4.3 Completing the child strengths and needs assessment tool
Purpose
This procedure outlines the process for completing a child strengths and needs assessment, prior to the development of the case plan, or in preparation for a case plan review.
Responsibilities
- CSOs are responsible for completing and recording the child strengths and needs assessment.
- Team leaders are responsible for approving the child strengths and needs assessment tools on ICMS.
The purpose of the child strengths and needs assessment
The purpose of the child strengths and needs assessment is to provide a snapshot of a child's functioning at a specific point in time. The child strengths and needs assessment tool is used to identify the child's strengths, as well as the needs that must be addressed in order to ensure their safety and improve their emotional, physical and psychological well-being. Within the cycle of ongoing intervention, it is used to inform the development and review of a case plan.
The tool is designed to provide consistency when assessing strengths and needs, by ensuring that each assessment considers the child's level of functioning within the same specified areas of their life, using the same criteria.
Reassessing strengths and needs to inform the case plan review
The child strengths and needs assessment tool is also used for the reassessment of a child's strengths and needs, prior to each case plan review. The purpose of reassessment is to:
- provide current information about the child's strengths and needs to inform the review of the case plan and assess progress towards the case plan goal and outcomes;
- evaluate the effectiveness of departmental intervention and services being provided to the child; and
- identify whether there are specific areas of the departmental intervention that need to be amended, or require further attention, to meet the child's protection and care needs.
When to complete a child strengths and needs assessment tool
The child's strengths and needs assessment tool must be completed:
- following the decision that a child is in need of protection and prior to the initial family group meeting to develop a case plan for the child; and
- prior to every review of a case plan for all children subject to:
- intervention with parental agreement; and
- intervention with a child protection order (including an interim order).
The child strengths and needs assessment is not completed for support service cases.
Structure of the child strengths and needs assessment tool
The child strengths and needs assessment tool identifies twelve domains, or areas of a child's life, that are comprehensively examined to determine the child's level of functioning within their environment.
Child strengths and needs assessment domains
- Behaviour
- Emotional stability
- Alcohol and drug use
- Family of origin relationships
- Social relationships
- Cultural identity
- Physical health
- Child development and intellectual ability
- Education/vocation/employment
- Additional child identified strength/need
- Life skills
- Relationships with carer family
The tool provides a framework for assessing the child's level of functioning, in order to determine whether the child has a strength or need within each domain. There are four levels of strength or need in each domain. Detailed definitions for each level of functioning within each of the above domains, is provided in the 'SDM™ tools and definitions - child strengths and needs assessment'
. The appropriate level is determined by matching the child's level of functioning within each domain to the definitions provided.
Practice considerations and appropriate completion
The following information guides the completion of the child strengths and needs assessment:
1. General completion information
- To effectively complete the child strengths and needs assessment, the CSO must be familiar with, and have a good understanding of, the definitions.
- One strengths and needs assessment tool is completed for each child in the household. The household assessed must be the same household that had the family risk evaluation tool completed as part of the investigation and assessment (except where the child is on a long-term child protection order).
- At times a child may have both a strength and a need within a domain. In this case the need will be recorded in that domain, and the strength will be recorded in domain 10 - 'additional child identified strength/need'. For example, a child may have a severe learning difficulty and excellent artistic skills.
- When reviewing a case plan for a child, the family risk re-evaluation tool is completed prior to the child strengths and needs assessment. If the decision is made to close the case, an updated strengths and needs assessment is not required.
2. Information gathering
- Information for the assessment is to be gathered from a range of sources, in particular, from the child and those people closest to the child, such as the parents, carers, other family members, community and cultural members and service agency or departmental staff recently involved with the family.
- Any departmental history about the child will also be considered during this assessment.
- It is important to balance the need to gather information from a wide range of sources and the need to complete the assessment in a timely way. Consultation can occur in a range of ways, such as personal or phone interviews, letters, email or consultation through a third party.
- Other professional agencies that may provide relevant information to inform the strengths and needs assessment include:
- a SCAN AM Team;
- the child's school, particularly for a child with an education support plan;
- Queensland Health, in relation to the development of the child's health plan and health passport; and
- the Department of Communities, if the child is involved in the youth justice system.
- A professional assessment or expert opinion may assist the assessment of strengths and needs where:
- a child has a significant medical condition, disability or developmental delay and more specialised information is required;
- there are conflicting perspectives on a child's condition; or
- there is difficulty distinguishing between two levels within a domain.
- It may not be possible to obtain a professional assessment or expert opinion within the timeframes of the assessment stage, but current professional assessments that have been completed previously may be considered.
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3. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
The recognised entity must be consulted as part of the completion of the child strengths and needs assessment for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child.
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4. Commencing the assessment with the child
When commencing the strengths and needs assessment with the child, the CSO will:
- explain the purpose of the assessment;
- provide information about the domains and discuss them with the child;
- inform the child about the people who may contribute information;
- encourage the child to ask questions; and
- identify and address any fears the child may have.
In cases where the child is not able to be involved, due to age or refusal to participate, the CSO will assess the child's strengths and needs by consulting with other relevant people and using departmental records and their personal knowledge about the child.
Each child strengths and needs assessment will include consideration of parental behaviours or health conditions that may place a child at risk of contracting an infectious or communicable disease, for example, HIV, Hepatitis C and sexually transmissible infections. Where a child is identified as having contracted, or being at risk of contracting an infectious or communicable disease, they will be considered for referral and screening, with relevant information and outcomes included in the child's health plan and health passport.
Where a medical practitioner confirms that a child has a sexually transmitted disease, the CSO will inform the QPS. Consideration will also be given to recording a notification on the child, where the information meets the threshold for recording a notification.
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5. Children in out-of-home care
A child may be experiencing stress or anxiety after they have been placed in an out-of-home care placement, which can impact on the assessment. Information provided by people who know the child well can assist in completing the assessment accurately.
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6. Assessing strengths and needs when children are placed in different geographical areas
When children in one family are residing in different areas and case responsibility is held in more than one CSSC, negotiation may be required to determine who will undertake the various activities required to complete the child strengths and needs assessments. Where necessary, this negotiation will occur between the relevant team leaders.
Completing the child strengths and needs assessment tool
To complete the child strengths and needs assessment, the following steps must be completed.
- Choose one of the four levels of strength or need within each domain that reflects the information gathered and the definitions provided ('SDM™ tools and definitions - child strengths and needs assessment').
- Complete domains 1-9 for every child.
- Complete domain 10: 'additional child identified strength/need for a strength or need that is not covered in the other domains, or where both a strength and need is identified in another domain.
- Complete domain 11: 'life skills' for young people 15 years or older.
- Complete domain 12: 'relationships with carer family' when the child has been placed with the same foster carer for 12 months or more.
- Submit the completed child strengths and needs assessment tool to the team leader for approval.
- Provide the approved child strengths and needs assessment to the family group meeting convenor to assist with the preparation and development of the case plan, or to inform the review of a case plan.
Detailed definitions are provided for each level of functioning within each domain, as outlined in the 'SDM™ tools and definitions - child strengths and needs assessment'.
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- Last updated
- 21 April 2009
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