Developmental and Needs Assessments

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Children who may have recently come in to care, or who still reside at home may require an overall psychological assessment to determine support needs with regards to development, including social, emotional and behavioural development. These assessments are comprehensive and offer a thorough understanding of the child’s overall functioning and can identify specific areas where support may be required. Parents and carers are an important part of the assessment process and can provide valuable information about a child’s behaviour, emotional resilience, and response to interventions such as behaviour management strategies.
Intouch Psychology Services will provide a comprehensive report to the agency or carer with practical realistic recommendations to assist the carer or parent to continue to support their child’s development.

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Cognitive and Adaptive Functioning Assessments

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Intouch Psychology Services offer cognitive and adaptive functioning assessments to determine issues such as developmental level, disability, school readiness and learning disabilities. These assessments are conducted using recognised standardised assessment tools, clinical interviews and observations and reports are provided detailing the child’s support needs and areas of strength. These assessments are a valuable tool in determining best practice support and intervention for children who have come in to care and may be experiencing difficulties with academic performance or where there may be concerns about the child’s development.

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Placement Assessments – Foster Care and Kinship Care

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Intouch Psychology Services offers comprehensive placement assessments to support agencies to make case management decisions in regards to placement of children in care. Placement assessments will aim to identify appropriate long term care options for children who are no longer able to live at home, and will provide recommendations to support decision making regarding children coming into care. Such assessments include kinship and unrelated carers. Placement assessments may include assessments for short term, long term and respite care options for children coming in to Out of Home Care.

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Parenting Capacity Assessments

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Intouch Psychology Services offer parenting capacity assessments which are conducted both to assist in identifying areas of parental strength and needs in order to determine service provision for families, and to inform key decisions on restoration and permanency planning, including for legal proceedings.

 

Parenting Capacity Assessments offer support to Caseworkers with regard to complex case formulation, and can assist in decision making with regards to whether or not a child or young person should enter, or remain in, the Out of Home Care system.

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Intouch Psychology Services provide comprehensive reports with specific and practical recommendations, which meet all legal requirements, which aim to ensure that all decision making is in the best interests of the child.

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Restoration Assessments (Section 90 application)

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Restoration Assessments are undertaken when a child or group of siblings has been removed from their direct care and the option of restoration is being considered. These assessments also include recommendations in relation to the restoration process, including transitioning to the parents care and support for the children regarding changing educational, social and community needs should a restoration occur.

 

Contact Assessments

 

Contact Assessments determine the viability of family contact visits for children during out-of-home care placements. These assessments may be required when a child is experiencing distress or behavioural problems either during or before and after contact. Further, following final long term orders being made, a Contact Assessment may assist Caseworkers to determine the best contact plan for the children long term.

 

Mental Health Assessments

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Mental Health Assessments identify current presenting mental health issues in clients in the context of parenting capacity. These assessments provide detailed discussion with regard to best practice treatment options for the client and required supports.

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Guardianship Assessments

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Intouch Psychology Services provides comprehensive Guardianship Assessments that aim to provide greater stability for children and young people when the Children’s Court makes a decision that they cannot live with their parents. Guardianship orders are a way of helping ensure a child or young person has a stable, nurturing and safe home without cutting legal ties to their family.

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