Decision-Making and Judgment in Child Welfare and Protection - Theory, Research, and Practice

Professionals in child welfare and protection are often required to make decisions--fraught with many difficulties and shortcomings--that have crucial implications for children and families. There are many indications that these decisions are frequently unreliable and involve unavoidable errors in judgement due to the uncertainties. This book applies much-needed insights gleaned from the fields of business and behavioral economics to child welfare practice, bridging a critical gap in the child welfare and protection research agenda.

List of contents

• Preface


• Part One: Frameworks and Models in Decision Making and Judgement in Child Welfare and Protection


• Chapter 1: Key Theoretical Perspectives and Historical Overview, Rami Benbenishty and John D. Fluke


• Chapter 2: Exploration in Predictive Analysis and Machine Learning, Kelly Stepura, Jim Schwab, Donald J. Baumann, Natalie Sowinski, and Stephanie Thorne


• Part Two: Methodology for the Study of Decision Making in Child Welfare and Protection


• Chapter 3: Empirical Methods for Studying Decision Making in Child Welfare and Protection, Joel Gautschi and Rami Benbenishty


• Chapter 4: Instrumentation to Understand the Child Protective Services Decision Making Processes, Allan J. Dettlaff, Dana Hollinshead, Donald J. Baumann, and John D. Fluke


• Part Three: Ecological Models of Decision Making in Child Welfare


• Chapter 5: The Decision Making Ecology of Placing a Child into Foster Care: A Structural Equation Model, J. Christopher Graham, Alan J. Dettlaff, Donald J. Baumann, and John D. Fluke


• Chapter 6: Lessons Learned from International Studies on Child Protection Decision Making Employing the Model of Judgments and Decisions Processes in Context (JUDPiC), Mónica López López and Rami Benbenishty


• Chapter 7: The Psychosocial Process Underlying Residential Care Placement Decisions, Leonor Bettencourt Rodrigues, Manuela Calheiros, and Cícero Pereira


• Chapter 8: The Decision to Substantiate Allegations of Child Maltreatment, Sarah A. Font, Kathryn Maguire-Jack, and Rebecca Dillard


• Chapter 9: The Impact of Drugs, Infants, Single Mothers, and Relatives on Reunification: A Decision Making Ecology Approach, Kim Wittenstrom, Donald J. Baumann, John D. Fluke, J. Christopher Graham, and Joyce James


• Chapter 10: Exploring Alternate Explanations for Agency-Level Effects in Placement Decisions Regarding Aboriginal Children, Barbara A. Fallon, John D. Fluke, Martin Chabot, Cindy Blackstock, Vandna Sinha, Kate Allan, and Bruce MacLaurin


• Part Four: Decision making in child welfare and protection in practice


• Chapter 11: The Use and Usability of Decision-Making Theory in Child Welfare Policy and Practice, Cora Bartelink, Tom A. van Yperen, Ingrid J. Ten Berge, and Erik J. Knorth


• Chapter 12: The Voice of the Child in Child Protection Decision Making: A Cross-Country Comparison of Policy and Practice in England, Germany, and the Netherlands, Susanne Witte, Helen Baldwin, and Mónica López López


• Chapter 13: Teaching and Learning Decision Making in Child Welfare and Protection Social Work, Brian J. Taylor


• Part Five: Future Directions: Implications for Policy, Practice and Research


• Chapter 14: Advancing the Field of Decision Making and Judgement in Child Welfare and Protection: A look Back and Forward, John D. Fluke, Mónica López López, Rami Benbenishty, Erik J. Knorth, and Donald J. Baumann

About the author

John D. Fluke, PhD, is Professor and Associate Director for Systems Research and Evaluation at the Kempe Center in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Mónica López López, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

Rami Benbenishty, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at the School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Erik J. Knorth, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

Donald J. Baumann, PhD, is an instructor at St. Edwards University. He retired from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services where he was head of the Evaluation Section of Child Protective Services.

Summary

Professionals in child welfare and protection are often required to make decisions--fraught with many difficulties and shortcomings--that have crucial implications for children and families. There are many indications that these decisions are frequently unreliable and involve unavoidable errors in judgement due to the uncertainties. Despite the central role of judgements in the field, child welfare and protection training and research programs pay limited attention to leveraging the human factors aspect of practice.

Although extensive research exists in relevant areas--such as medicine, psychology, business administration, and economics--little has been done to help develop, transfer, and translate scientific knowledge to the child welfare arena. Decision-Making and Judgeent in Child Welfare and Protection pulls together the best internationally sourced expertise and makes it accessibly available and applicable to scholars, educators, practitioners, students, and policymakers--the key stakeholders in child protective services and child welfare.

Additional text

This volume provides an overview of the latest scientific knowledge on decision-making and judgment in child welfare and protection by an international group of highly respected experts. The focus on transdisciplinary research, the integration of different theoretical frameworks, and the translation of key findings into guidelines for practice make it to an essential reading for academics, policymakers and practitioners all around the globe and a reference work for students and teachers.
-Hans Grietens, Centre for Parenting and Special Needs Education, KU Leuven and European Scientific Association on Residential and Family Care

Product details

• Authors: John D. (Associate Director of System Resea Fluke, John D. (EDT)/ Lopez Fluke
• Assisted by: Donald J. Baumann (Editor), Rami Benbenishty (Editor), Benbenishty Rami (Editor), John D. Fluke (Editor), Erik J. Knorth (Editor), Mónica López López (Editor)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.08.2020
• EAN: 9780190059538
• ISBN: 978-0-19-005953-8
• No. of pages: 360
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 240 mm x 25 mm
• Subjects: Non-fiction book; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Social Work, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Human Services, Child welfare, Child welfare and youth services