Decision making by senior social workers at point of first referral

Spratt, Trevor

doi:10.1093/bjsw/30.5.597

Cited by 62 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Less attention has been given to the process of making decisions, rather than the outcome of those decisions. Empirical studies of social work decision making have previously been undertaken in the UK in an attempt to understand the factors influencing practitioner decision making (Spratt, 2000;Platt, 2006;Hayes & Spratt, 2009;. Such research has demonstrated that professional decision making is not purely a matter of applying knowledge to data in a rational manner, but rather represents an amalgam of subjective processes in determining how facts are understood, manipulated and acted upon.…”

Section: The Policy Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

In and out of home care decisions: The influence of confirmation bias in developing decision supportive reasoning

Spratt

Devaney

Hayes

2015

Child Abuse & Neglect

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The aims of this study were to identify the themes Social Workers regard as important in supporting decisions to remove children from, or return them to, the care of their parents. To further elicit underlying hypotheses that are discernible in interpretation of evidence.A case study, comprising a two-part vignette with a questionnaire, recorded demographic information, child welfare attitudes and risk assessments, using scales derived from standardised instruments, was completed by 202 Social Workers in Northern Ireland. There were two manipulated variables, mother's attitude to removal and child's attitude to reunification two years later. In this paper we use data derived from respondents' qualitative comments explaining their reasoning for in and out of home care decisions.Some 60.9% of respondent's chose the parental care option at part one, with 94% choosing to have the child remain in foster care at part two. The manipulated variables were found to have no significant statistical effect. However, three underlying hypotheses were found to underpin decisions; (a) child rescue, (b), kinship defence and (c) a hedged position on calculation of risk subject to further assessment.Reasoning strategies utilised by social workers to support their decision making suggest that they tend to selectively interpret information either positively or negatively to support pre-existing underlying hypotheses. This finding is in 2 keeping with the literature on 'confirmation bias'. The research further draws attention to the need to incorporate open questions in quantitative studies, to help guard against surface reading of data, which often does not 'speak for itself.'

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Section: The Policy Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

In and out of home care decisions: The influence of confirmation bias in developing decision supportive reasoning

Spratt

Devaney

Hayes

2015

Child Abuse & Neglect

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“…At what precise point does 'reasonable chastisement' tip over into abuse? Research has repeatedly shown that professionals disagree significantly in judging what is abuse (Benbenishty et al, 2003;Buckley, 2003;Spratt, 2000).…”

Section: Interpreting Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

What tools do we need to improve identification of child abuse?

Munro

2005

Child Abuse Review

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Child protection work is being transformed by the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) and other tools to improve frontline work. This article argues that current innovations are being developed without sufficient attention to understanding the needs of frontline workers. Taking the identification of child abuse as an example, the article shows how beginning with the question ‘What tools do we need?’ produces radically different answers from the current proposed tools such as the Information Sharing and Assessment database (ISA). The approach advocated here involves examining what aspects of the task frontline workers find difficult and identifying where they would most appreciate help. In relation to the problem of sharing information between professionals to ensure accurate assessment of risk, it is argued that the key problems do not lie in the technical process of sharing data but in professionals' ability to collect the necessary information, to interpret it accurately and to communicate it clearly. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…The need for refocusing local authorities' interventions towards a more child welfare-oriented practice has been formulated among professionals and academics (Hearn, 1995). Studies on how practice is dealing with this different scope in childcare/child protection have shown that practice is resistant (Spratt, 2000(Spratt, , 2001. A later study by Hayes and Spratt (2008) confirmed these findings, showing that social workers developed quasi child protection responses to child welfare cases and that the need to manage the risk inherent in child welfare cases has led to the development of management strategies on the part of social workers that they term 'child protection light'.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using 'Consensual Ideology': A Way to Sift Reports in Child Welfare

Östberg

2012

British Journal of Social Work

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Decision making by senior social workers at point of first referral

Cited by 62 publications

References 17 publications

In and out of home care decisions: The influence of confirmation bias in developing decision supportive reasoning

In and out of home care decisions: The influence of confirmation bias in developing decision supportive reasoning

What tools do we need to improve identification of child abuse?

Using 'Consensual Ideology': A Way to Sift Reports in Child Welfare

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