Researchers: Professor Marit Skivenes Research assistant Ida B. Juhasz Congress presenter: Research assistant Ida B. Juhasz University of Bergen

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U N I V E R S I T Y O F B E R G E N
Child welfare workers’ experiences of
obstacles in care order case preparation
Researchers:
Professor Marit Skivenes
Research assistant Ida B. Juhasz
Congress presenter:
Research assistant Ida B. Juhasz
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services

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The research project
“Legitimacy and Fallibility in
Child Welfare Services –
A cross country study of
decision-making”
• England, Finland, Norway and CA (USA)
• Different child welfare systems comparison
– Policy level
– Social workers
– Courts
• Funded by the Norwegian Research Council (2012-
2016), with prof. Marit Skivenes as PI
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services

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Point of departure – system differences
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services
Nordic countries (NOR & FIN) Anglo-American countries (ENG & USA)
Child protection systems
Family service oriented
Lower thresholds
Risk oriented
Higher thresholds
Decision making frames
Professional discretion model Detailed procedures and decision making
tools
Decision-making timelines
More flexible Tight

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The survey, sample & coding
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services
• Online survey distributed to child welfare workers in
England, Finland, Norway & California (10 counties)
• Recruiting through labor associations, organization
members, colleges ++
• Survey themes: involvement of parents, children,
accountability, quality of processes, etc.
• This study: one open ended, vignette-based
question
• 1 respondent, average of 2 statements
• Common themes, patterns + testing
• Report on statements that are ≥ 15%, per
country/total.

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The Alex case (vignette from survey)
• You are working with a boy – Alex - who is 5 years old
and whose family has received in-home services over a
period of time. The case includes parental substance
abuse, previous domestic violence, and general neglect.
The circumstances of the case have deteriorated
recently to such an extent that you are concerned that
the boy’s risk of harm is high. You are starting
preparations for care order proceedings with a view
to removing Alex from his parents, and you have an
interview with the parents to inform them about this.
The parents are opposing a removal of Alex.
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services

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Survey question
“A final question about
the Alex case: At your
current workplace, would
there be significant
obstacles to prepare this
case to your satisfaction?
If yes, please describe
the two most significant
obstacles:”
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services

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MAIN FINDINGS:
3 significant obstacles in care order case preparation
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services
ENG
N= 49
S= 85
FIN
N= 164
S= 252
NOR
N= 210
S= 385
USA
N= 40
S= 72
TOTAL
N= 463
S= 794
1. Time and capacity
68 % 69 % 78 % 21 % 69 %
2. Structural
conditions at the
workplace
15 % 15 % 15 % 22 % 15,7 %
3. Threshold and
evidence
5 % 0 % 0 % 19, 4 % 2,2 %

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Finding 1: Dimensions of time
Time to work directly with child and parents
“Enough time, as I would like to work with the family and
thoroughly investigate to my satisfaction” (USA).
“Time. To be able to talk to and meet with the child several
times, without too much time passing between each time”
(NOR).
Time to complete written case material for court
“Having to prepare detailed chronologies and assessments
and write the statement in such a short time with no workload
relief. I.e. having to continue with other casework” (ENG).
Time to make thorough assessments
“We seldom have enough time to conduct investigations and
complete procedures in a good way. Something always has
to give, due to too many cases per employee” (NOR).
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services

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Finding 1 cont.: capacity/caseload, emergency
cases
• Capacity/caseload:
- “Alex would not be the only case I was working on and so
issues may happen on the other cases which would take
me away from Alex's case” (ENG).
- “The Alex case would probably be prioritized, but what
about the other cases on the list which need just as much
attention?” (NOR)
- “High caseloads which will delay completion of relevant
documentation required for the application” (USA).
• Prioritizing emergency cases:
- “Meetings with management in order to go through care
order decision can often be postponed due to emergency
cases ” (NOR).
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services

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Finding 2: Structural conditions at the workplace
• Leadership/supervision
- “Busy management who have little time for discussion of
case specifics, thus alone with important decisions on how
to proceed with case” (NOR)
- “Possible disagreement between supervisor and
manager. Trying to find a manager to respond promptly.
Manager's priority of what is politically correct over child
safety concerns” (USA).
• Routines
- “Formats for more succinct statement and care plan not
yet formulated, so this can tie up a lot of time” (ENG).
• Physcial environment
• “At my workplace there is no private rooms available to
do the interviews”. (USA)
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services

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Finding 3: Threshold and evidence
• “Being unsure of the facts presented and whether or not
abuse occurred” (USA).
• “It is often an obstacle to ensure that you have collected
accurate and truthful information about current and past
circumstances to ensure that you are making the best
decision for the child” (USA).
• “Ensuring that all the facts in the statement are accurate”
(ENG).
• “Proving thresholds, particularly with neglect” (ENG).
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services

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IMPLICATIONS TO DISCUSS
• DO THESE FINDINGS IMPLY A QUALITY PROBLEM
IN CARE ORDER DECISIONS?
– Yes, by lack of involvement of service users, of proper
assessment, and of quality of report, which becomes
court case material
– Also: 53 % say they cannot prepare the case to their
satisfaction
• CAN MORE BE DONE BY POLICY MAKERS AND
LOCAL GOVERNMENT?
– Yes, organizational factors, processes, providing
resources
• DO THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THE
DISTINCTIVENESS OF THE U.S. CHILD PROTECTION
SYSTEM?
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services

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Time is perceived most pressing in Norway,
which spends the most time on the care order
process
Country A. Time spent, from
informing the parents of
the possibility of a
removal until decision is
made
Finland 10 (4-6 weeks)
Norway 11 (7-9 weeks)
England 5 (5 days)
US 3 (72 hours)
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services
Source: Berrick et al, in preparations
MEDIAN. Highest n=653

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“What is your caseload today measured by
number of children?”
Finland Norway England USA
Mean
Children
15,99
45-47
7,09
19-21
7,48
19-23
8,39
22-26
Median 16 7 7 7
Std. Deviat
N
7,72
201
4,11
347
4,21
98
5,80
89
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services
Source: Berrick et al, in preparations

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Sufficient Time for Decision Making
“Would you have sufficient time to prepare a care order case to your
satisfaction?”
Finland Norway England California All
% (N) % (N) % (N) % (N) % (N)
Yes 24 (49) 37 (135) 52 (50) 43 (38) 36 (272)
No 68 (142) 46 (168) 45 (44) 49 (43) 53 (397)
I don’t know 8 (17) 17 (60) 3 (3) 8 (7) 12 (87)
Total 100 (208) 100 (363) 100 (97) 100 (88) 100 (756)

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Limitations
1. Not a representative sample
2. Lack in information about the specific agencies
3. Perceptions of obstacles can be relative, f. ex. time
What can be learned from this?
1. Social workers experience obstacles that compromise
the quality of decisions
2. There are system differences that affect types of
obstacles (time/resources vs. determining risk level)
3. Concrete workplace obstacles exist that can be
improved
Legitimacy and Fallibility in Child Welfare Services