Who are You to Judge? The Importance of Recording and Evidence Based Assessments.

Jane’s words rang in my ears; her wonderful Scottish brogue seemed to give more weight to her sound advice. “Write. It. Down” she said firmly, enunciating every word. Jane was my tutor in University, and was talking to me in a 1:1 tutorial about the importance of recording in social work. Her words made an impression, which remain with me to this day.  Such was her emphasis on the subject, that once qualified and working, I became almost obsessed with making sure that I, 
Wrote. 
It. 
Down.  
Jane was not wrong; accurate recording is absolutely fundamental to the task of social work.

I was a social worker back in the day before computers made the job of recording less laborious. How well I recall staying in the office after a lengthy or difficult visit, which had to be written up by hand, before I went home, while the information was fresh in my mind. I wasn’t alone; there would often be three or four of us, hunched over our desks, scribbling furiously, and wishing our hands didn’t ache quite so much.  If I felt like skimping the task, Jane’s words would resound once again, and I would redouble my efforts.

Jane was equally emphatic about the importance of accuracy. “If it goes to court” she cautioned, “You’d better be sure you’ve recorded it accurately”. This advice was to stand me in good stead many times. I recall one occasion where I was cross-examined in Crown Court by a particularly intense barrister who seemed determined to discredit my account of events of the case in question. At one point, he asked me how I could be so sure of my recollection of events, which were written up in the court report. I answered simply and honestly, “Because I recorded it accurately at the time”. He raised a sardonic eyebrow and questioned me again, “You mean to tell me that at the time of speaking to this mother, you managed to make detailed notes”. To me, it seemed obvious, “Yes” I replied. He paused for effect, “And where, may I ask are these marvellous notes now?” he enquired with an edge of sarcasm. I pointed to the desk where the Local Authority solicitor was sat; “Right there” I said indicating my original notebook from the day in question.

The judge leaned forwards and gestured, “I’ll have those please,” he said immediately, and they were duly admitted as evidence. Sure enough, on the day in question, I had followed Jane’s advice. I had Written. It Down. Chapter and verse; it was all there, dated, signed, and accurate. The judge read the notes in silence. Then, he turned to the barrister and declared, “Seems clear to me” and that, was in effect, that.

When contemplating poor recording, I think about a case where I was required to write an independent assessment concerning a little boy of four who had been taken into the care of the Local Authority, and whose aunt wished to assume care for him. The social worker in charge of the case, was, like many of her colleagues, overworked, tired and stressed. As well as reading all the files, and speaking to all the professionals involved, I discussed the case with the social worker in order to glean as much first-hand information as possible. As we talked, she recalled several meetings where the child’s aunt had been aggressive, confrontational and on one occasion, downright violent, attacking the social worker in the foyer of the building. I asked the social worker if she could possibly direct me to the case notes in regard to these incidents, as they would need to form part of my assessment. She told me that she had never had time to record the meetings and incidents, some of which had happened more than a month previously. Seeing my stunned reaction to this, the social worker told me that she “Had it all in her head”. This did nothing to alleviate my concern. Here we had a family member who was potentially wholly unsuitable for the task of caring for this child, but her violence and aggression towards professionals had not been recorded and hearsay does not stand up in court. Write. It. Down.

One of the most elemental skills for any social worker is the ability to initiate an accurate assessment of a given situation. Undertaking solid, research based, evidential assessments, is a core activity for any social worker. Good quality assessments are THE essential tool in substantiating and informing the decision making process within social work.

Assessments are usually context specific and may comprise of a variety of theoretical approaches. However, all assessments share a common factor in that they all require the gathering of information. In a situation of immediate risk to a child, an assessment needs to be made quickly based on the available information. However, more often than not, assessments are time consuming, and can take many weeks or even months to complete.  Social workers are not only concerned with gathering information; they must also analyse and evaluate what information is relevant and more importantly, what is valid and accurate, which is a skill in itself.

The role of the child protection social worker is complex; Parents can become defensive and hostile in their efforts to protect their privacy and, given the nature of the job, the information offered to social workers by parents may not necessarily be exact. Parents who feel they are “under the microscope” can understandably feel anxious, and, in their efforts to avoid further involvement from social services, may volunteer information, which is not accurate.  Parents may minimise a given situation in order to downplay the social worker’s concerns, or more worryingly, may offer information, which is totally fabricated and intended to deceive.

Gathering information for an assessment can be intrusive and uncomfortable for all concerned. The skill of the social worker must lie in their ability to interpret what is factual and relevant in an often highly complex plethora of information. They must then organise this information into a comprehensible assessment, which addresses the salient points, highlights any areas of risk to the children concerned, and most importantly must offer recommendations as to how to make and maintain positive changes.

Within this process, social workers are often accused of being judgmental. While it is hoped that we would strive to avoid adopting an autocratic or superior attitude; making sound judgments is an essential part of any social worker’s role.

One dictionary definition of the word judgement is; 
The forming of an opinion, estimate, notion or conclusion from presenting circumstances.  

Another definition suggests that it is;
The ability to judge, make a decision, or form an objective opinion, wisely, especially in matters affecting action.

“Being judgmental” is therefore unavoidable if we are to be effective. When a social worker visits a family and begins an assessment, he or she is, essentially being paid for their judgement about the situation. When the social worker discusses the case with their manager, that manager then makes further decisions based on the judgement of the social worker.

Social work judgments are based on the assessment of a given situation, it is therefore essential that our skills in this area are regularly revised and enhanced.

While judgement of a situation is required, social workers must guard against falling into the trap of “value judgments”. For example, we might visit a home and report that it was “maintained to a high standard” – by whose standard are we measuring this? Alternatively, we might report, “the children were inappropriately dressed”; again, what is our baseline for quantifying this statement?

Statements such as these must be backed up with evidence if we are to avoid the accusation that we are being judgmental, which is where the evidence-based assessment is of such importance.  One Local Authority I worked for recently banned the use of the phrase, “Kicked off”, in assessments and daily logs, which I for one was more than happy about. It had become commonplace for social workers to report that children had “kicked off”, with no accompanying information as to what qualified as “kicking off”.  

Once completed, a social work assessment can be a crucially valuable tool. It may be used in court as the basis for the Local Authority’s case in Family Proceedings. As such, the importance of the evidence gathered by the social worker cannot be understated. Our resulting judgement, made as a result of all the relevant information, is at the heart of our role as child protection social workers.

So remember; Write. It. Down. You will not only help yourself, but others who may need to rely on your accuracy for other ongoing assessments or court hearings. 

Visit my website; www.freyabarrington.com

My bestselling book Known to Social Services is a fictionalised work, outlining the daily challenges faced in social work. Known to Social Services won the autobiography/biography/memoir section of the 2015 London Book Festival.

Coming Soon; my latest novel, titled Caught in Traffick is a novel about the harrowing world of child trafficking in Thailand. it is a sequel to Known to Social Services.

Freya