Risk Assessment in Social Care and Social Work outlines the theoretical issues behind the decisions, processes and organisations involved in risk assessment. Written by leading academics and experienced practitioners, it considers implications for future policy, drawing on the full range of perspectives in the most recent research. It considers the following themes:

* The concepts of risk and dangerousness, and the ethical questions, which arise when assessments of risk are made.

* The wider context of social policy and legislation, and the interaction between rehabilitation and the distribution of risk.

* Social services staff and the risks they pose to their clients - the issues of selection, supervision and accountability; and risks to practitioners themselves.

Individual chapters describe and compare methods of risk assessment with different client groups, including older people, children, people with mental health problems, and sex offenders. This book will ensure that practitioners, managers and policy makers deepen and coordinate their understanding of the key issues involved in both the initial choices made about the extent of risk, and the stable and productive management of the outcomes of those decisions.