Early Intervention Common Assessment Tool

Learn about the Common Assessment Tool (CAT), including what it's used for and how information collected by the tool is handled.

About the Common Assessment Tool (CAT)

The CAT is an assessment used by service providers with children, young people and their families. It gathers information about a family's strengths and the challenges they face to find out what support would be helpful.

The CAT provides a flexible and consistent way of conducting these assessments so that they are:

  • led by families and their needs
  • respectful of culture
  • confidential.
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The Early Intervention Common Assessment Tool (CAT)

This animation highlights the features of the Early Intervention Common Assessment Tool, a tool designed to assess a family's strengths and needs. The tool has these key features:

Read transcript
Video transcript

The Early Intervention Common Assessment Tool (CAT)

[Uplifting music begins.]
 
Asking for help can be hard, but support services are here to make you feel safe, supported and hopeful about what's ahead. The CAT (or Common Assessment Tool) is used by a support worker to guide a confidential conversation with you and your family that you are in control of. The CAT explores different areas in life:
  • How is your family's physical and mental health?
  • Do you have a stable place to live?
  • Does your family feel safe at home?
  • Are you facing financial stress?
  • Any other challenges you're experiencing and how confidently you feel about handling them.
 
You don't have to complete the CAT all at once and you can skip anything you don't feel comfortable answering. The support worker will also talk to you about your strengths. Things like:
  • supportive relationships
  • cultural identity
  • and connections with community.
 
They'll help you build on these strengths and support you to identify and access services to overcome challenges. When you complete the CAT, a copy of the form is all yours so you don't have to tell your story again and again. 
 
Partnering with support workers to complete the CAT means everyone knows what's most important for your family. Together, you'll use your family's strengths and resources to make things better, giving you the opportunity to focus on what matters most: living a safe and happy life.
 
[Music ends.]
 
 

What happens after you complete an assessment

If you complete the CAT with a CAFS service provider, you will receive a copy of the form. You are then able to take it to other services you visit and use it to tell your story. This means that you won't have to tell your story many times to get the help you want.

More resources about the CAT

These resources can be used by families and support workers to learn more about the assessment. The resources are provided in 12 community languages as well as English, to make them more widely available to everyone in NSW.

The Family Self-assessment Template

Use the Early Intervention Common Assessment Tool (CAT) Family Self-assessment Template to capture what is and is not working well for your family.

Common Assessment Tool (CAT) – Guide

Support workers can use this guide to the Common Assessment Tool for information on completing client assessments for Community and Family Support programs.

Common Assessment Tool (CAT) – Practitioner Joint-assessment Template

Support workers should use this Early Intervention Common Assessment Tool (CAT) template with children and families to capture their needs and strengths.

Common Assessment Tool (CAT) templates available in community languages

The CAT Practitioner Joint-assessment and Family Self-assessment Templates are available in 12 community languages to support families from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. These translations aim to reduce language barriers and promote inclusive, culturally responsive practice across early support services.

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