Child welfare professionals, legal counsel, and judges will find this manual to be an indispensable reference with which to inform and structure their effort to advance what is in the best interest of a child at risk. Dr. Alexander T. Polgar created this remarkably comprehensive, user-friendly manual. It includes, in a single source, a clearly articulated rationale for a systematic methodology with which to conduct Parenting Capacity Assessments. Mental health professionals new to this area of practice regardless of jurisdiction will be able with the use of this manual, to conduct assessments of a quality that usually comes with practice wisdom derived from years of experience. Seasoned practitioners again, regardless of the jurisdiction in which they work, will welcome the benefits of this initiative to achieve standardization that is rationally based and empirically supported by a wealth of previously unsynthesized research. Child welfare professionals, legal counsel, and judges will find this manual to be an indispensable reference with which to inform and structure their effort to advance what is in the best interest of a child at risk. This manual includes two separate but related sections.

This book presents an innovative, empirically-supported approach to assessing parenting capacity of parents with learning difficulties that can lead to more humane, fair, and accurate child custody decisions. The authors are leading researchers and practitioners in this field having worked with hundreds of these families. Many professionals working with these families recognize that current parenting capacity assessment approaches are based on outdated and invalid assumptions and methods. This book addresses the unique assessment needs of these families and includes detailed background information, rationales and methods. After a comprehensive literature review, the authors provide a theoretical interactional model underlying their assessment approach. The remainder of the book is devoted to a detailed description of the comprehensive, competence-based parenting capacity assessment method and includes many examples and two case studies. This book is an indispensable resource for all professionals involved with parents who have learning difficulties and their children. Book jacket.

This definitive textbook provides accessible information on best practice for assessing the needs and strengths of vulnerable children and their families. It explores the challenges that practitioners face routinely - with suggestions as to how to address them - as well as the established areas for assessment, of children's developmental needs, parenting ability and motivation, and socio-economic factors. This new edition has been extended substantially to include recent practice, policy and theoretical developments, such as understanding the lived experience of children, young people, and family members. It also considers children's neurological development, assessing parental capacity to change, early help assessments, emerging areas of practice such as child sexual exploitation, and working with asylum-seeking and trafficked children. Crucially, this updated edition takes a broader approach in offering relevant information to a range of professionals working with vulnerable children. The importance of inter-professional working is emphasised throughout.

In this book Steinhauer brings together the fragmented research that has been done in a number of different disciplines. From this body of work he develops a model of intervention based on an understanding of attachment theory, development theory, and the practice of mental health consultation.

Forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) has grown into a specialization informed by research and professional guidelines. This series presents up-to-date information on the most important and frequently conducted forms of FMHA. The 19 topical volumes address best approaches to practice for particular types of evaluation in the criminal, civil, and juvenile/family areas. Each volume contains a thorough discussion of the relevant legal and psychological concepts, followed by a step-by-step description of the assessment process from preparing for the evaluation to writing the report and testifying in court. Volumes include the following helpful features: - Boxes that zero in on important information for use in evaluations - Tips for best practice and cautions against common pitfalls - Highlighting of relevant case law and statutes - Separate list of assessment tools for easy reference - Helpful glossary of key terms for the particular topic In making recommendations for best practice, authors consider empirical support, legal relevance, and consistency with ethical and professional standards. These volumes offer invaluable guidance for anyone involved in conducting or using forensic evaluations. This book addresses evaluations for child protection, one of the most delicate legal arenas in which forensic mental examiners play a part. The evaluations are highly specialized, requiring child clinical specialization, a knowledge of the legal and social context, and a thorough understanding of the professional and ethical guidelines for child protection evaluations. This volume provides the foundation that any mental health professional needs when pursuing specialization in evaluating children and parents before the court in child abuse and neglect cases.

This new and updated edition of the best-selling book on assessing children in need and their families integrates practice, policy and theory to produce a comprehensive and multidisciplinary guide to all aspects of assessment. The Child's World not only provides an explanation of the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families, but also offers a wealth of information on how to use it sensitively and effectively. The Child's World explores the implications of recent legislation, including the Children Act 2004, and national guidance for assessment practice. The contributors have drawn on the latest research, best practice and lessons learnt over the past decade of Framework implementation to equip practitioners, from different disciplines, to identify the developmental needs of children, assess parental capacity and evaluate the impact of family, economic and environmental factors on the carer's ability to meet the needs of the child. This book is essential reading for all practitioners, managers, trainers and educators in children's and adult services who use the Framework, and will also be a valued source of knowledge and guidance for those assessing children’s needs in legislative contexts outside of England.

A Practitioner’s Guide to Enhancing Parenting Skills: Assessment, Analysis and Intervention offers a detailed and stepwise approach to problem behaviour analysis and management, based on the successful and evidence-based Enhancing Parenting Skills Programme (EPaS). This unique programme, based on 40 years of Professor Hutchings’ clinical work, draws on social learning theory (SLT) principles designed to support families of young children with behavioural challenges. In this book, Hutchings and Williams combine clear practical guidance with case examples and useful checklists to deliver SLT-based interventions tailored to the unique needs of individual families. The case analysis identifies the assets and skills in the home situation and the functions of problem behaviours before creating a set of achievable goals. The latter part of the manual includes examples of intervention strategies to address several common problems, including toileting, eating and night-time problems. This book is an invaluable tool for all practitioners working in Early Years including CAMHS primary care staff, social workers, clinical psychologists, health visitors and school nurses.

These are the sorts of questions that face mental health practitioners who are increasingly involved in complex child care cases which come before the courts. They have been given little guidance to date on how these assessments should be made, especially where a decision has to be taken as to whether a child has experienced `significant harm.' In this much needed book senior clinicians consider the principles and practice of parenting assessments and how they guide courts' decisions about children's welfare. They describe a number of frameworks for assessment and discuss the factors which help predict the risk of future maltreatment or the likelihood of successful rehabilitation. Throughout the book the emphasis is on the need to integrate the assessments of all relevant professionals in order to serve the best interests of the child, while also addressing the parents' potential to improve their caretaking skills. Offering guidance in areas of crucial significance for child, family and professional alike Assessment of Parenting will be widely welcomed.

The SAGE Handbook on Decision Making, Assessment and Risk in Social Work provides a comprehensive overview of key strands of research and theoretical concepts in this increasingly important field. With 49 chapters and four section summaries, this Handbook describes the ‘state of the art’; discuss key debates and issues; and gives pointers on future directions for practice, research, teaching, management of services, and development of theoretical understandings. A key aim of this Handbook is to support the development of sound, applied knowledge and values to underpin reasoned professional judgement and decision making by social workers in practice and those in management and regulatory roles. With contributions from a global interdisciplinary body of leading and emerging scholars from a wide variety of roles, this handbook has been designed to be internationally generalisable and applicable to all major areas of social work. This Handbook provides a field-defining account of decision making, assessment and risk in social work which is unrivalled for its diversity and strength of coverage, and will be of value to social work researchers, teachers and practitioners, as well as to those in allied fields such as health care. Section 1: Professional Judgement Section 2: Assessment, Risk and Decision Processes Section 3: Assessment Tools and Approaches Section 4: Developing and Managing Practice Section 5: Concluding Section / Afterword