Good assessments lead to good outcomes for youth in out of home care: A practice model in Ontario, Canada

Objectives 1. To inform participants about research on the links between good assessment practice and good outcomes for children and young people. 2. To demonstrate how incorporating standardized scales and measures into... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives
1. To inform participants about research on the links between good assessment practice and good outcomes for children and young people.
2. To demonstrate how incorporating standardized scales and measures into assessment processes provides objective measurement that, combined with clinical judgement, supports evidence-based decision-making.
3. To illustrate the effectiveness of combining new media technology with reflective clinical practice to engage youth in decision-making, encourage communication, and provide immediate access to objective measurement.

Method
We will demonstrate the use of Viewpoint, an electronic vehicle for administering and presenting the findings from the Assessment and Action Record (AAR), the main instrument for assessing service needs and monitoring child developmental outcomes in the Ontario Looking After Children project. Viewpoint is being used in a growing number of local Children’s Aid Societies in the province of Ontario, following two pilot projects, to administer and score the AAR electronically and present key individual or aggregated data in a flexible fashion. We will also show the importance of reflective and critical thinking by practitioners in integrating clinical and norm-based information in formulating comprehensive assessments of children’s needs. l

Results
Participants will have had an opportunity to consider how good assessment practice does indeed favour good outcomes and also how good assessment practice can be implemented. The benefits of incorporating new media technology into clinical practice and of integrating clinical judgment and data-based evidence will also have been demonstrated

Conclusions
Our experience in implementing Viewpoint in Ontario can be summed up as follows:
1. Good assessment practice does promote good outcomes.
2. The components of good assessment practice include being child centred, know child development, and using standardized measures and scales.
3. Practitioners’ reflective, analytical, and critical thinking about all the available information fosters comprehensive assessments of children’s needs and comprehensive plans of care to meet those needs.
4. As a vehicle for the AAR, Viewpoint is consistent with good assessment practice. The web-based AAR explores the young person’s progress and development, from infancy through young adulthood, within seven developmental dimensions. It also provides an assessment that leads to an action plan to obtain positive child and youth development and resilience.
5. Young people have the opportunity to contribute to their own assessments by completing web-based questionnaires that are displayed on graphical backgrounds with avatars speaking text. Practitioners review young people’s responses with the young people themselves, to help them develop their understanding of their circumstances and wishes.
6. Caregivers also complete web-based questionnaires that capture their experiences of the young people and contribute to the latter’s well-being.
7. The AAR assessment questionnaires include a range of validated measures and scales that are completed electronically, thereby enabling practitioners to view young people’s individual responses in relation to normative data. Assessment questionnaires address all age ranges, from under 12 months to 18 years plus, providing information about key development issues at different ages. Practitioners, together with caregivers and young people, are able to identify developmental areas that require further intervention or support and map out a plan to promote better outcomes.
8. In using Viewpoint to administer and present the results of the AAR, practitioners encourage the participation of young people in the assessment process and use the age-appropriate information obtained from the scales and measures to inform their clinical judgements.