Child and Family Assessment in Social Work Practice

`Sally Holland has pulled off a difficult job in writing this accessible and important book. She has successfully integrated findings from her own detailed qualitative, empirical work with pragmatic, useful and, above all, ethically robust guidelines for practitioners on the conduct of assessments with children and families′ - Child Abuse Review

`Sally Holland′s book, in a rigorous and well-theorized way, explores the layers, processes and context of child care assessments while remaining rooted in what will be useful to social workers in improving their practice′ - Audrey Mullender, Professor of Social Work, University of Warwick

′This book is well referenced and set out, and supplies a useful basis for each busy CAFCASS professional, at any level of experience, to consider how best to meet challenges. A copy for every team library is recommended′ - Family Court Journal

Child and Family Assessment is an essential guide for both social work students and practitioners involved in the assessment of children and their families. It has a particular focus on in-depth ′core′ assessments and guides the reader through the complexities of conducting detailed assessments of need and risk. It is a guide for practice that is strongly rooted in research evidence.

Child and Family Assessment is divided into three parts. The first explores different approaches to assessment work. It outlines the policy and practice and places them in context with child and the family. In Part Two the focus is on the people involved in child and family assessments: the children, their parents and the relationship between the assessors and the assessed. The assessment processes is outlined in the final part focussing particularly on planning, analysis, reporting and critical evaluation.

The book has a student friendly structure and includes a set of exercises that encourage readers to reflect upon the contents of the book and to apply learning to practice. Written in a clear and accessible style, this engaging text will be invaluable for anyone embarking on or already involved in child and family assessment.

I am a Reader in Social Work in Cardiff University′s School of Social Sciences, and a former social worker in the field of child and family social work. Previously I was a practitioner in the voluntary and statutory sectors. I have extensive experience of conducting qualitative research projects in social work and have investigated issues related to looked after children, assessment of parenting, family group conferences, child neglect, involving fathers and community safeguarding. I have used a range of qualitative methods to explore these topics, including participative research with children, ethnography, mobile methods, life history interviews and documentary analysis. I facilitate a research advisory group for young people who are care experienced and am deputy chair of my departmental research ethics committee. I am also the author of Child and Family Assessment in Social Work Practice (Sage, 2nd edition, 2011).