This guide was written in response to growing concerns about the safety and well-being of children in America. The guide's primary purpose is to help planners involved in child protection reform, both at the agency level and as part of a community team, to develop a comprehensive approach to assessment in child protection. The guide is intended to assist planners in reviewing current practices and developing enhanced assessment capacity in the following ways: (1) suggesting a new framework for assessment consistent with community-based child protection; (2) demonstrating how to link assessment to the desired outcomes for children and families and to the goals of child protection reform; (3) describing a step-by-step process for developing a comprehensive assessment approach; (4) recommending core elements of an assessment strategy; and (5) providing information on the kinds of assessment tools and processes that are currently available, how effective they are, and how and when to use them. The guide's chapters are divided into two parts: (1) "Planning for Improved Assessment in Child Protection"; and (2) "Assessment Tools in Child Protection: A Critical Review." Appendices include resources for culturally competent assessment, sample tools and forms, tool characteristics, types of assessment in community-based child protection, and a case example. (Contains approximately 125 references.) (EV)