Child & Adolescent Risk Assessment

The FACE CARAS includes:

- The FACE Young Person’s Risk Profile (an ‘all-in-one’ tool for holistic risk assessment, risk formulation and recording risk management, crisis and contingency plans)

- A series of focused risk schedules which can optionally be used to explore specific areas highlighted by the Risk Profile in more detail

- Brief risk assessment tools for use on wards (open and secure)

- A brief A&E and general hospital risk assessment

The FACE CARAS includes a series of seven focused risk schedules for exploration of specific areas highlighted as a risk during screening. These are as follows:

- Aggression Risk
- Aggression in Psychosis Risk
- Self-harm Risk
- Suicide Risk
- Eating Disorder Risk
- Sexual Harm Risk
- Vulnerability Risk
- Learning/Intellectual Disability Vulnerability Risk

The FACE CARAS makes use of a mixture of drop-down or checkbox type questions and free text/narrative-based questions.

This allows for a person-centred approach whilst enabling efficiencies in form completion and allowing for subsequent data analysis.

Yes, at Imosphere we have a long history of developing tools using evidence-based methodologies whilst using co-production to ensure the tools work well in practice for all involved.

The FACE CARAS went through a rigorous process of analysis and testing during its initial development between 2011 and 2015, including review by focus groups and extensive piloting. Two papers were produced during this process which are available here:

A novel CAMHS risk assessment system: clinicians’ views.

Innovations in Practice: Piloting a new child and adolescent risk assessment suite in the UK.

The FACE CARAS saves practitioners time by ensuring that they only focus on in-depth assessment where there is an identified level of risk. Risk assessment using the FACE CARAS uses the following workflow:

- STEP 1: Practitioner completes the first part of the FACE Young Person’s Risk Profile as a ‘screening’ step. This indicates which risk area(s) need further consideration.

- STEP 2: Practitioner completes any relevant Focused Schedules relating to the area(s) indicated at the screening stage. This allows for more specific exploration of the relevant areas only.

- STEP 3: Practitioner completes the remainder of the FACE Young Person’s Risk Profile. This includes risk formulation, positive risk taking and recording of risk management, crisis and contingency plans.

The FACE CARAS can be used via our lightweight and flexible Digital Risk Management platform, which features all of our risk tools for both young people and adults. It’s purposely designed for quick and easy online completion and offers an ‘Export to PDF’ feature where needed.

Alternatively, you can build the FACE CARAS into your own local system if it supports digital forms, or use our MS Word templates if not.

The FACE CARAS is specifically designed to support young people in the UK experiencing mental health issues. We provide our tools to the following services:

- CAMHS
- Regional inpatient centres
- Independent hospitals
- Care and support providers
- Youth offending institutions
- Secure accommodation

Yes! Simply complete this form and we’ll send you summary versions of a selection of the CARAS tools.

Visit your local CAMHS team’s website to find out how you can get access to their service. Please note that Imosphere is not a mental health service provider and we do not carry out assessments ourselves or provide personal advice – we supply tools to the organisations providing care and support.

Yes! Neuro-diversity is one of those areas that, although not mental illness, does come within CAMHS services within the UK, so the CARAS is appropriate to use.

Feedback from our customers around the UK is that the schedules are useful in picking up many of the vulnerabilities and difficulties experienced as part of a ND diagnosis/presentation/pathway.

Depending on the particular neuro-difference, there may be a need to consider vulnerability, patterns of aggression, self-harm, and/or suicidality. Although there is not currently one ND schedule, the majority of ‘symptoms’ are found in one of the schedules, and of course, ND or the particular provisional diagnosis can be added under ‘other’ in the relevant parts of the risk profile.