NCJ Number
213781
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: January/February 2006 Pages: 4-18
Date Published
January 2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Using findings from a recent research study, this paper examines the ways in which local social workers in England made decisions about whether to undertake an initial assessment in referrals of suspected child abuse or to move the child directly into protection procedures.
Abstract
The author concludes that referrals were evaluated according to five key factors: specificity of the details on the harm to the child, the severity of such harm, the risk of future harm, parental accountability, and the extent of corroboration of the referral information. Based on a consideration of these five criteria, social workers could make one of three decisions regarding how to handle the case. One decision would be to conduct an initial assessment. Under British law, this involves designating the child as a "child in need," which triggers appropriate services for the child but does not involve the implementation of child protection procedures. Another possible decision is to make an exploratory visit to the home to see the child and determine whether to use child-in-need or child protection procedures. A third option is to immediately begin an investigation under child protection procedures in accordance with British law. For the purposes of this study, the first two of the aforementioned options were combined into one decision. The paper explains how the content of the referral with respect to the five factors influenced the social worker's decision about whether to conduct an initial assessment or proceed immediately to implement child protection procedures. Data collection involved interviews with social workers and parents in 23 cases that involved concerns about children that were on the borderline of the child protection threshold. 1 table, 1 figure, and 34 references