Families referred to a Child Assessment Team : the Campbelltown experience

Aim: To study the socio-demographic and psychosocial risk factors of families presenting with their children for a diagnostic developmental assessment. Methods: Socio-demographic details of children who had a multidisciplinary developmental assessment with the Child Assessment Team at Campbelltown Hospital between January 2009 and December 2010 were collated and compared with census data. Results: In 2009 and 2010, 277 families were seen by the Child Assessment Team. A detailed socio-demographic profile was available for 251 (91%) families. Parents seen in the clinic were more likely to be younger, single, born overseas, have less post-school education, identify as Aboriginal and/or live in public housing compared with the district rates. Conclusions: Families presenting to the developmental clinic have more socio-economic disadvantage compared with the referring district. This has implications for service delivery and clinical presentation, and highlights the importance of the social worker's role in a developmental diagnostic team.