I have 14 years experience. My expertise/role was child in need but I later specialised in child protection. I worked for a local authority for 11 years where I undertook court assessments when there were concerns of domestic abuse, drug/alcohol abuse, domestic violence, mental health issues and all categories of child abuse. These assessments often included parenting capacity where there were concerns of learning disability, and/or a specific issue risk assessment. My role included placing children with Foster Carers and permanency planning. This involved adoption care plans, sibling assessment, pre-birth assessments, viability assessments and special guardian reports.