4.3  Assessment of the Child/Children's Needs

The Children’s Service Worker will have varying degrees of knowledge about the child's needs at the time out-of-home placement becomes necessary to ensure the child's safety.  When an out-of-home placement is needed for a child unfamiliar to the worker, placement in an assessment home, residential treatment facility or psychiatric hospital should be considered to assess the child's needs.  An assessment home is the preferred setting for the assessment.  However, residential treatment facilities might be more appropriate for those children who appear to have serious/severe emotional and/or behavioral problems requiring stabilization and treatment.  Inpatient psychiatric care should be considered only for those children who pose an immediate danger to themselves or others.

When considering placement options, the CSW should assess the impact the change in school setting will have on the child.  If placement results in the child attending a different school, the child’s records shall be automatically transferred within two days of notification or upon request of the foster parents, GAL, or the volunteer advocate and when possible, the child shall be allowed to continue attending the school he or she attended prior to being taken into custody of the Division.

Related Subject:  Section 4, Chapter 4, Attachment C, Assessment Homes

A thorough assessment of the child's unique needs and personality requires the Children’s Service Worker to observe the child and collect information from a number of sources.  The most important sources of information are the parents and child.  Other sources might include:

• Relatives;
• Kinships/Family friends;
• Care givers;
• Location of parents; and
• School personnel;
• Medical personnel; and
• Therapist/psychologist.

The child and family can help the Children’s Service Worker identify the persons who know the child best.  Once a thorough assessment is completed, the following factors should be considered in selecting an appropriate placement resource for the child:

• Relationship to parents, siblings and other adults and peers;
• Age and sex;
• Ethnicity/culture/religion;
• Child's strengths;
• Location of parents;
• Response to separation from parent/caretaker;
• Skills, talents and areas of interest;
• Physical health;
• Emotional/mental health;
• Academic performance/educational needs;
• Unique personality characteristics;
• Behavior;
• Placement history;
• Child's preference; and
• Response to separation from parent/caretaker.

Information amassed during the assessment should be thoroughly and accurately presented to the placement provider to allow them to assess their capacity to meet the child's needs.  Withholding information from the placement provider or gathering information "along the way" after placement, increases trauma for the child, placement provider and biological family.  A more appropriate, less stressful placement occurs when pertinent information is shared before placement.

4.3.1  Child’s Assessment Guideline

Child's Assessment

A thorough and accurate assessment is critical for each child requiring out-of-home placement.  The assessment assists in the selection and preparation of the most appropriate placement provider, developing treatment plans and ensuring that the child's unique, cultural, social, physical and emotional needs are met while in an out-of-home placement.  The assessment should be completed as soon as possible after the determination is made that out-of-home placement is imminent.  However, the assessment is not a static process and should be revised and adapted as the Children’s Service Worker gains more knowledge and the child changes.  The worker should complete a reassessment every 90 days or more frequently as needed, i.e., change in permanency goal, replacement, etc.  Information for the assessment may be collected from one or all of the following sources:

• Direct interview with the family (parent and child).  The family is the best source of information regarding themselves;
• Observations of the child at home, in the community and at school;
• Making collateral contacts with kinships, friends of family, child care provider, school, other individuals, agencies or organizations involved with the child; and
• Referring the child for professional evaluations, i.e., physical, emotional, educational, etc.

The child's assessment should include the following information:

• Name:  Including the name the child prefers to be referred to by;
• Date of birth and age;
• Race, religion, and culture:  The Children’s Service Worker should not assume this information based on the child's physical characteristics or the heritage of one or more parents.  Ask the child how he perceives his race/cultural/religious identity;
• Physical description:  height, weight, hair, eyes, etc;
• Personality;
• Family environment:  rural, suburban, urban, apartment, house, shelter, etc;
• Family relationships:  Whom did child live with?  What was his relationship with parents, siblings, and other household members?  What was the child's status in family, i.e., first, middle, youngest?  What was child's role in the family?
• Relationships with others:  kinships, family friends, peers, teachers, group leaders, i.e., coach, Boy Scout leader, Sunday school teacher, etc;
• Habits/routines:  sleeping, eating, bathing, etc;
• Talents/hobbies/interests;
• Favorite toys/possessions;
• Physical health:  injuries, illness, disabilities, medications (type, dosage, frequency, side effects) and treatment;
• Emotional health:  avoid using jargon and labeling, i.e., rather than using the phrase conduct disorder, describe behavior as difficulty concentrating, moves about frequently, etc.  Describe any medication (type, dosage, frequency, side effects, etc.) and treatment child is receiving;
• Education:  Grade level, I.E.P. special classes, extracurricular activities, and special achievements/honors;
• Behavior:  Positive and negative.  Normalize child's behavior without inappropriate labeling, i.e., three-year-old playing with matches and setting a fire should not be labeled as "fire starter."  Fifteen-year-old who experiments with drugs/alcohol should not be labeled as a substance abuser.  Use behaviorally specific terms rather than catch phrases such as "acting out," "aggressive," "compliant," etc.  What precipitates negative behavior?
• Strengths:  Review the above and, with the parent and child, itemize each of the child's strengths; and
• Needs:  Review the above and, with the parent and child, itemize each of the child's needs.

The child's assessment should be used in conjunction with the family assessment in developing the treatment plan.  Copies of the assessment should be provided to each member of the Family Support Team and one copy should be retained in the case record.

Chapter Memoranda History: (prior to 1/31/07)

CS03-12, CS03-21, CS03-27, CD04-79, CD05-80, CD06-16, CD06-50

Memoranda History: