title: Families referred to a Child Assessment Team: the Campbelltown experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors: Department of Community Paediatrics, Campbelltown Hospital, Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia.
authors: Norma
authors: N
authors: Kayrouz
authors: Susan
authors: S
authors: Milne
authors: Carolyn
authors: C
authors: Cottier
authors: Jenny
authors: J
authors: McDonald
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: accessibility of services; child development; diagnostic assessment; socio-demographic risk