Assessing parenting capacity in a child welfare context

Child welfare decisions are frequently complicated by incomplete or disputed facts, time deadlines, and the unpredictability of future events. In response to such challenges, psychologists or other mental health professionals are often asked to provide clinical evaluations related to parenting capabilities. The current paper describes the background and components of a clinical practice model for mental health evaluations of parents in a child welfare context and provides two case examples of the model's use. The objectives of the paper are to (a) describe recommended ingredients of clinical evaluations of parents, (b) identify what the evaluations can and cannot do, and (c) illustrate how parent evaluations can enhance caseworkers' and attorneys' understanding of issues related to case planning and disposition.