Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook - Health Service ...

Social Work Procedures and Practice
• Make explicit any theoretical assumptions made when recording
and interpreting information, e.g. regarding the nature of
attachment and its implications for development, the reasons
for neglect, and – if known – the empirical support for such an
assumption/theory?
• Consider alternative explanations or interpretations when drawing
conclusions about the significance of particular aspects of a
family’s history or present circumstances?
• Include a problem formulation? This is a summary statement of
the assessor’s understanding of how a set of affairs has come
about, what is maintaining the problem or problems, and what is
preventing their resolution?
• Provide a rationale for the choice of problem formulation when
alternative explanations or conclusions are possible?
• Phrase the problem formulation in a way that can easily be shown
to be wrong?
• Provide evidence that information has been shared with family
members and differences of opinion have been either resolved or
noted if irresolvable?
• Make suggestions for interventions that are logically related to the
problem formulation?
• Say what level of assistance is necessary?
• Say from whom this assistance should be sought?
• Indicate likely frequency, duration and intensity of assistance
required?
• State clearly how progress/improvements will be monitored,
including both qualitative and quantitative indicators?
• State clearly how one will be able to tell if the intervention were to
prove successful?
• Make suggestions for an appropriate system of recording?
Identify a maximum period for review?
•
An important supervisory task, in addition to the above, is to acknowledge
and address the coping mechanisms that are commonly employed by
practitioners in order to manage the emotional nature of the task. These
mechanisms include:
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