Parenting Capacity Assessment in Child Protection Cases

Parenting Capacity Assessment in Child Protection Cases

The parenting capacity assessment is an important feature of child protection cases. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers with an expertise in parenting typically complete these reports. The process used for assessment must be rigorous, thorough, and defensible. This article reviews the theoretical underpinnings and the major elements that go into a competent forensic assessment in these matters. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers with a specialty in parenting are frequently requested to conduct parenting capacity assessments (PCA) in child protection matters. The essential focus of these assessments is to determine whether or not the parents are able to safely parent the child(ren). If not, the assessor must determine the interventions that might be used to assist the parents in obtaining the requisite skills or consider whether the termination of parental rights is the appropriate direction. This is a significant responsibility given what is at stake for the family.

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