Definition
An assessment is a way of understanding or judging something.
In social care, there are various different assessments, including a needs assessment, supported self-assessment, carers assessment, young carers assessment, child’s needs assessment, transition assessment, combined assessment, joint assessment, financial assessment, risk assessment
Social workers complete assessments to find out information so they can decide if a person requires care and support to help them live their day-to-day life and do the things that matter to them, and how this support should be funded.
The law (Care Act 2014) says that local councils must undertake an assessment for any adult with an appearance of need for care and support, even if the council thinks the person might not have eligible needs, and regardless of their financial situation.
The bigger picture
Assessments are ultimately tests. The ‘assessor’ makes a judgement about the person being assessed, which usually determines whether or how much of a resource the person is ‘allowed’ to have. The power dynamic is unequal, and people working in social care don’t always appreciate how much anxiety the assessment can cause to people and families.
The assessment often provides only a snapshot of a person rather than a full picture of who the person is and what’s important to them.
Usually there is an assessment form to complete, with set questions and boxes to tick, so the assessment is led by the form, rather than by the person and what matters to them.
Social workers are sometimes called ‘assessment officers’, and they work in ‘assessment teams’.
‘Performance’ is measured in terms of how long people have to wait for assessments, and how many assessments have been completed.
The ‘assessment’ has become the purpose of the work, rather than supporting someone to live their chosen life.
Saying it differently
The concept of an assessment doesn’t belong in a more human, relational approach to care and support. Instead the focus should be on building relationships of trust where people are recognised and respected as experts in their own lives. Conversations should be led by the person rather than the worker, and focus on understanding what matters most to them, what a good life looks like to them, and what needs to happen to achieve that.
It’s hard to avoid the word assessment as it is embedded in the Care Act 2014, the statutory guidance and across practice. But there are ways to think and communicate differently, for example talking about conversations rather than assessments, understanding rather than assessing, and workers rather than assessors.
What people say
“Assessment… this term for me makes me feel cold. It’s clinical. It’s impersonal. It makes me feel that I’m scrutinized rather than understood.” – Clenton Farquharson