CHAPTER TWO The Assessment Phase
Referral, screening, and assessment begin our work with HIV clients. We get a referral, then screen to see if there is a match between the referrals and the family service center. This includes a home visit and verification of HIV status. An assessment of the family follows. Its purpose is to identify needs.
—Caseworker, Bronx, NY
Assessment means appraisal or evaluation of a situation, the person(s) involved, or both. As the initial stage in helping, assessment generally focuses on identifying the problem and the resources needed to resolve it. Focusing on the people who are involved includes attention to client strengths that can be a valuable resource to encourage client participation and facilitate problem solving. The benefits of the strengths-based approach to assessment were discussed in Chapter One. As the opening example shows, data are gathered and assessed at this phase to show the applicant’s problem in relation to the agency’s priorities. Identifying possible actions and services and determining who will handle the case are also part of the assessment phase. In this example, a preliminary screening follows the referral. This chapter explores the assessment stage of the helping process: the initial contact with an applicant for assistance, the interview as a critical component in data gathering, and the case record documentation that is required during this phase. You can refer to Figure 2.1 to see the place assessment has in the helping process. The assessment phase concludes with the evaluation of the application for services. For each section of the chapter, you should be able to accomplish the following objectives.
Application for Service
■ List the ways in which potential clients learn about available services.
■ Compare the roles of the helper and the applicant in the interview process.
■ Define interview.
■ Distinguish between structured and unstructured interviews.
■ State the general guidelines for confidentiality.
■ Define the helper’s role in evaluating the application.
■ List the two questions that guide assessment of the collected information.
Case Assignment
■ Compare the three scenarios of case assignment.
Documentation and Report Writing
■ Distinguish between process recording and summary recording.
■ List the content areas of an intake summary.
■ State the reasons for case or staff notes.
