Assess Parental Readiness to Change Practices

A high level of judgement is required when assessing whether a parent in a vulnerable family is able to change their risky parenting practices to protect their child. This chapter describes two concepts to estimate a parent’s capacity for change, requiring two assessment procedures. One procedure addresses a parent’s willingness to change, and is based on observations by case managers. A second procedure addresses a parent’s readiness to change, and is addressed by therapists and by in-home parenting coaches who provide psycho-education and therapy.