ABSTRACT

The legal definition of social work services in schools referred to direct-service provision and also contained elements of what is now regarded as case management. When the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA) was reauthorized and amended in 1986 through P.L. 99-457, case management received specific and focused attention. This law added a new Part H to the EHA, a discretionary grant program relating to handicapped infants and toddlers. Assessment is a critically important function in case management practice in schools. Data gathered in the school social work assessment shape the direction of the case management process for the individual student. The school social work assessment is broad based and problem-solving in orientation. It embraces a number of domains and utilizes a variety of assessment procedures and instruments. The chapter reviews the social history as an overarching traditional approach to school social work assessment. It focuses on specific domains of assessment such as adaptive behavior, social skills, and family assessment.