Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 1) | Page 60

Vulnerable Persons

Dear Students of Social Work,
It is common for a case involving a vulnerable person to be surfaced to
an agency through a phone call or an email with some information. But
the information given is insufficient to conduct a proper assessment of the
case. Various parties may be indicated and have different starting points
of involvement in the case. The question is how do we begin to form an
assessment for the next course of action.

Initial Assessment
It is often difficult to expect a vulnerable person1 who is usually not in a
good physical or mental state to be able to provide sufficient information.
By sufficient, we mean good and clear information. Skilful interviewing is
necessary and should be carried out at a pace that matches the person’s
ability and capacity. There is always pressure to obtain reliable information.
This is important as the immediate need may be to determine if there is
neglect or abuse, past or present.
The initial work for anyone who has the first contact with the vulnerable adult
must be to assess if there is an immediate risk of harm that warrants getting
the person to medical help or the removal of the person to a place of safety.
If the assessment reveals concerns about the well being, welfare and urgent
unmet needs of the person, a caseworker should then be assigned to the
person. The role of the caseworker is to facilitate help and to subsequently
monitor the result of the help and what may be a longer term arrangement
for following up on the case.

Casework Intervention
The agency that is monitoring the vulnerable person should continue to do
so until a more permanent caseworker or follow up plan is determined. This
monitoring reduces the risk of the person falling between the cracks or being
1 Loosely defined, a vulnerable person is one who, because of physical and/or mental infirmity,
disability or incapacity, is unable to protect himself from harm.
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