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Assessment, Risk and Decision Making in Social Work
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Assessment, Risk and Decision Making in Social Work
An Introduction

First


March 2020 | 208 pages | Learning Matters

As practising social workers, your students will need to be able to make sound judgments in complex contexts and when they are under pressure. This book covers the essential knowledge they will require to understand and develop skills in relation to professional judgement and decision making processes, including:

-        the use of assessment tools;

-        engagement in assessment and decision processes;

-        the context of risk, complexity and uncertainty in practice;

-        communication and management of risk within social care processes.

 

 
Part One: Essential Practice Principles
 
Chapter 1: A framework for assessment, risk and decisions
 
Chapter 2: Involving clients in assessment and decisions
 
Chapter 3: Assessing needs, risk and capacity: tools and processes
 
Chapter 4: Collaborating, communicating and managing conflict in making decisions
 
Chapter 5: Knowledge, critical thinking analysis and reflection
 
Part Two: Particular Considerations
 
Chapter 6: Legal and ethical aspects of assessment, risk and decisions
 
Chapter 7: Professional judgement and using knowledge in practice
 
Chapter 8: Safeguarding and eligibility for services
 
Chapter 9: Managing risk and positive risk-taking in planning care
 
Chapter 10: Developing your professional skills

I would recommend this book to enable the reader to either gain a basic understanding of the social work task around assessment and risk, or as a refresher for experienced practitioners who may want to take stock and reevaluate their practice in the field of risk assessment and management. It would be a good “aide memoir” for practice teachers when preparing for supervision of a student social worker, and could be a good tool to use in developing practice discussions around risk, values and professional accountability and responsibility.

Michael Stewart
Consultant, Protecting Children, CELCIS
Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care - Vol 19, No 3

Essential reading for our Year 2 and Year 3 Social Work Students

Mrs Samantha Dean
Health, Care and Early Years, Yeovil College
September 13, 2022

I have found this book to be an invaluable resource for teaching assessment skills to pre-qualifying social work students. It's helpfully mapped to the PCF and is full of practical case examples and exercises for students. I would definitely recommend this book

Dr Andy Jolly
School of Health Professions, Plymouth University
September 22, 2021

Covers essential practice areas. Offers a broad range of theoretical and practice models for assessment and decision-making.

Mr Peter Benbow
Social Work and Professional Practice, Nottingham Trent University
April 26, 2021

this is a useful book for a range of modules and provide clear detail in a logical format.

Mrs Toni Benaton
Health and Social Care at Derby, Derby University
October 16, 2020

Campbell Killick

Campbell Killick, PhD, is Lecturer in Social Work at Ulster University, Northern Ireland, where he teaches assessment and decision making on undergraduate (qualifying social work) courses and post-qualifying, post-graduate courses. He is Course Director for the MSc in Research Methods for social workers, service users, carers and others involved in social work services. Campbell’s research focuses on professional decision making particularly in relation to the abuse of children and adults. Campbell is Co-Founder and Deputy Convenor of the Decisions, Assessment and Risk Special Interest Group (DARSIG) of the European Social Work Research... More About Author

Brian J. Taylor

Brian J Taylor, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of Social Work at Ulster University, Northern Ireland. Professionally qualified in social work and teaching, he spent 10 years as a practitioner and manager, and then 15 years in training and organisation development in health and social care before joining the University. Brian was founder and principal organiser of the biennial conference series: Decisions, Assessment, Risk and Evidence in Social Work, 2010-2022. He has taught, researched and published on these topics, including being author on over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles. He has supervised about 20 PhD students, including some... More About Author