Risk perceptions and experience in child protection decision-making: a comparative study of student social workers in Wales and Aotearoa New Zealand

Wilkins, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2780-0385 and Keddell, Emily 2024. Risk perceptions and experience in child protection decision-making: a comparative study of student social workers in Wales and Aotearoa New Zealand. Children and Youth Services Review 163 , 107623. 10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107623

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Abstract

Decision making in child protection is the product of interacting factors between workers, organizations, families, and macro social structures. Individual perceptions of risk, safety, and harm, as one piece of this complex puzzle, are important to understand. This article reports on a comparative study of social work students in two countries: Wales and Aotearoa New Zealand. Using a mixed methods survey and a staged vignette (in which the situation becomes progressively more serious), we found there were similarities between respondents from the two countries in their perceptions of risk, safety and harm, and their reasoning processes. Beneath this broad consensus, respondents from Wales rated the level of harm to the children lower at earlier stages but were more likely to say the case should meet the threshold for statutory intervention. Risk-averse respondents were more likely to conclude the children experienced serious harm and also that the case should meet the threshold for statutory intervention. These differences largely disappeared by the concluding stage. Qualitative analysis shows that the reasoning processes used to explain risk, safety, and plan goals were similar between the two countries. Some nuanced differences emerged in relation to a risk-averse group from Aotearoa New Zealand emphasizing the importance of continuing engagement with professional services as a sign of change. Implications are discussed, particularly for workforce development and the needs of newly qualified social workers.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0190-7409
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	15 May 2024
Date of Acceptance:	23 April 2024
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2024 13:10
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/168931

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