Considering social work assessment of families

Abstract

Since the 1990s the way in which social workers respond to referrals of children to Children's Social Care departments has evolved. It has moved through a process that ‘screens families out’ of child protection assessment to a system aiming to ‘screen families in’ where necessary, and now uses a holistic assessment aiming to screen for both risk and need. The assessment framework developed to assess children in need and their families is the modern social work response to all referrals. Little research has been carried out to assess its suitability as a widespread social work response. This article considers the debates that have emerged in relation to its use and concludes that insufficient consideration has been given to evaluating assessment as an appropriate measure of need and risk. Wider provision of non-assessed universal services would reduce the need for assessment.

The Computer Social Worker: Regulatory practices, regulated bodies and science

“…The educational sector has taken its cue from government agendas (particularly in welfare states) and introduced learning competencies, which are focused on the achievement of certain employment-ready skill sets (cultural competencies, communication competencies and so on). And, for service users and caregivers, technological and tool developments have encouraged them to be 'assessment compliant' (Harris, 2012), while being commodified as 'information patterns' (Parton, 2008), often in a highly intrusive manner (Devine, 2015).…”

“…Having been a clinical social worker for many years, I know that The Computer Social Worker had a time frame in which to complete the initial assessment, and as my relative had been in the rehabilitation program for at least a month, an intake assessment was coming due. Doing an assessment on every service user is the standard in many institutional settings, where an assessment is required before a service is even offered, even though the assessment is not of any particular value to the service user (Devine, 2015).…”

Early help and children’s services: exploring provision and practice across English local authoritiesIntroduction

“…Questions of targeting or universal non-assessed provision are more than questions of scale and resource but profound ones of stigma, self-respect, dignity and inclusion. Devine (2015) and others (Morris, 2012; Bilson and Martin, 2017) have highlighted the risks of misunderstanding and potentially oppressive role of professional led assessment. In times of ever more rationing of resources, the tendency towards targeting and assessment driven process in engaging children and families is a factor of unknown impact and possibly significantly deleterious effect on the rhetoric of a consensual and trusting relationship between a concerned state and hard-pressed families and their children.…”

Screen, Ration and Churn: Demand Management and the Crisis in Children’s Social Care

“…One question, given the trajectory of these trends, is whether the legal distinction between a 'child in need' and a 'child at risk' is becoming blurred in the reality of practice. As Devine (2015) points out, unofficial conflation of these categories would impinge on families' freedom to consent to statutory assessment. The increase in rates of children assessed as 'not CIN', when considered alongside static CIN and escalating CP rates, may point to an erosion in Section 17 provision, so that children who are unlikely to meet the threshold for Section 47 are more likely to be referred to nonstatutory provision or 'early help' as opposed to receiving support as CIN.…”

“…In this way, thresholds can be seen as an effort to manage what Devine (2015) has called the 'welfare-policing' dichotomy in CSC.…”