Ongoing Assessment

As stated before, assessment is done initially to gather information and to observe and agree upon goals and main topics. However, assessment needs to be ongoing as well and social workers may have a different focus falling into one of the following: (warning: there is some mod-podge bringing together of various ideas. I apologize, things are becoming slightly overwhelming to deceiver where there need to go in relation to importance and topic)

Use of behaviors and physical symptoms for assessment: If the social worker gathers information during initial assessment in regards to behavioral symptoms associated to the dysfunctions, the decrease or resolution of these behaviors can indicate improvement in area of concern and add to ongoing assessment. Medical tests that show changes in physical symptoms can also aid in assessment due to the fact that many emotional/mental concerns affect the physical system of client. These can help give data to prove effectiveness and validity of intervention.

Goal Attainment Scale - social worker and client create goals and can track change over time. This helps to give a visual of the changes and helps to determine levels of improvement from time of assessment to completion of goals.

Role playing between client and social worker can be beneficial with social situations. Role playing allows for the acting out of situations for practice and allows conversation to flow naturally as client and social worker would predict it will in a real situation. Social worker may also have client use other analogue tools such as a vignette that is more directed than casual role-play to target client's bx based on a specific scenario. Recording the role play or vignette with either audio or video technology can help social worker and client as well as other professional social workers review the interaction over and over.

Communicative Interactive Assessment Model - this is used in family assessments and focuses on communication behavior, level of self-esteem, and family rules and expected functions of the members. The assumption is that the rules guiding the family cause a lack of growth for individual or family. Social worker helps by expanding the roles of various members along with exploring how the family relates to other people outside of the family unit. 

Structural Family Assessment Model - another one for family assessments that is based on structure (surprise, surprise! They really know how to name these things.). This focuses on exploring how the family behaves as a unit with groupings and subgroupings that are based on age and/or gender. It also looks at the current family life phase. It assumes that a family is a system maintained by rules that govern members bx and positions and that certain elements can compel a family to make adjustments.

Psychosocial Assessment focuses on past of the client's and is influenced by ego psychology in focus on internal functioning and development level of functioning in environment. It also has several assumptions:
-There is an inborn ability to manage.
-Ego functions are inborn.
- Development of ego takes place over the entire lifetime
- Ego functioning can be hindered by poor environment and dysfunctional interpersonal relationships.
- Ego functioning is affected by events that take place in person's life
- Difficulties in performing in society are due to internal weakness, external problems, or conflict between the two.

Empirical Assessment - uses information gathered and behavior that can be measured. There are 5 parts to empirical assessment:
1 - assessment is based on current observed behavior
2 - Assessment needs center on identifying client areas of concern and proposed goals in unambiguous fashion.
3- Assessment takes into account all internal and external response systems
4 - Assessment centers on strengths (like all good Social Work assessments do)
5 - Works to identify occurrences that elicit dysfunctional bx.

Task Centered Assessment Model which focuses on client problem and assigning goals to resolve that problem through client's view and expectations of intervention. Goals are broken down into tasks for client. Social worker focus explores resources, strengths, and weaknesses in relation to the problem.

Life Model focuses on how client interrelates with social context such as developmental changes, environmental stresses, and dysfunctional interpersonal relationships. Social worker evaluates the problem and chooses goals with the client in following process:
1 - Give the same time and consideration to client and environment in which the client functions.
2 - Create link between pressures and requirements of SW and client interventions.
3 - SW needs to work in client's frame of reference (client shouldn't be adjusting to SW)
4 - Focus on crediting client's strengths and not dwelling on weakness
5 - link interventions and social reform

Behavioral Assessment Model - based upon operant and classical conditioning in the fact that if behavior is learned, new behaviors can also be learned and dysfunctional bx can be unlearned. Assumptions:
- Client bx determines thoughts and feelings
- Client's problems are multidimensional and hence intervention must be as well.
- Difficulties should be examined operationally
- All circumstances that occur are important regardless if they are internal or external
- Any action taken should be assessed as it can provide some information
- Focus of intervention should be on how client will preserve change
- Client should be engaged in assessment and intervention
- Beneficial rapport between client and SW is needed for change to take place

Problem Solving Assessment - concentrates on interpersonal conflicts that affect client's problem and efforts to manage. Social worker needs to assess:
- strengths and weaknesses that affect relationships and positions of client and how eager client is for change
- problem in order to determine client's sense of problem and response to it as well as how it affects others
- process of solving problem using resources SW has to offer OR ones the client has available; also examine client's feelings of working with SW
- Finally, intervention is planned with a focus on determining best choices as well as consequences. Determine evaluation guidelines.

Systems Approach - There are 2 systems that affect client: internal and external. Internal includes things such as cognitions, emotional, and natural elements. External includes family, friends, society, and professional environment. Both of these systems affect the client's bx. Recognizing all systems help to determine strengths and weaknesses. Specifically, the SW gathers information and assesses the following: Physical functioning (physical health and traits), mental functioning (strengths and weaknesses, self-esteem), emotional functioning (ability of client to control, have a range of and feel), behavioral functioning (interpersonal relationships, routine actions, characteristics), motivation (flexibility, readiness), cultural dynamics (norms, rules, resources, ease of function in society)



FINALLY - Practice Evaluation is important in all models in order to determine if assessment and intervention were effective and beneficial in order for social worker to use for future. There are 2 types of evaluation:
Single system where information is gathered from one client or system before, during, and after intervention
Group design where there is an experimental and control group and information is gathered before and after intervention and then compared to determine the changes if there are any.