A conceptual framework for thinking about risk assessment and case management in child protective service

The present paper presents a broad conceptual framework for examining methodological issues in risk assessment in child protective service work. The following issues are discussed: standards for determination of risk; types of data collected; sources of information; types of possible errors; incremental validity issues; cultural context of decision making; assessment of problem origins; selection of outcome goals and implementation strategies; and treatment monitoring and case closure decisions. Risk assessment procedures vary on a number of dimensions, and the task of comparing one procedure to another is quite complex. Clearly, techniques cannot be considered from one vantage point and must take into account the general purpose of the assessment, the specific types of decisions that are to be made, and for whom, by whom, and within what context the data is to be gathered and used.