3.9 APPENDIX B: Components of the Initial Assessment
The initial assessment must be completed within the first 30 days of case opening and consists of the following documentation and activities:
- Safety assessment (CERAP)
- Risk Assessment Protocol using the Expanded Risk Factors Examples as a guide. The outcome of the assessment should be identification of the risk factors that must be addressed in the service plan.
- Specialty indicator checklists (see Appendix C) to assess the underlying conditions of:
- Mental illness
- Developmental disabilities
- Substance abuse
- Domestic Violence
- History of sex abuse
- Gathering any assessments or evaluations that the family already participated in, such as special education assessments, psychological or psychiatric evaluations, 0-3 evaluations, etc.
- Gathering initial social history information using the Social History Format. The worker must write a narrative on each factor that has been identified in the risk assessment as having contributed to or impacted on the incident of maltreatment. The narrative must include a description of the family's strengths that may mitigate the risk. Where a risk factor is not implicated in the maltreatment, the worker must describe the family's strengths in this area to the extent applicable or state that there are no known problems in this area. Under each factor listed on the Social History format there are bullet points that describe information that must be gathered pertinent to the factor. Although the worker must address each bullet point, they are not intended to be exclusive. If the worker gathers other information relative to that factor, that information should be included in the narrative.
- Continued assessment of the health, safety and level of risk to the child(ren) in the family. (If at any time the aggravating circumstances appropriate for expedited termination of parental rights exist, the worker must immediately follow the instructions for expedited termination of parental rights.)