Assessment, Risk and Decision Making in Social Work

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 Association and Coordinator of Ulster University’s DARES initiative which supports research, teaching and organisation development for social work in relation to decision-making, assessment, risk and the use of evidence to inform practice and management of services. He is co-author of ‘Assessment, Risk and Decision Making in Social Work’ published by Sage.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 jointly with colleagues in communication studies, health care, psychology, youth and community work, law and computer science. Brian is a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences; honorary Senior Fellow of the School for Social Care Research at the National Institute for Health Research, London; and honorary Associate of the Harding Centre for Risk Literacy at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin. He was a founder member of the Board of the European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA), and founder-Convenor of the ESWRA Decisions, Assessment and Risk Special Interest Group.

A comprehensive, detailed book that covers the dilemmas involved in balancing care and risk when conducting social work assessments in practice.

• Part One: Introducing key conceptsChapter 1: A framework for assessment, risk and decisionsChapter 2: Involving individuals and families in assessment and decisionsChapter 3: Assessing needs, risk and capacity: tools and processesChapter 4: Collaborating, communicating and managing conflict in making decisionsChapter 5: Analysis in assessmentPart Two: Application to practiceChapter 6: Legal and ethical aspects of assessment, risk and decisionsChapter 7: Professional judgement and using knowledge in practiceChapter 8: Safeguarding, protecting and eligibility for servicesChapter 9: Managing risk and positive risk-taking in planning careChapter 10: Reflecting on your professional practice