Working with parents with mental health challenges

boy with toy car

boy with toy carOACAS has published a Practice Note and decision tree to assist child welfare professionals in identifying concerns in the daily functioning of parents and developing a service plan for families. It is based on the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 screening tool, which can be used to assess parental functioning.

This Practice Note was developed in partnership with mental health professionals and is one of OACAS’ responses to the 2013 Domestic Violence Death Review Committee recommendation that “OACAS develop training for child protection staff that will assist them in working collaboratively with mental health professionals in order to better assess the impact of a parent’s mental health issues, discharge plan and medical treatment on parenting capacity.”

The Practice Note is available in the following languages: English | French | Oji-Cree

Learn More: