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A social work assessment is a written report of information a social worker has collected about a client who is in need of assistance in the areas of educational enrichment or mental health, substance abuse, or work-related services. The assessment involves interviewing the client and other significant parties knowledgeable of the client's background and current needs. The final written report includes goals the client should complete to resolve his or her problem and the treatment or assistance the social worker recommends to help the client accomplish these goals.



  1. Write an Assessment for Social Work Step 1.jpg
    Schedule interviews. Most of the information that a social worker incorporates into a social work assessment comes from direct reports from all parties involved with a case.
    • Begin by interviewing the person who is seeking services. It is also important to interview family members, former case workers, physicians, teachers, and other people who you believe have pertinent information to report about your client.
    • If you are unable to interview the client's caretakers or health care providers, review the client's medical and educational records. These records will provide background information that will be helpful when you write your assessment.
  2. Write an Assessment for Social Work Step 2.jpg
    Conduct interviews.
    • Have an assessment form on-hand during your interviews. Assessment forms include specific questions about presenting problems, family background, mental health and physical conditions, drug and alcohol use, the client's needs, strengths, weaknesses and access to resources and support. Using an assessment form will help focus your interview and allow you to take thorough notes. Many facilities have their own assessment forms available for the interview process.
    • Create a safe atmosphere when conducting interviews by explaining the rules of confidentiality to the interviewees. In general these include that all information obtained in the interview will remain a part of the report and that you will not share the information with people who are not involved with the case.
    • Ask open-ended questions that require the person to respond with detailed answers. Questions requiring only a yes or no answer will not produce enough information for you to write an assessment that you can use to set goals and determine a treatment plan.
  3. Write an Assessment for Social Work Step 3.jpg
    Write the assessment.
    • Include all of the information you have gathered about the client from interviews and a review of the client's medical and educational records in the written assessment. Describe the client's personal appearance, including whether or not the client was appropriately dressed for the weather on the day of the interview, the client's personal hygiene, ability to maintain eye contact and the client's mental orientation (awareness of person, place, time and event). Reports are often written in a narrative form that tells the story of the client's current problem or problems and how and when those problems initially appeared.
    • Compare and contrast the client's perception of his or her problems, needs, weaknesses and strengths with the perceptions of other people you interviewed for the assessment. Such a comparison can provide you with a more complete understanding of the client's goals and treatment needs.
    • Set specific goals for the client that are time-limited and attainable. If a goal is to stop using drugs, for example, your treatment recommendation should include a referral to a substance abuse program that requires the client attend a set number of meetings and submit to random drug screenings, and a target date for completion of the program.
    • Schedule a follow up meeting with the client after you've written and discussed the assessment to review the client's progress towards completing each goal.

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  • A social work assessment may also be referred to as a needs assessment or a mental health assessment.
  • An assessment that focuses primarily on a client's drug and alcohol problems is a substance abuse evaluation.

Things You'll Need

  • A safe, secure interview room
  • Medical and educational records
  • Assessment form

Article Info

Categories: Writing

In other languages:

Español: Cómo escribir una evaluación de trabajo social, Русский: написать отчет по оценке социальной работы

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