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Comprehensive Assessment Tool (CAT) Safety and Risk Assessment System
When a county agency receives a report of suspected child abuse, child welfare social workers must
assess whether the child is in immediate danger, the chance the child will be harmed in the future,
and what steps the family, and others, should take so that the child can grow up in a safe home,
nurtured by a strong, and stable family.
Social workers must often assess the likelihood that children will be harmed and make difficult
decisions rapidly, in high-stress situations. To support consistency, fairness and equity in the
process used to assess each child and family referred to a county agency, the California Department
of Social Services (CDSS), and representatives from 11 counties piloting innovations in child
welfare practice, together developed a standardized approach to assessment. The primary objectives
of this new standardized approach are to ensure that core safety, risk and protective factors serve
as the criteria for assessment decisions, and that assessments are conducted at multiple decision
points in the life of a child welfare case.
To support social workers’ ability to exercise sound professional judgment in arriving at
assessment conclusions, the CDSS has chosen to sponsor the new Comprehensive Assessment Tool (CAT).
Since February 2005, the SPHERE Institute has worked in collaboration with Contra Costa, Glenn, San
Mateo and Stanislaus Counties, and in cooperation with the CDSS, to develop this evidence-based
safety and risk assessment system. They have been joined by Sonoma County in this first year of
implementation; Santa Clara plans to implement the CAT in September, 2006.
There are two defining and unique features of the CAT: it is designed by social workers, and it
integrates an evidence base, built from historical case data, into the tools to provide critical
decision making support for social work practice. The components of the system include:
- Five safety and risk assessment tools for use at seven critical decision points in the life of a child welfare case
- Data collection strategies that support safety and risk assessment
- Technical assistance and training required to implement the tools and gather assessment data
- Analyses of CAT assessment and California Child Welfare Services Outcome and Accountability System (AB636) outcomes data
- Training and technical assistance in how to use these data in the context of a comprehensive safety and risk management system
CAT tools incorporate content set forth in the Recommended Statewide Safety and Risk Assessment
System. They organize this content social workers can analyze it easily as they make decisions
throughout the life of a child welfare case. The tools capture data that can also be analyzed in
the aggregate to support development and implementation of systemic risk management practices.
The CAT is evidence-based. The CAT assessment and CWS/CMS data collected on child, family and
environmental characteristics through the life of a case are submitted to probabilistic statistical
analyses. This will allow social workers, managers and administrators to better understand how the
core safety, risk and protective factors are related to social workers’ decisions and client
outcomes. Over time, results will show what characteristics, or factors, help predict better
results for children and families served by the child welfare system.
Contact Information
Please contact us using the appropriate email link below:
You may also contact the CAT Technical Assistance helpline at (650) 558-3980 xt 600 for more information.
Additional Materials
Sample Comprehensive Assessment Tools
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