I will now look at the development of the Initial Assessment. The Initial Assessment is a needs led assessment as opposed to a resource led assessment. This focuses upon what is needed to make a difference rather than what resources are available at the time. The outcome of this is that the assessment has the child’s needs as its core purpose. It is important that the social worker takes into account all societal and psychological factors when carrying out this assessment. To ensure that the social worker does take into account all factors the government has published a framework that informs the social workers assessment. This publication is called the ‘Framework of the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families’, Department of Health, Department of Education and Employment, Home Office, 2000. The guidance document to this policy cites Schofield (1998, p.57) by stating:
“Social workers need a framework for understanding and helping children and families which takes into account the inner world of the self and the outer world of the environment, both in terms of relationships and in terms of practicalities such as housing. It is the capacity of social workers to be aware of and integrate in their practice these different areas of concern which defines the distinctive nature of their professional identity”.
The Framework incorporates a tool for assessment called the ‘assessment triangle’ (shown below).
Due to assessments needing to take into account all relevant factors, the assessment triangle was designed using theories derived from the social sciences and social work.
The ‘Child’s Developmental Needs’ section of the assessment triangle is associated with psychological theories on child development such as issues surrounding attachment theory. The importance of recognising attachment theory in assessment is explained in the ‘Assessing Children in Need and their Families, Practice Guidance’ document. The document cites Crittenden and Ainsworth by suggesting:
“Attachment theory is a relatively new, open-ended theory with eclectic
underpinning. … Although it began with an attempt to understand disturbed
functioning of individuals who had experienced traumatic losses or early
separations, it is a theory of normal development that offers explanations for some types of atypical development (Bowlby, 1969; 1973; 1980)”.
Attachment theory can be linked to the case study as Hayley would have experienced a traumatic loss at the age of seven when her mother died.
The ‘Parenting Capacity’ section of the assessment triangle can be associated to the psychological theory of Hierarchy of Needs, pioneered by Abraham Maslow. The Assessing Children in Need and their Families, Practice Guidance document states “The children’s chances of achieving optimal outcomes will depend on their parents’ capacities to respond appropriately to their needs at different stages of their lives”.
The ‘Family and Environmental Factors’ section of the assessment triangle can associate its knowledge base to sociology. The importance of recognizing sociological issues such as income, for example, can be highlighted by the, simple, following statement “Poverty undermines parenting” (Holman, 1998 cited by Department of Health, 2000 p14). This can be related to Josh as he has been unable to attend school meetings due to work commitments.
The sections of the assessment triangle are not specific to one particular social theory as the theories often overlap sections.
As well as the assessment using theories derived from social sciences it also includes theories from social work. An example of a social work theory used is the systems theory. “Systems theory provides a very helpful framework to analyze the interconnections between personal and environmental factors which have an impact upon the lives of children and families” (Department of Health, 2000 p16)
The assessment framework also incorporates methods developed through evidence based practice. For example the Department of Health (DoH) state:
“The child development dimensions have been taken from the work of Roy Parker and colleagues which was commissioned by the Department of Health 1991 to find practical measures to assess the progress of children accommodated in children’s homes and foster care, and to improve their outcomes. During the development stages of that work, the materials were tested with a large number of families in the community and it was found ‘that the Assessment and Action Records can be used with parents and children in the community as a means of identifying difficulties and discussing how to address them’ (Ward 1995). These dimensions have therefore been demonstrated to be salient to all children” (2000 p18).
The main purpose of the assessment triangle is to safeguard and promote the child. It is for this reason it would be used as an assessment tool to aid the social worker in the assessment of Hayley. The process of initiating the Initial Assessment would firstly start with the Team Manager who has 24 hours to respond after receipt of the referral. The Team Manager will consult with the referrer and consult any social services records to check for any previous involvement, for example, the Child Protection Register.
The Team Manager will then consider whether there is evidence of concern about the child’s health or development or evidence of potential or significant harm. As Hayley is not attending school we could suggest that this is affecting her development. The Team Manager would therefore require more information and request an Initial Assessment. This should be undertaken within a maximum of 7 working days.
Taking myself to be the allocated social worker in the case, I would firstly read all the information available on the family in the case study. I would then phone the family to arrange a contact date, time and meeting place. It would be my wish to have Hayley, Josh and Katherine at the interview. Ideally I would also like the interview to take place at the family home. This would give me an insight into the bigger picture on the sociological aspects of the situation. It would also help the family to feel relaxed and therefore make it easier to initiate a rapport with the family. “It is important to concentrate on being as open, relaxed and natural as possible in order to ensure that a rapport can be created and a relationship established with the person seeking out help” (Trevithick, 2005: 145). The father may not wish the interview to take place at the family home as it states in the case study that Katherine becomes distressed in the company of strangers. This is an issue I would try to negotiate with him because I believe the mental state of Katherine would be integral to Hayley’s assessment. The reasons for this are due to Katherine suffering Senile Dementia there is a possibility that she may become aggressive.
The website ‘How to Recognise Signs of Senile Dementia’ states “Watch out for extremely aggressive behaviour, this symptom is exhibited by some, but not all, people suffering from senile dementia. The person can become dangerous to him/herself or to you”. If this is the case, there is a possibility that the criteria to initiate a Section 47 enquiry may be met. This is due to the potential risk of Hayley being left alone in the house with her grandmother.
