A process manual for the systemic-dialogical assessment of the well-being of the child

It is widely accepted that assessments of a child and their family in situations where there are concerns about a child's welfare have to be well-structured, knowledge-based and applied by a skilled and experienced workforce.... [ view full abstract ]

It is widely accepted that assessments of a child and their family in situations where there are concerns about a child's welfare have to be well-structured, knowledge-based and applied by a skilled and experienced workforce. In Switzerland professional decision-making in statutory child protection was only established in 2013. As a consequence, knowledge-based approaches to the assessment of a child's well-being have been lacking for a long period of time and today's practice of undertaking assessments is dominated by a diversity of local models. Little is known about how systematic these models are and how they are used by service workers. This paper reports on a cooperative research and development project, in which researchers and practice organisations have been working together in order to build a research-based process manual for the assessment of the well-being of the child. The presentation provides information on the project and on its outcome: the "Process manual for systemic-dialogical assessment of the wellbeing of the child", which combines three key features: (1) Rather than suggesting a dichotomy between a child-protection focused and a needs-focused assessment, it conceptualises assessment of suspected significant harm and assessment of needs as two of six key processes. It helps professionals to prioritise and decide what issues should be addressed next according to the contextual conditions and circumstances of a particular case. (2) Instead of trying to determine action using step-by-step instructions, the process manual is designed to support professionals in making sound decisions about how to move on in a particular key process of an assessment. (3) Proposals and reflections about how to engage the child’s and the parents’ participation in the assessments, as well as in the process of drawing conclusions about appropriate measures / services are integrated in each of the six key processes. In addition to introducing the structure and design of the processmanual, the presentation draws on research findings on assessments in child care and child protection that underpin it.