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Development of an instrument to understand the child protective services decision-making process, with a focus on
Alan J Dettlaff1, J Christopher Graham2, Jesse Holzman3
1Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA.
Insights
Understanding child removal decisions is crucial for child welfare. This study developed an instrument to explore caseworker decision-making orientation, revealing internal and external factors influencing these critical choices.
Area of Science:
- Child Welfare Studies
- Decision-Making Psychology
- Social Work Research
Background:
- Child welfare system involvement necessitates complex decisions impacting a child's future.
- The decision to remove children from their families is particularly critical yet poorly understood.
- Existing research lacks insight into caseworker-level factors influencing removal decisions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate an instrument measuring caseworker decision-making context in child removal cases.
- To explore individual and organizational factors influencing child removal decisions.
- To apply the Decision Making Ecology framework to understand caseworker decision processes.
Main Methods:
- Development of decision-making scales based on prior research.
- Administration of the instrument to child protection caseworkers across multiple states.
- Statistical analyses including reliability, principal components, and inter-correlation analyses.
Main Results:
- A scale measuring removal decisions identified two components of caseworker decision-making orientation: internal and external references.
- Reliability analyses confirmed acceptable to high internal consistency for 9 out of 11 developed scales.
- Detailed analyses of scale inter-correlations provide insights into decision-making influences.
Conclusions:
- The developed instrument effectively measures caseworker decision-making orientation in child welfare.
- Findings highlight the importance of understanding both internal and external factors in removal decisions.
- The instrument offers utility for enhancing practice and research in child welfare decision-making.
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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