Teaching social workers to use psychological assessment data

Psychological assessments of children and parents are frequently used by social service caseworkers when making case planning decisions. Often, however, the two disciplines--psychology and social work--have difficulty collaborating in and coordinating their respective work. Caseworkers may lack formal training in how to understand and use psychological reports. Psychologists may lack formal training in forensic assessment and in understanding the constraints of the social service and child welfare systems. This article describes how caseworkers may become more sophisticated consumers of psychological assessments, and how collaborative relationships between evaluating psychologists and caseworkers can be fostered.