being undertaken by the Child/Young person. Even where a child/young person is not expected to return home, the continuing influence of the family in its attitudes, coping styles and attachment patterns of young people is likely to be significant.

Family Assessments and intervention work is available from the skills base of Alternative Directions and its associates.

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AIM Initial Assessment and Intervention – Under 12 years

The AIM Initial Assessment and Intervention model of assessment has been developed to assess and address the problematic and harmful sexual behaviours of children under the age of 12 years.

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School Counselling Service

At Alternative Directions, we offer a school counselling service and these services can be planned to meet the needs of the school. Currently we offer the following:

• Working with non-attenders
• Challenging Behaviours
• Acquired Brain Injuries
• Autistic Spectrum Disorder
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Working with young people with special education needs
• Working with young people with an EHCP (Educational Health Care Plan)

Subjects covered include:

• Online issues
• Sexting
• Posting Images
• Bullying
• Group chats
• Life story work
• Sex and relationships
• Child Sexual Exploitation
• Trauma

Family work is also an important part of our work where it is deemed appropriate
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Child Sexual Exploitation

Alternative Directions offers Assessment and Interventions for Young people who are at risk of child sexual exploitation.
Child sexual exploitation is a major child protection issue across the UK. Hidden from view and going unnoticed, vulnerable young girls and boys are groomed and then abused, leaving them traumatised and scarred for life. Children at risk of sexual exploitation are some of the most vulnerable in our society. Many have experienced abandonment or have suffered from physical and mental abuse. We offer a safe and confidential service where young people can be assessed and the appropriate help, advice and support can be offered. Young people are offered therapeutic intervention on a one-to- one basis to assist them in moving-on.
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Social Work Practice Teacher

Practice placements and teaching are available to 2nd and 3rd year social work students. Also available is long arm practice teaching. Fees are negotiated at the time of any request made.
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PAMS 4.0

PAMS (Parenting Assessment Manual Software) 4.0 has been developed to present information within a format that interfaces well within the Framework of the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (2000) and the Common Assessment Framework (DfES, 2006). PAMS 4.0 can be used as a Screening Tool or as a Comprehensive Specialist Assessment. PAMS 4.0 simplifies the measurement of parental capacity; all of the information gathered for the assessment is undertaken by parental knowledge, skills base and observation. The reports provided can include single, joint and capacity update/teaching information.
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Parenting & Family Support

At Alternative Directions we offer PAMS 4.0 Parenting Assessments, as recognised by the family courts and statutory services. Also as part of the services we also offer family assessment and intervention to families who are witness or victim too sexual harmful behaviours within the family environment, the assessment guidelines and intervention have been developed by AIM Project in association with G-Map (AIM Project and G-Map provide an inter-agency framework of assessment and management of young people who have displayed sexual harmful behaviours).
As part of our holistic service we provide ongoing support and intervention to the families that may or may not have been assessed in either of these areas, we are very aware however of the benefits to the families.
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Individual Therapeutic Intervention Work

Alternative Directions staff team are able to provide individualised programmes of work that are identified from the outcomes and recommendations from the assessment process and report. All of the work undertaken is reviewed every 12 weeks with the referring agency.

The plan of work is holistic in its nature and person centred, the aim of the work is to address the sexual harmful behaviour, however, there is limited value in just working on the young person’s sexualised behaviours alone so the intervention work explores the possible causes and experiences that the child/young person may have been exposed too or experienced. The final aim and objective is to assist the child /young person to move on with their lives in a safe and positive way.

MST (Multi-SystemicTherapy) aims to promote change at a level of the young person’s social ecology, and thus engage the young person’s networking the task of managing negative behaviours and promoting positive adaptions.

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Protective Behaviours Intervention Programmes

The Protective Behaviours Programme is a preventative and empowering training process which can be used by people of all ages and abilities. It is a simple and yet profound programme based on two themes.

1. We all have the right to feel safe all the time.
2. There is nothing so awful we can't talk about with someone.

The programme focuses on developing the internal awareness of external threat and offers a variety of strategies to deal with any situation which does not 'feel safe'.

The Protective Behaviours Programme is being used throughout the UK in a variety of settings. The range of work includes play work, direct therapeutic work with children and adults.

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Respite care

We are also able to offer respite care for families and carers, we endeavour to discuss, explore and plan a service that suits the needs of the family /carer to support the care of their child.
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Professional Supervision Service

It is acknowledged that working within the child protection arena does bring its own problems and this may cause your staff to experience stresses and trauma. Alternative Directions also offer an independent service that can support you, our personnel have experience in supervision and advocacy for staff that have or are experiencing particular difficulties within their working environment.
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Court reports/attendance

All of the assessments of need and risk reports are available to the family, youth, magistrates and crown courts. If the author of any report is required to attend court then our fees will apply.
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Training

Alternative Directions provide training to your staff in a variety of different topics; please see the Alternative Directions menu for our list of services.
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