CASP-R stands for Capacity to Protect (Revised). It's a structured framework for assessing whether a parent or carer can keep a child safe from identified risks. I'm trained to advanced Masterclass level, and it's one of the assessments I get instructed for most often, usually alongside or as part of a wider parenting or risk assessment.
When it's used
The court typically asks for a CASP-R when the risk is already clear. Domestic abuse, substance misuse, sexual harm, non-accidental injury. The question is whether the non-abusing parent or a proposed carer can protect the child from that risk going forward. It's not about what's already happened. It's about what happens next.
The classic scenario: a mother is in a relationship with a partner who has been violent. The local authority says the children can't go home unless she can demonstrate she'll protect them. But what does "demonstrate" actually mean? That's what CASP-R is designed to answer. Not with vague reassurance, but with a structured, evidence-based analysis.
What it assesses
CASP-R looks at several interconnected things. Does the parent recognise and understand the risk? Not just "do they say the right words." I've met plenty of people who can recite what professionals want to hear. The question is whether they genuinely understand why what happened was harmful and what the warning signs look like. Can they act protectively? Not in theory, but in practice, under pressure, when it actually matters. Have they done it before? What got in the way if they didn't?
It also looks at sustainability. Protective behaviour in a courtroom is one thing. Protective behaviour at 11pm on a Tuesday when you're exhausted, the kids are in bed, and someone's at the door. That's another thing entirely. The assessment has to be realistic about what this person can sustain, with what support, over what timescale.
And it considers the parent's own history. Someone who grew up in a household where violence was normalised may not recognise risk the way someone else would. That's not a moral failing. It's a learned pattern, and one of the things I'm assessing is whether there's evidence of unlearning.
What it looks like for you
If you're the person being assessed, I'll be asking detailed questions about your relationship history, your understanding of what's happened, and the choices you've made and would make differently. I'll ask about your own childhood. I'll want to understand what support you have around you and how you use it. These are not easy conversations, but they're necessary ones, and I'll always explain why I'm asking what I'm asking.
For solicitors and professionals
CASP-R works well as a standalone instruction or paired with a ParentAssess or risk assessment. If capacity to protect is a live issue in your case, it's worth naming it explicitly in the LOI so the assessment can be structured accordingly from the outset. I'm happy to discuss scope before instruction.