Overview
In this forum, assessment is an on going process. You can not help/aid your client toward problem solving and goal setting until you have gathered the data necessary to work toward a SMART (that is an acronym you will learn later). You must assess your client's educational, family, employment, mental health, physical health, belief systems, drug usage and legal, housing and environmental stance. In this forum, discuss how assessment is critical in working with a client who has just declared bankruptcy and has been ordered by the bankruptcy judge to meet with you, Financial Social Worker. Describe what assessment tools you might need (local map, community resources, current loan rates, etc.- I am just naming a few that pop into my mind - you come up with more. Be specific, and again, utilize sociological imagination- to get yourself prepared to meet and be useful to your client. Use empathy but not sympathy. Listen more than you talk. The client makes up their own goals NOT the social worker. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THOROUGHLY DIGESTED YOUR TEXT CHAPTER.