Four types of documents are often written within the cycle of working with a family as a Child Welfare social worker in California: case notes, investigation narratives, case plans and court reports. While the order in which the documents are written may not always be linear, case notes and investigation narratives are often written before case plans, and these three documents are often used to compose a court report.
Explore the types of documents by clicking through this interactive graphic. It provides key information about each document type including:
* a definition of the document and its purpose
* what role the document plays in a family's interaction with the child welfare system
* how the document is structured
* what writing skills lead to drafting an effective document
Examples of each of the four documents are provided as well. Using the "resources" link in the upper right corner, the example documents and full text descriptions provided in the interactive graphic can be downloaded in pdf or doc formats.