Assessing Needs and Planning Care in Social Work

Focuses on the development of the skills required at each stage of the social work process; assessment, care planning implementation and evaluation. Throughout, a balance is maintained between the focus on client involvement, and the role of the social worker in an agency.

The assessment of needs and the process of planning care are central issues in modern social work practice. Skilled assessment of client needs and strengths is essential to effective planning and efficient provision of quality social work services including both counselling and personal care. The focus of this book is on the development of the skills required at each stage of the social work process: assessment, care planning, implementation and evaluation. Throughout the book a balance is maintained between the focus on client involvement and the role of the social worker in an agency. The latter part of the book addresses practical issues in developing new approaches to assessment and care planning: primary workers, individual support and managing change. Social work practitioners, managers and trainers and students on qualifying and pre-qualifying training will find this an invaluable aid to the development of sound and yet creative practice.

Contents: Introduction; Basic Principles: The basic helping cycle; Social work skills and values. Assessment: Purpose of assessment; Sources of information; Observation skills; Preparation for interviews; Interviewing skills; Organising information: schedules; Theory for practice; Strengths and needs. Care Planning: Contracting; Aims and objectives; Decision making; Planning: an overview. Implementation: Being helped; Strategies for action; Approaches to helping; Monitoring and recording. Evaluation: Principles of evaluation; Measuring effectiveness; Worker skills. Managing the Work: Primary worker systems; Supervision; Managing change; Bibliography; Index.

Brian J. Taylor (Author) , Toni Devine (Author)