Building the Path to Home

Evaluating Risk

Evaluating risk is a vital part of good person-centred support to people with complex needs. Ideally, issues of risk are discussed and a plan to address them is developed before a crisis occurs (see Crisis Planning and Management).

There are three primary areas to consider: damage or harm to self, to staff and/or to others around, and to goods and/or property.

Questions to ask

What danger exists?

• Is it possible that the person would:
  • yell at someone?
  • threaten someone?
  • harm someone or something?

How great is the danger?

• How likely is the behaviour?
• If we provide more support, is the behaviour less likely to occur?
• How often has it occurred?
• When and where does it occur?
• What factors may be causing the situation?

What can be done to minimize the risk?

• What supports can we add?
• What steps can we take to keep the person and others safe?
• How can we prepare to manage the risk?

Re-assessing risk

Risks will change as the person's situation changes. For example, the likelihood of someone self-harming is much less if the person is supervised in a supported setting, than if the person is on his or her own in the community. You will need to regularly re-assess risk to reflect the person's current state, environment and level of support.

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