Write a 500- to 750-word paper in which you create an imaginary assessment interview between a case manager and a client from a specific population of your choice. Include the following in your assessment interview: A brief introduction A beginning, middle, and end of the interview process as outlined in Ch. 2 of The Helping Process A discussion on confidentiality A strengths-based approach Active listening and questioning skills Responding skills, including minimal responses, paraphrasing, reflection, clarification, and summarizing Format your paper consistent with APA guidelinesReferral, screening, and assessment begin our work with HIV clients. We get a referral, then screen to see if there is a match between the referrals and the family service center. This includes a home visit and verification of HIV status. An assessment of the family follows. Its purpose is to identify needs. Caseworker, Bronx, NY Assessment means appraisal or evaluation of a situation, the person(s) involved, or both. As the initial stage in helping, assessment generally focuses on identifying the problem and the resources needed to resolve it. Focusing on the people who are involved includes attention to client strengths that can be a valuable resource to encourage client participation and facilitate problem solving. The benefits of the strengths-based approach to assessment were discussed in Chapter One. As the opening example shows, data are gathered and assessed at this phase to show the applicant's problem in relation to the agency's priorities. Identifying possible actions and services and determining who will handle the case are also part of the assessment phase. In this example, a preliminary screening follows the referral. This chapter explores the assessment stage of the helping process: the initial contact with an applicant for assistance, the interview as a critical component in data gathering, and the case record documentation that is required during this phase. You can refer to Figure 2.1 to see the place assessment has in the helping process. The assessment phase concludes with the evaluation of the application for services. For each section of the chapter, you should be able to accomplish the following objectives. Figure 2.1 The Helping Process Application for Service · List the ways in which potential clients learn about available services. · Compare the roles of the helper and the applicant in the interview process. · Define interview. · Distinguish between structured and unstructured interviews. · State the general guidelines for confidentiality. · Define the helper's role in evaluating the application. · List the two questions that guide assessment of the collected information. Case Assignment · Compare the three scenarios of case assignment. Documentation and Report Writing · Distinguish between process recording and summary recording. · List the content areas of an intake summary. · State the reasons for case or staff notes. Application for Services Potential clients or applicants learn about available services in a number of ways. Frequently, they apply for services only after trying other options. People having problems usually try informal help first; it is human nature to ask for help from family, friends, parents, and children. Some people even feel comfortable sharing their problems with strangers waiting in line with them or sitting beside them. A familiar physician or pastor might also be consulted on an informal basis. On the other hand, some people avoid seeking informal help because of embarrassment or fear of loss of face or disappointment. Previous experiences with helping agencies and organizations also influence the individual's decision to seek help. Many clients have had positive experiences with human service agencies, resulting in improved living conditions, increased self-confidence, the acquisition of new skills, and the resolution of interpersonal difficulties. Others have had experiences that were not so positive, having encountered helpers who had different expectations of the helping process, delivered unwanted advice, lacked the skills needed to assist them, were inaccessible, or never understood their problems. Increasingly, clients may also encounter local, state, and national policies that may make it difficult to get services. An individual's other prior life experiences also play a role in the decision to seek help. An individual who does decide that help is desirable can find information about available services from a number of sources. Informal networks are probably the best sources of information. Family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and fellow employees who have had similar problems (or who know someone who has) are people trusted to tell the truth about seeking help. Other sources of information are professionals with whom the individual is already working, the media (posters, public service announcements, and advertisements), the telephone book, and the Internet. Once people locate a service that seems right, they generally get in touch on their own (self-referral). Other individuals may be referred by a human service professional if they are already involved with a human service organization but need services of another kind. They may be working with a professional, such as a physician or minister, who also makes referrals. These applicants may come willingly and be motivated to do something about their situation, or they may come involuntarily because they have been told to do so or are required to do so. The most common referral sources for mandated services are courts, schools, prisons, protective services, marriage counselors, and the juvenile justice system. These individuals may appear at the agency but ask for nothing, even denying that a problem exists. The following examples illustrate the various ways referral can occur. The first individual works at a community-based agency. The center is open five days a week year round. Our mobile outreach initiative identifies clients. We use a van or bicycles to find and interact with people on the streets who are homeless and need our services.