Social Work Intake Form

Boost the level of connection with your clients by incorporating our social work intake form. Smoothen the onboarding process, and ensure you don’t miss any critical information.

By Ericka Pingol on Mar 06, 2024.

Fact Checked by RJ Gumban.

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What is a Social Work Intake Form?

Social work intake forms are an essential component of effectively assessing and evaluating clients. They ensure that you are able to address all of their concerns and that you have all critical personal contact information, as well as any influencing factors, such as the client's history. It is a core starting point for social workers to carry out high-quality services that promote higher social and psychological well-being, and also strengthen patient connections and satisfaction. With our ready-made , you can hit the ground running right away. Alleviate social issues, and work towards a high level of care that simplifies your workflows and increases productivity without compromise. Save time, and encourage your clients to take on a larger role of their social progress and well-being.

Printable Social Work Intake Form

Download these Social Work Intake Forms to capture all the client information required to achieve better outcomes.

How To Use This Template For Social Work Intake Form

To successfully incorporate social work intake form templates within your practice, consider the following steps. Even if you are familiar with social work and intake forms, it is important that you double-check that you are following standardized procedures.

Step One: Download the PDF template  

The first thing that you need to do is download the social work intake form PDF. Click the link on this page to download the template, which should open automatically within your PDF reader software. All sections are editable, meaning that you can fill them in easily and according to your needs, and alternatively, you can also view the social work templates within the Carepatron platform.

Step Two: Hand the form to clients 

Next, you will need to hand the form to your client to fill out. If you are working with children, then you will need to distribute this form to the child's caregiver or parental guardian, to ensure that all sections are filled out accurately. This can be done before the appointment through electronic means, or you can hand the form to your client physically in person before they meet with you. We recommend that you distribute and take forms electronically to reduce waiting room times and to effectively prepare for the client's appointment.

Step Three: Upload data to secure system 

After the client has filled out the intake form, you will then need to upload the form to your system's database. This reduces the level of paperwork needed, as well as eliminates administrative tasks for greater efficiency. You can monitor forms from one place, without concern of misplacing information, with it available for easy access.

Step Four: Maintain HIPAA compliance

The final step is to store the intake form within a secure platform. Ideally, this is within your system's database, however, many social work practices tend to neglect HIPAA-compliant regulations and standards. You need to ensure that you have the right encryption and safeguard protocols in place, in order to protect client information and keep it safe from potential security breaches.

Social Work Intake Form Example (Sample)

While each social work intake form can look a little different depending on the needs and requirements of your social practice, we've created a general, high-quality social work intake form example for you to follow if you wish. This can be immensely helpful in helping you identify what factors you should include, with the completed form showcasing what a real client scenario may look like. Additionally, if you wish to immediately incorporate this template within your practice, then you can also download our social work intake form structure. This is a blank document that you can tailor according to your needs straight away.

Download this Social Work Intake Example (Sample) here: 

Social Work Intake Form Example (Sample)

Who Can Use this Printable Social Work Intake Form (PDF)?

As you can probably guess, social work intake forms are created with the needs of social workers in mind. Conversely, any individual who provides care and support to those with social, community, housing, financial, and personal issues, can benefit from incorporating social work intake forms and their practice. Social work is a very broad umbrella and can encompass a variety of professionals from many different backgrounds. Social work intake forms are not exclusive to a specific specialization, with some social workers who can especially take advantage of the forms including the following:

  1. Child social workers
  2. Family social workers
  3. Community social workers
  4. Criminal justice social workers
  5. International social workers
  6. Mental health social workers
  7. Substance abuse social workers

Why is This Form Useful for Social Workers?

There are various practical uses for incorporating social work intake forms within your practice, including the following:

  1. Smooth onboarding process – one of the most important aspects of social work intake forms is that they smoothen the onboarding process. They outline all essential client information such as their personal details, history, concerns, as well as emergency contact information. It allows you to compile all necessary information with no hassle and reduces the likelihood of missing or incomplete data.
  2. Higher organization – intake forms are also useful for elevating the level of organization within your practice. You only have to examine one document as opposed to organizing multiple. You don't have to worry about planning each section, with all the relevant information already created for you.
  3. Highlight client concerns - Client intake forms are also essential for directly addressing the social concern at hand. The client, or their guardian, can outline their concerns right away, so you can get to doing what you do best; prioritizing the needs of your client and working towards higher social outcomes.
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Why Use Carepatron For Social Work Intake Form Software?

Social work intake forms can take a little bit of time to wrap your head around, which is why we recommend that you go with a practice management software platform to help support your practice. Carepatron is an excellent option, as it is used by 10,000+ healthcare professionals, including social workers, and supplies a multitude of helpful resources for you to get started and feel confident in your social work career. With Carepatron, you can create, edit, update, and store client intake forms with no hassle. Designed to be used intuitively through a simple interface, Carepatron can also help you make accurate notes, as well as schedule appointments through optimization. Incorporate appointment reminders, client portals, online payments, as well as many other useful features, in order to provide the highest level of care to your clients. Boost growth within your social work practice, and ensure that you are connecting with your clients to provide them with personalized care that directly addresses their concerns.

Social Work Intake Software?
What are intakes in Social Work?
What are intakes in Social Work?

Commonly asked questions

What are intakes in Social Work?

Social work intake forms are a preliminary step to assessing clients and helping them with their social issues. They record essential information such as first and last name, date of birth, email, phone number, emergency contact information, as well as extensive social history. Many social workers will also include questions for the client to answer, with this differing depending on the social work specialization.

What if my client is a child? Who fills out the social work intake form?

If you are seeing a child to help alleviate social issues, then it is recommended that the child's parental guardian or caregiver fills out the form. There's no specific guideline to this, however, it should be someone who knows the child well, and is able to support the child with continuous liaison with the social worker.

Will my client have access to the intake form once submitted?

Yes. The client, or their corresponding guardian, must be granted access to the intake form whenever requested, so it is important that you do not alter the form in any way. It's important to remember that social work intake forms are not a place for you to make notes on the client's status, progress, etcetera.

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