The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a key part of delivering frontline services that are integrated and focused around the needs of children and young people. If you work with children and young people, the CAF is something you need to be aware of.

If you have any queries about CAF, or individual cases please contact your Locality Team in the first instance. There are fourteen Locality Teams covering Cambridgeshire. Children and Young People are assigned on the basis of where they live. Contact details of Locality Managers are available on the right hand side.

Over time, CAF will:

• Shift the focus from dealing with the consequences of difficulties in children and young people’s lives to preventing things going wrong in the first place.
• Help practitioners assess children and young people’s additional needs for services earlier and more effectively.
• Develop a common understanding of those needs and facilitate practitioners working together.
• Ensure the assessment is of a high quality.
• Reduce the need for families to re-tell their stories to different practitioners, and time spent by practitioners on finding out who is working with a child.
• Encourage the practitioner to look at the range of the child’s needs holistically, not from the remit of one service

If you have any queries regarding the CAF, please contact Lynsey Collen on 01223 699060 or email  lynsey.collen@cambridgeshire.gov.uk