Undertaking good assessments with young people
What's Important To Us
To complete robust assessments and get the best outcomes for our young people, it is important that we engage with them to understand their strengths, needs and risks and how other issues in their lives are affecting them and their family. Good assessments are not just about taking the things the young person tells you or shows you at face-value, but going much deeper to get the true story, talking to other people around the young person, and using the appropriate engagement and assessment tools to understand the bigger picture.
Good assessments ultimately lead to good plans. If we haven't talked to the right people and gathered the right information, we can't possibly make the best plan for the young person. Assessments are conducted at different stages - when we receive a notification, following an investigation, when considering returning a child back to their parents, or when we are contemplating ending our involvement with a family. Regardless of the purpose of the assessment, to complete a good assessment you will need to:
Involve the young person and their family in the assessment process
It is paramount that the young person and their family are fully involved, active participants in the assessment process (Wolfe & Mash, 2006). Any plans that come from an assessment where the young person and their family haven’t had their say will likely fail. Why should the family commit themselves to a plan that they had no part in developing? How would you feel if you were in their shoes? Sometimes there will be friction between families that might prevent you from talking to certain members. Don’t let this put you off; unless you have some real safety concerns about these family members, talk to them anyway. At the end of the day, we are looking at what the young person needs now and in the future, not what the adults need.
Understand the impact of past neglect and abuse, the family context and culture within which they operate, and the young person's history
As part of informing our assessment of a young person, we need to have a good understanding of abuse and neglect. We need to bear in mind that the impact of abuse on children can be complex and far-reaching, often showing up in their lives long after they have reached adulthood. It is important to never underestimate how profoundly abuse and neglect can affect a child and influence their future growth and development. Children who experience abuse may:
- be at increased risk for adverse health effects including smoking, alcoholism, drug abuse, eating disorders, depressions, suicide, and sexual promiscuity
- have brain impairment, leading to physical, mental and emotional problems including learning issues, sleep disturbances, panic disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- display aggressive behaviour including bullying, fighting and abusive behaviour
- be sexually aggressive towards other children and display inappropriate sexual behaviour towards adults
- lack confidence and have low self-esteem and poor self-image
- demonstrate difficult behaviour including wetting and soiling, disruptive behaviour, tantrums and outbursts, refusing to respond to requests
- be unhappy, sad, withdrawn and fearful of adults (Kay, 2003; Siegel & Welsh, 2008).
Your assessment needs to consider not only the young person and their behaviour but also the context in which they live. Family are the major influence in a young person’s life throughout their childhood, and while peer groups may play a more influential role during adolescence, the impact of family values and cultural norms remains ever present. Some young people are very connected to their culture while others are disconnected. Take the time to explore with the young person and their family how their culture can support them and provide them with a sense of connection and belonging.
Young people may push against some of the more rigid or traditional aspects of their culture which can strain the relationship between them and the adults in their family. This may be particularly evident in migrant cultures where the roles and expectations of young men and women are well defined and may not fit with what is socially acceptable by the young person’s peers. Also keep in mind the special vulnerabilities of young women, particularly those who have been abused, as research shows that victimization of females before the age of 14 almost doubles their risk of later adolescent victimization and also victimization as adults (Humphrey & White, 2000).
Lastly, make sure you have a good understanding of the young person’s history. How was the young person as a baby? What was their childhood like? What are the young person’s strongest memories? What has impacted on the young person most significantly over the course of their life? Talk to the young person, their parents and other close family to ensure you know as much as you can about the young person. Also ensure you thoroughly review the young person’s history on CYRAS, and that you take the time to check this history against their own interpretation of events.
Be skilled in assessing emotional wellbeing
Substance abuse, risky sexual behaviour, violence, accidental injuries and mental health problems are significant concerns that create particular vulnerability for young people (Leitenberg & Saltzman, 2000). In their adolescent years, young people find they have to make a choice about whether or not they engage in some of this behaviour or just stand on the sidelines. Regardless of which decision they make, young people want information and guidance to handle the choices, pressures and consequences they encounter in this challenging period of their lives (Wolfe & Mash, 2006).
It is critical that we are aware of the challenges young people may be experiencing, and that we look for, recognise and act on the signs that a young person may be at risk of harm. Sometimes it may not be terribly obvious that a young person is having problems, particularly if they have become experts at putting ‘their best face forward’. This means that we need to be attuned to even the smallest change in behaviour, attitude, tone of voice and body language, and that we need to keep in contact with those people around the young person who may notice changes before we do.
Use the Substances and Choices Scale and Kessler and Wellbeing screening tools to help us gain an understanding of how the young person feels and enable us to respond appropriately when risks and concerns are noted.
Access specialist assessments when needed
There will be times when a young person has particularly complex needs which are beyond our ability to assess. Such needs might include:
- Harmful sexual behaviour
- Learning and/or cognitive issues
- Physical health needs
- Physical or intellectual disability
- Substance abuse
- Mental illness
- Other behavioural concerns (e.g. conduct disorder).
As soon as we realise this we need to advocate for the young person to receive a specialist assessment to help identify their particular needs and what is needed to manage or address these. Completing an assessment of a young person without paying enough attention to their individual needs will limit the value of the assessment and impact the quality of the plans that follow.
The use of specialist assessments may well extend beyond the young person. Having an understanding about parental functioning and the impact of parental behaviours will be important to completing a comprehensive assessment. It may be appropriate to ask for a specialist assessment of factors such as a parent’s mental health or substance abuse in order to fully understand their ability to support the young person and provide them with safe care.
When you think a specialist assessment might be needed, talk to your supervisor about what to do next. Often times specialist assessments will be costly so be clear about why you believe it is necessary and what you think it will add to the overall picture for the young person. It is important that you do your research - talk to colleagues and other professionals about specialists they have referred to in the past and their experience of that specialist.
See Responding to a young person’s complex needs for further information.
Use tools to gather information and support decision-making
Child, Youth and Family have developed a range of tools that practitioners can use to assess the situation for a young person. These include:
- TRAX – provides an in-depth understanding of a young person’s strengths, risks and needs
- The Assessment framework – can be used to ensure all aspects of a young person’s life is explored, including family influences and support systems and the environment within which they live
- The young person and family consult – highlights aspects of danger/harm for the young person against strengths in order to make a judgement about overall safety
- The three houses – an engagement tool used to help build rapport between the social worker, young person and their family.
References
Humphrey, J.A. & White, J.H. (2000). Women’s vulnerability to sexual assault from adolescence to young adulthood. Adolescent Health, 27(6), 419-424.
Kay, J. (2003). Protecting Children: A Practical Guide (2nd ed). London: Continuum.
Leitenberg, H. & Saltzman, H. (2000). A statewide survey of age at first intercourse for adolescent females and age of their male partners: Relation to other risk behaviours and statutory rape implications. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 29, 203-215.
Siegel, L.J. & Welsh, B.C. (2008). Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice and Law (10th ed). New York: Wadsworth Publishing.
Wolfe, D.A. & Mash, E.J (eds) (2006). Behaviour and Emotional Disorders in Adolescence: Nature, Assessment and Treatment. New York: The Guilford Press.
