Development of an instrument to understand the child protective services decision-making process,with a focus on placement decisions |
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| Institution: | 1. Brant Family and Children''s Services, Brantford, Ontario, Canada;2. McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada;3. Wilfrid Laurier University and Brant Family and Children''s Services, Ontario, Canada;4. Factor-Intenwash School of Social Work, University of Toronto, Canada;5. Niagara Health System, Niagara, Ontario, Canada;1. Western Kentucky University, College of Health and Human Services, Department of Social Work, 1906 College Heights Blvd. #11039, Bowling Green, KY 42101, United States;2. University of Kentucky, College of Social Work, 619 Patterson Office Tower, Lexington, KY 40506, United States;3. Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, 205 Peters Hall, 1404 Gortner Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, United States;4. Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Room 250 EdSciB, 56 East River Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States;1. The Ohio State University, College of Social Work, 1947 College Rd, 325B Stillman Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, United States;2. University of Wisconsin, 1350 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706, United States |
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| Abstract: | When children come to the attention of the child welfare system, they become involved in a decision-making process in which decisions are made that have a significant effect on their future and well-being. The decision to remove children from their families is particularly complex; yet surprisingly little is understood about this decision-making process. This paper presents the results of a study to develop an instrument to explore, at the caseworker level, the context of the removal decision, with the objective of understanding the influence of the individual and organizational factors on this decision, drawing from the Decision Making Ecology as the underlying rationale for obtaining the measures. The instrument was based on the development of decision-making scales used in prior decision-making studies and administered to child protection caseworkers in several states. Analyses included reliability analyses, principal components analyses, and inter-correlations among the resulting scales. For one scale regarding removal decisions, a principal components analysis resulted in the extraction of two components, jointly identified as caseworkers’ decision-making orientation, described as (1) an internal reference to decision-making and (2) an external reference to decision-making. Reliability analyses demonstrated acceptable to high internal consistency for 9 of the 11 scales. Full details of the reliability analyses, principal components analyses, and inter-correlations among the seven scales are discussed, along with implications for practice and the utility of this instrument to support the understanding of decision-making in child welfare. |
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| Keywords: | Child welfare Child protection Decision-making Foster care Instrument Survey |
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