When practice and policy collide: Child welfare workers' perceptions of investigation processes

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis qualitative study examines variability in practices surrounding Child Protective Services (CPS) investigations regarding the allegations of child maltreatment. Working under the auspices of a community-research collaboration with Department of Human Services officials, university researchers conducted a series of focus groups with CPS caseworkers in a state that was under court-ordered consent decree to improve child welfare investigations. Focus groups with caseworkers sought to better understand caseworkers' common investigative practices and their perceptions of best practices in conducting child welfare investigations. Two main areas were noted for improvement: (1) the need for ongoing training of CPS workers, particularly at the stage of initial intake of the allegations of maltreatment, and cross-training of police and hospital staff who regularly work with CPS, and (2) implementation of an improved risk assessment tool. These recommendations are discussed in detail.

Factors that determine decision making in child protection investigations: A review of the literature

“…The result showed that the parents who were confrontational increased the caseworkers' stress level. Caseworkers' competence was an important topic in an American study conducted by Lee, Sobeck, Djelaj, and Agius (). They discovered that many child welfare staff did not have enough experience or confidence in the role of social worker when they were meant to assess concern in relation to new cases that came in.…”

Predicting chronic neglect: Understanding risk and protective factors for CPS‐involved families

“…One possible explanation for this surprising finding is that the risk assessment tool itself was not being implemented and administered correctly. Other scholars have also noted this potential concern with how standardized risk assessment tools, including problems with fidelity and consistency (Gillingham & Humphreys, ; Orsi et al, ; (Semanchin Jones & Logan‐Greene, ), staff simply checking off boxes on a checklist (Gillingham ; Hughes & Rycus, ), insufficient training for workers on the use of risk assessments, and staff resistance (Lee et al, ). Many current risk assessments include factors that have been found in research to be protective in reducing risk of child maltreatment, such as parent knowledge of child development and parenting styles (Li, Godinet, & Arnsberger, ); however, these were not included on the risk assessment in this study.…”

“…Research findings indicated that workers were not always trained well in the use of risk assessment tools and did not have high confidence in their decision-making with the tools, which resulted in inconsistent use of the risk assessment (Lee, Sobeck, Djelaj, & Agius, 2013;Regehr, Bogo, Shlonsky, & LeBlanc, 2010). Orsi, Drury, and Mackert (2014) found low reliability of many risk assessment items, particularly those that involved subjective determinations by caseworkers, items that related to family strengths and assets, and items that required a review of the family's past history with CPS.…”

Social Media Use in Child Welfare Practice

“…However, workers may experience ethical conflicts when their personal values collide with an agency's policy (Lee, Sobeck, Djelaj, & Agius, 2013), and this may be especially true when there is no agency policy to guide decision-making. Although there is no national data about how many child welfare agencies have formal policies to guide decisions about social media use in child welfare settings, Young (2012) found that although many organizations were using social media, few had a policy that governed their use of social media.…”