Making Sense of Child and Family Assessment

Making Sense of Child and Family Assessment
Author: Duncan Helm
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2010
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1843109239

Analysing children's needs is a crucial part of assessment in child protection, yet support for practitioners carrying it out is lacking. Making Sense of Child and Family Assessment provides best practice guidance on how to analyse the information gathered during the assessment of the needs of children and young people and their families. The application of assessment frameworks hinges on human qualities and skills which are naturally prone to bias and inconsistency. This book provides practical, accessible guidance on how to apply assessment frameworks successfully, how to increase accuracy and empathy and how to analyse and represent children's needs faithfully in order to improve outcomes. The author provides an overview of key elements of theory, research and practice, and covers issues such as how information is gathered and analysed by different professionals in different sectors, and how this information is shared; how to form accurate hypotheses about cases; how to develop professional intuition; and how to improve analytical skills. Professionals working in child welfare and protection roles, such as social workers, health visitors, midwives and teachers, will find this practical guide to analysis invaluable in interpreting needs and outcomes. The titles in the Best Practice in Working with Children series are written for the multi-agency professionals working to promote children's welfare and protect them from harm. Each book in the series draws on current research into what works best for children, providing practical, realistic suggestions as to how practitioners in social work, health and education can work together to promote the resilience and safety of the children in their care. Brigid Daniel is Professor of Social Work in the Department of Applied Social Science at the University of Stirling. She is co-author of several textbooks and practice resources on child care and protection. She was a member of the multi-disciplinary team that carried out a national ministerial review of child protection practice in Scotland.

Making Sense of Child and Family Assessment

Making Sense of Child and Family Assessment
Author: Duncan Helm
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2010-04-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0857002988

The application of assessment frameworks hinges on human qualities and skills which are naturally prone to bias and inconsistency. Making Sense of Child and Family Assessment aims to support workers in analysing and making sense of the information gathered, and increasing accuracy and empathy in assessing the needs and risks for vulnerable children and young people. This book offers best practice guidance on how to analyse information gathered during the assessment of children and young people and their families. Good assessments take time and need to be appropriately resourced. A range of analytical tools are also needed if practitioners are to present assessments of children's needs which lead to meaningful care plans and improved outcomes. Helm introduces the key messages emerging from policy and research, and provides insights into today's multi-disciplinary practice. Professionals working in child welfare and protection roles, such as social workers, health visitors, midwives and teachers will find this practical guide to analysis invaluable in interpreting needs and outcomes.

Child and Family Assessment in Social Work Practice

Child and Family Assessment in Social Work Practice
Author: Sally Holland
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2010-11-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1446259765

This thoroughly revised and updated second edition of Child and Family Assessment in Social Work Practice is an essential guide for social work students and practitioners involved in the assessment of children and their families. Focusing on ′core′ assessments and guiding the reader through the complexities of conducting assessments of need and risk, the book now includes within each chapter a range of specifically-tailored exercises and focus points which encourage readers both to reflect on what they have learnt and to understand how they can apply that learning to practice. Placing a strong emphasis on good, evidence-based, assessment practice, Sally Holland has also, for this new edition, included original research evidence from a wide range of up-to-date research studies which are relevant to today′s practice and which aim to promote a critical and reflective approach to the assessment process. The book is divided into three parts: - Part 1 explores different appoaches to assessment work, outlining policy changes and their implications for working with children and their families. - Part 2 studies those involved in child and family assessments: children and their parents; and the relationship between the assessors and the assessed. - Part 3 - a more practical guide - outlines the actual process of an assessment, illustrated by case studies, focusing on planning assessment methods, analysis, reporting and critical evaluation. Accessibly relating theory and research to actual practice through the use of case studies, exercises, and suggestions for good practice and further reading, this book has a student-friendly structure It will be an invaluable resource for practitioners and academics across the field of social welfare, particularly for those embarking on, or already involved in, child and family assessment.

Classroom Literacy Assessment

Classroom Literacy Assessment
Author: Jeanne R. Paratore
Publisher: Guilford Press
Total Pages: 341
Release: 2007-04-05
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1593854382

Showcasing assessment practices that can help teachers plan effective instruction, this book addresses the real-world complexities of teaching literacy in grades K-8. Leading contributors present trustworthy approaches that examine learning processes as well as learning products, that yield information on how the learning environment can be improved, and that are conducted in the context of authentic reading and writing activities. The volume provides workable, nuts-and-bolts ideas for incorporating assessment into instruction in all major literacy domains and with diverse learners, including students in high-poverty schools and those with special learning needs. It is illustrated throughout with helpful concrete examples.

