The Social Work Assessment Process

There are three initial topics social workers must address within direct practice assessments:

1. In the client's perspective, what is his or her primary goal and/or concern?
2. Are there legal mandates that must be met by the social worker and client?
3. Are there immediate or chronic health and safety concerns?
(Hepworth, Rooney, Rooney, and Strom-Gottfried. Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skill. 173-174 ) 


How is the Assessment Process linked to Core Social Work Values?

Tools for assessment should remain tightly knit to core social work values. At the top of our list: social workers must address and acknowledge their client's right to self-determination. The client needs to be invested in the process in order to make progress. The social worker's pre-assessment goals might not necessarily be critical within the client's perspective. By encouraging the client to explain and establish their concerns, mutual reciprocity within the client/provider relationship can be established. In addition to having someone listen and empathize with you, it is empowering to find your voice. With the heightened awareness of your client's right to self-determination, social workers should encourage their clients to voice their goals and problems. Within a problem solving mode with another person, a social worker must bridge the needs and objectives of the client with imposed agency or mandated goals. 

Assessments consider a "person in the environment" perspective. The social worker should investigate the client's environmental conditions. The following questions should be adressed as part of the assessment:  What is your client's habitat and what specific roles (their niche) do they play in their habitat? What social systems impact them and how do these impact them positively and/or negatively? What are social safety nets that the client relies on for support? What additional social safety nets might your client be able to connect with in order to receive more support?  People do not exist in a vacuum! Thus it is essential to understand the interconnected systems that impact your client and vice versa.  Cultural competency is a key social work value and skill during this part of the process.  In order to gain a holistic view of the client's habitat the social worker must consider different cultural norms and roles in addition to barriers this client's group might face. Drawing  an ecomap, such as the one below, with the client might be a useful tool during the assessment process. 

image from: http://home.earthlink.net/~mattaini/Ecosystems.html

Understanding your client's habitat allows the social worker to more effectively employ a strengths based approach during the assessment process.  Personal and environmental strengths should be considered. Personal strengths might include: resilience in the face of stress and hardship, confronting rather than avoiding problems, knowing when to seek help and being resourceful. Environmental strengths might include: support groups, family, friends, religious affiliations, institutional affiliations and community involvement such as volunteerism.  

Diagnosis versus Assessment-

While social workers might rely on both of these tools, it is important to highlight their clear differences. Social work assessments posit a holistic view of the client, considering people do not live in a vacum and people's individual problems exist in a wider social context. It accounts for the several different formal and informal systems interacting with your client as potential sources of strength or stress. Diagnosis takes a symptoms based approach to label a condition, such as a medical or mental health condition. Diagnostic tools can sometimes be used as part of a comprehensive assessment. Diagnosis and assessment are not interchangeable terms or processes.