Practitioners often have to undertake assessments of children and their families who are living in poverty. To help improve the consistency and quality of these assessments the Government introduced the Framework for the Assessment of children in need and their families (DH, 2000). This learning object lets you explore the framework and its many dimensions. With the help of Barbara, a social worker, you will use the framework to assess the Johnson family, gaining an understanding of how the framework can help you in assessing the needs of children and families in your daily role. This resource also contains audio.