Activities per year
Abstract
Child welfare professionals regularly make crucial decisions that have a significant impact on children and their families. The present study presents the Judgments and Decision Processes in Context model (JUDPIC) and uses it to examine the relationships between three indepndent domains: case characteristic (mother’s wish with regard to removal), practitioner characteristic (child welfare attitudes), and protective system context (four countries: Israel, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Spain); and three dependent factors: substantiation of maltreatment, risk assessment, and intervention recommendation.
The sample consisted of 828 practitioners from four countries. Participants were presented with a vignette of a case of alleged child maltreatment and were asked to determine whether maltreatment was substantiated, assess risk and recommend an intervention using structured instruments. Participants’ child welfare attitudes were assessed.
The case characteristic of mother’s wish with regard to removal had no impact on judgments and decisions. In contrast, practitioners’ child welfare attitudes were associated with substantiation, risk assessments and recommendations. There were significant country differences on most measures.
The findings support most of the predictions derived from the JUDPIC model. The significant differences between practitioners from different countries underscore the importance of context in child protection decision making. Training should enhance practitioners’ awareness of the impact that their attitudes and the context in which they are embedded have on their judgments and decisions.
The sample consisted of 828 practitioners from four countries. Participants were presented with a vignette of a case of alleged child maltreatment and were asked to determine whether maltreatment was substantiated, assess risk and recommend an intervention using structured instruments. Participants’ child welfare attitudes were assessed.
The case characteristic of mother’s wish with regard to removal had no impact on judgments and decisions. In contrast, practitioners’ child welfare attitudes were associated with substantiation, risk assessments and recommendations. There were significant country differences on most measures.
The findings support most of the predictions derived from the JUDPIC model. The significant differences between practitioners from different countries underscore the importance of context in child protection decision making. Training should enhance practitioners’ awareness of the impact that their attitudes and the context in which they are embedded have on their judgments and decisions.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 63-75 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Child Abuse & Neglect |
Volume | 49 |
Early online date | 29 Apr 2015 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2015 |
Keywords
- Decision-making, assessment, professional judgment, protective services, comparative study, child abuse and neglect
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Administration
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In and Out of Home Care Decisions in Family and Child Care: The Influence of Confirmation Bias in Developing Decision Supportive Reasoning
Hayes, D. (Invited speaker)
17 Nov 2016Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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International Seminar on Decision Making in Child Welfare
Hayes, D. (Contributor)
02 Mar 2014 → 06 Mar 2014Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Profiles
Research output
- 153 Citations
- 1 Paper
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Social work decision making involving children’s admission to care: a case vignette study
Hayes, D. & Spratt, T., 2012.Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review