Initial assessment: A key stage in social work intervention

This paper examines the intake practices in child protection in the New South Wales Department of Community Services as a case study of initial assessment in social work intervention. Data was collected in three Department of Community Services local offices where 39 practitioners were interviewed about their child protection work practices. An observational study of the workers' intake practices was also undertaken for a period of approximately 110 days. While official Department of Community Services policy and procedures provided the basis for intake practice, this research found that other important factors relating to the informant, the characteristics of the frontline worker, the workplace environment and the context of child protection practice influenced the intake process. The implications of the research findings for other social work practice settings are considered.