Improving Child and Family Assessments

Improving Child and Family Assessments
Author: Danielle Turney
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2011-09-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0857005537

The quality of the assessment of children in need has a significant impact on outcomes for the children concerned. Good assessment contributes to better outcomes, but poor assessment can have tragic consequences. Understanding what makes a good assessment is vital. This book brings together findings from 10 years of UK research that shed light on different aspects of child and family assessment, and examines the evidence for what works in promoting the best outcomes for children. It covers thresholds for assessment and intervention, what information should be collected in assessments, and assessments in different contexts. It also examines key aspects of practice and the factors that can help or hinder good quality assessment. These areas include analysis, critical thinking and reflection; engaging with children and families; and inter-professional working. Structural, procedural and organisational factors are also considered. In summarising the research, this important book provides key messages on the links between assessment and outcomes for children, and offers implications for policy and practice. It will be essential reading for social work practitioners, academics, students and researchers, and all those in the child protection field.

Child & Family Assessment in Social Work Practice

Child & Family Assessment in Social Work Practice
Author: Sally Holland
Publisher:
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2011
Genre: Family assessment
ISBN: 9781446288580

This is an essential guide for both social work students and practitioners involved in the assessment of children and their families. It is a guide for practice that is strongly rooted in research evidence.

Functional Somatic Symptoms in Children and Adolescents

Functional Somatic Symptoms in Children and Adolescents
Author: Kasia Kozlowska
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2020-09-30
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 303046184X

This open access book sets out the stress-system model for functional somatic symptoms in children and adolescents. The book begins by exploring the initial encounter between the paediatrician, child, and family, moves through the assessment process, including the formulation and the treatment contract, and then describes the various forms of treatment that are designed to settle the child’s dysregulated stress system. This approach both provides a new understanding of how such symptoms emerge – typically, through a history of recurrent or chronic stress, either physical or psychological – and points the way to effective assessment, management, and treatment that put the child (and family) back on the road to health and well-being.

Therapeutic Assessment with Children

Therapeutic Assessment with Children
Author: Deborah J. Tharinger
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2022-03-17
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1000551172

Therapeutic Assessment with Children presents a ground-breaking paradigm of psychological assessment in which children and families collaborate with the psychologist assessor to understand persistent problems and find new ways of repairing their relationships and moving forward with their lives. This paradigm is systemic, client-centered, and culturally sensitive and is applicable to families from many different backgrounds who often feel misunderstood and disempowered by traditional assessment methods. In this book, the reader will find a step-by-step description of Therapeutic Assessment with Children (TA-C), with ample teaching examples to make each step come alive. Each chapter includes detailed transcripts of assessment sessions with Henry, a ten-year-old boy, and his parents as they progress through a Therapeutic Assessment and find new ways of appreciating each other and being together. The combination of didactic and clinical material will give even new clinicians a groundwork from which to begin to practice TA-C. The volume demonstrates how the core values of TA-C—collaboration, respect, humility, compassion, openness, and curiosity—can be embedded in psychological assessment with children and families. Therapeutic Assessment with Children will be invaluable for graduate assessment courses in clinical, counseling, and school psychology and for seasoned professionals wanting to learn the TA-C model.

Parenting Matters

Parenting Matters
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 525
Release: 2016-11-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309388570

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

The Protection of Children in England

The Protection of Children in England
Author: Herbert Baron Laming
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 104
Release: 2009
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780102958928

Following the death of 17-month-old "Baby P" in Haringey, north London, Lord Laming was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families to report urgently on the progress being made across the country to implement effective arrangements for safeguarding children. Much progress has been made since the green paper "Every child matters: change for children" (Cm. 5860, 2003, ISBN 9780101586023), the Children Act 2004 (ISBN 9780105431046) and "Working together to safeguard children" (2006, ISBN 9780112711872), but in March 2008 37,000 children were the subjects of care orders and 29,000 children were the subject of child protection plans. 55 children were killed by their parents or by someone known to them in 2007-08. Lord Laming proposes immediate action on six tasks: (1) the setting of explicit strategic priorities for the protection of children and young persons for each of the key frontline services; (2) establishing a powerful National Safeguarding Delivery Unit to bring coherence and drive to implement change in departments and agencies whose work is to protect children; (3) addressing the inadequacy of the training and supply of frontline social workers: without the necessary specialist knowledge and skills, social workers must not be allowed to practise in child protection; (4) health service workers must engage more, and more confidently, with child protection work; (5) resources devoted to police child protection teams and their training must be increased; (6) shortening of the time taken in court processes relating to the care of children. A total of 58 recommendations are made in the areas of: leadership and accountability; support for children; interagency working; children's workforce; improvement and challenge; organisation and finance; legal matters.