About this resource
Practical foundations such as housing, money and food affect everything else. This check-in reviews nine areas of practical stability using a simple rating, then helps the person and worker agree the most urgent priorities and next steps.
Purpose
To identify practical stability issues early and agree priorities and actions with the person.
Who it is for
Primary profession: Social workers. Also relevant for community services and case workers.
Client or participant group: Adults and families experiencing, or at risk of, housing or financial instability.
Practice setting: Hospital, community health, homelessness and casework settings.
Suggested uses
- Early engagement and psychosocial needs exploration
- Discharge planning from hospital
- Regular check-ins during casework
- Identifying referrals for financial counselling, housing or legal support
Instructions for practitioners
- Explain the purpose and that the person can skip any area.
- Rate each area together and note what the person says.
- If safety concerns arise, follow your organisation's procedures immediately.
- Agree up to three priorities and specific next steps.
- Revisit the check-in at review.
Instructions for clients or participants
- Look at each area and choose how it is going.
- Pick what matters most right now.
- Agree the next steps with your worker.
Accessibility considerations
Use plain language and an interpreter where needed. The rating can be shown with colours or faces.
Scope and limitations
A conversation tool. It does not replace your organisation's assessment frameworks, risk assessment or safeguarding procedures. Concerns about family violence or child safety must be responded to under those procedures.
Higher-risk topic: use only within your training, supervision and organisational procedures.
Research basis
Case management practice standards describe assessment, planning, coordination, review and planned exits with the person at the centre. Biopsychosocial and ecological models describe how health, relationships and wider systems interact in a person's life.
- Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674028845
- Case Management Society of Australia and New Zealand. (2013). National standards of practice for case management (3rd ed.). https://www.cmsa.org.au/
- Engel, G. L. (1977). The Need for a New Medical Model: A Challenge for Biomedicine. Science, 196(4286), 129–136. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.847460
What is included
A 3-page printable A4 PDF, including a practitioner notes page with the research basis (version 1.0).
Originality
Original Practitioner Plus content: wording, activity structure, layout and icons were created for this resource. No third-party worksheets, illustrations or text were reproduced.
