| RISK DECISION # 7 |
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| === RISK ASSESSMENT MODEL === for Child Protection in Ontario |
| What other Assessment Issues shall be considered to inform the Plan of Service ? |
| - THE THEORY - |
| Standard ( 7 ) : |
| Eligibility for Service |
| " D E T A I L S " |
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| Other... topics, which may also be included, in the, " Assessment ", of other Child Protection Issues are : |
| parent's family background, experience with their own parents, history of relationships ; including information, about family violence. parents' reaction to the child's birth parents' educational and employment history parents' ethno-cultural orientation child's physical, emotional, social and intellectual development parent / child relationships parental expectations of child family stresses ; housing economic, employment, isolation, alcohol / drugs, psychological, legal - and/or - marital problems personal and parental factors leading to the abuse / neglect family strengths (e.g.: extended family support, strong ties with First Nations) family and community resources family's ability to protect the child family's potential to seek and use help family's perception of CPS/CAS role relationship with CPS/CAS and with worker |
| After... making a resulting determination, that a child is in need of protection -and- the completion of the Risk Asessment - and - Risk Analysis, the social worker shall complete the assessment of other child protection issues. This assessment shall be competed, by the worker -and- approved, by the supervisor within sixty (60) days, after receipt, of the referral, report and/or information. |
| Requirements Supporting Standard : |
| Where... new infromation has been received on an open protection case, and where that information has resulted in a full protection investigation, ( Risk Decision # 1 ) -and- an additional determination, that the child is in need, of protection, ( Risk Decision # 5 ), the assessment, of other child protection issues shall be reviewed by the worker -and- approved, by the supervisor, within sixty (60) days, of the receipt of the referral, report, information. |
| A Prescribed... format, for the assessment, of other Child Protection Issues, is neither provided nor required, as a component, of the revised, Risk Assessment Model, for Child Protection, in Ontario at this time. The use of approrpiate standardized formats, by Agencies, is optional. What is required, is that each record contain a, " Summary ", of the issues, set out in, ( Standard # 7 ). |
| Where... the child is Indian - or - a Native person, Agencies should encourage the family to consider the participation of the band representative - or - appropriate Native Child and Family Service Agency, to assist, in gathering information, for the formulation, of an assessment, of other child protection issues. |
| Standard ( 7 ) : |
| COMMENTARY |
| Eligibility for Service |
| The Reasons... the items outlined in, ( Standard #7 ) are considered to be key components of an assessment of other child protection issues include : |
| It is generally considered, that risk assessment tools have the greatest capacity, to predict the risk to a child, reliably, when the focus is relatively short-term. The capacity of the, Risk Assessment to reliably predict, "long-term" future harm, is somewhat more limited. Since the child protection assessment should always include a, "long-term" - and - an assessment, of other child protection issues, parenting capacity is considered to refer to the ability, of the child's, "caregivers", to make required changes, within a time frame, essential to the child's safety - and - well-being. These, "Standards", apply to all child protection cases, including, "neglect" cases. While there are a variety, of approaches, to the assessment, of neglect, one of the clearest, is an identification, of the specific impact, on the child/ren. An assessment, of the child's developement, is one essential element, in understanding the impact, of maltreatment. The specific risk factors, included in the risk assessment tool, related to environmental issues, are quite narrow -and- focus on physical hazards ( F4 - Living Conditions ), as those correlate most strongly with the future harm to child/ren. In each case, but particularly when addressing neglect a thorough observation, of the child(ren)'s environment, is an essential element, of the assessment of other child protection issues. Prior to completing a " Plan of Service ", with the child, family - and - any service collaterals, it is critical for the CPS/CAS worker to have an understanding, of family relationships -and- dynamics It is important, that the assessment be as thorough, as possible - and - take into consideration, the family's ethno-cultural orientation. A thorough assessment, of strengths, as well as problem areas is required. |
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