Assessment is central to the social work process and yet is becoming an increasingly burdensome and complex task, under pressure of burgeoning governmental and agency guidelines issuing from the Community Care Act, The Children's Act and Criminal Justice Acts, as well as movements towards user-participation and empowerment. This book offers a clear and practical guide that does not skirt the uncertainties and ambiguities inherent to assessment, but rather offers clear and usable principles from which social workers can develop thorough and meaningful analyses of their clients' situations and needs.