It would be ideal if a worker from the Community Mental Health Team could accompany me to the interview to carry out a joint assessment. This would enable somebody with expert knowledge of senile dementia to highlight the potential risks, if any.
The way in which I would carry out the assessment is by asking a series of questions that cover the three key areas of the assessment triangle. There may be an issue with this as the family may not speak English as their first language since they are African Caribbean. If they were not fluent in English, I would possibly ask Hayley to interpret or request an independent interpreter. If it was not possible for anybody to interpret, I would read their body language as a reaction to the questions. Trevithick cites Birdwhistell by saying “spoken or verbal content is likely to carry only one-third of social meaning in any given event, whereas the non-verbal forms convey roughly two-thirds of the meaning (2005: 114).
In this instance I will assume that the family are fluent in English. I would therefore want to explore a range of issues with Hayley, to include health, family and social relationships, emotional development, identity, self care skills and learning skills. I would then ask the father questions on ensuring safety and protection, emotional stability, guidance, boundaries and stimulation. I would then be interested in how the family functions and have they any other family members.
The main questions that the Initial Assessment addresses are twofold, Is this child in need? Is there any reasonable cause to suspect that this child has, or is likely to suffer significant harm? In this scenario we shall say the assessment has concluded that Hayley is in need, but not suffering or at risk from suffering significant harm. We therefore do not initiate ‘Section 47 Enquires’ but instead with the agreement of Josh, social services can provide the appropriate support. If Josh agrees, a multi-agency planning meeting could be arranged and a plan would be set out for Hayley. The Multi-Agency Planning Meeting will allow a full range of holistic services to be provided to the family. This might include: a school mentor for Hayley, a day care centre for Katherine and respite for Josh.
Whilst carrying out the assessment, it is important to recognise the role that power may play in the assessment process. Issues surrounding power arise due to the social worker having a legal duty, under s17 of the Children Act 1989 to carry out an assessment. This out weighs Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1989 that states “Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence”. It is this imbalance of the law that makes the power unequal regarding the social worker and the family. Due to the power inequality it is possible to say that assessments are intrusive and oppressive.
Preventative measures can be made to reduce this oppression even before the assessment has even been carried out. As the family are from an African Caribbean origin it is important for the social worker to recognise any stereotypes they may hold before conducting the assessment. Milner and O’Byrne cite studies conducted by Blyth and Milner. The studies involved a group of social workers making three assessments. The first being on a boy named Darren, the second on a boy named Delroy and the third on a girl named Shaheen. The studies found that although the initial referral was identical, the social workers made a different hypothesis for each child determined by the child’s name. The study concluded that the group managed to display stereotype views around class, race and gender without any supporting evidence. Blyth and Milner suggest that “in new situations, social workers should routinely ask themselves ‘how is this person similar to others – how might they be categorised?’ and then ask ‘how are they different?’” (2002 pg 174).
The Department of Health backs up the importance of recognising stereotypical behaviour. Its guidelines document state that:
“Assessing the developmental needs of children is a complex process which requires all relevant aspects of a child’s life experience to be addressed. For black children assessments should address the impact that racism has on a particular child and family and ensure that the assessment process itself does not reinforce racism through racial or cultural stereotyping” (2002 p37).
It is because of our need to be culturally aware that Manchester City Council has published the following statement in their Child Protection Procedures Manual, it states:
“Manchester is a racially diverse city with many different ethnic groups. Policy and strategies for safeguarding children must be sensitive to issues of race and culture. Assessment of children’s needs including the need to be kept safe, must include recognition of, respect for sensitivity to cultural differences in family makeup, lifestyle and children rearing patterns. To achieve the best interests of the child, workers need to –
- Be fully aware of their own prejudices
- Avoid racial class generalisation and stereotypes
- Be aware that racism and racial discrimination make a powerful impact on individuals experience of life
- Recognise that the basis of good practice is the same in work with black families and white families
- Have a good understanding of the family’s background if possible”.
It is important when working with people, from a different culture, to refrain from using our own beliefs as guidelines. For example it would be a gross misuse of power if a Christian social worker tried to instil their own beliefs on a service user who followed Islam. As a manager of care we should also recognise cultural differences when making decisions about the provision of services. For example some African cultures do not allow a female to be left alone with a male. Therefore if domiciliary care was arranged for Katherine it would have to be a female carer.
Working in partnership is also important to social work as people don’t generally like being assessed. Therefore by basing the assessment around partnership this will help to reduce the power imbalance and empower the family to take a more active role in participating with the assessment. Milner and O’Byrne cite the Social Services Inspectorate by stating “assessment is a participatory process. It necessarily involves establishing trust and understanding if meaningful information is to be obtained. The most effective way of achieving understanding may be to enable people to describe their situations in their own words, using their preferred language and at their own pace. Assessment should be a process of working alongside people. They should not be the passive recipients of a potentially humiliating service” (p17).
In conclusion, it is vital that the social worker identifies the appropriate assessment, so the most effect outcome can be planned. It is then important to work in partnership with the service user when carrying out an assessment in order to reduce the oppressive nature of the unequal distribution of power. It is also important to use frameworks as a practice tool to ensure that all possible influences in the service user’s life are taken into account. It is important to identify other cultures and differences so further discrimination can be prevented. Most importantly though is to safeguard the child’s well-being, by utilising all services available, whilst working in an anti-oppressive manner.
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