A social work assessment is a
report written by a social worker evaluating a client's educational, mental health, substance abuse, or occupational needs
. You will need to interview the client and other significant parties knowledgeable about the client's background and current needs.
Social workers make risk assessments in accordance with their obligation
to safeguard and protect children against neglect and abuse. To prevent serious problems, it is necessary to make assessments about the likelihood that social problems emerge in the first place.
A social worker may use one or more of the assessment
tools
in social work to gather details about the individual, their situation, their needs, supports, and so on. This information will cover everything from their current health and well-being to any immediate needs they have to their general mental state.
- Stage 1 – Gather Information;
- Stage 2 – Assess Harm and Risk of Harm;
- Stage 3 – Decide the Response;
- Stage 4 – Decide the Outcome;
- Stage 5 – Review Risk Assessments During On-Going Intervention.
During the assessment a social worker will usually
come to your home to talk to you
. They should ask you for information about your child, for example sleeping patterns, eating habits and how your child communicates, and whether you have any other children to look after.
In the assessment phase of the social work process,
multidimensional information on the client and his or her situation
is gathered and assessed. … A social work assessment helps look into different aspects such as the client's mental health, education, occupation, strengths, finances etc.
Have good technical knowledge of relevant law, frameworks and methods of assessment.
Be systematic and rigorous with evidence on which judgements are being made
, appreciating any limitations. View the method and your conduct of assessments self-critically. Weigh the potential harms and benefits of risks.
It is used to
gather evidence to understand presenting problems
, to evaluate progress and outcomes, and to assess the effectiveness of interventions and programs.
As a result of the assessment, Children's Services will decide one of the following:
that the child is not ‘In Need'
. … In this case, Children's Services will determine the support which will be provided and draw up a ‘Child In Need' plan accordingly. For more information see our page on Child in need.
Aside from having a clean and livable space, your social worker will also look to see
if your home is free of any hazards
. Make sure there is nothing that could make your home dangerous. This could mean ensuring wires are tucked away and unused outlets are covered.
A needs assessment is
the process social services use to decide if extra help is required to
meet your child and your family's needs.
A Section 47 enquiry means that
CSC must carry out an investigation when they have ‘reasonable cause to suspect
that a child who lives, or is found, in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm'1.
Social services have a
statutory obligation to safeguard and promote the welfare of vulnerable children and adults
and can provide a wide range of services to children and their parents, usually within the own home environment and co-ordinated by a social worker.
Even if a child assessment order is granted,
the child is allowed to refuse to be assessed if they understand enough to make an informed decision
. But a refusal could cause the local authority to be concerned about the child and they could then apply for a care order.
What are the 4 types of assessment?
There are four major categories of assessment strategies:
written assessments, performance tasks, senior projects, and portfolios
.
Assessment should be
a collaborative process of gathering information through a conversation drawn from open questions with the individual
. Assessments should be outcome-based and not output-based – i.e. they are about what needs to change rather than what someone needs to do.
