Social workers’ assessment of a child’s need for services as ‘craftwork’ practice

Abstract

This study examines assessment practices when social workers determine whether a child needs child welfare or child protection services. It describes the elements employed when constructing assessment practice. The data consist of 28 group interviews among assessment teams from child and family services. The analytical framework, based on the theory of decision-making ecology and thematic mapping, allowed for a theory-driven reflective analysis. Our results highlight the distinctive nature of the assessment process, which contains the following elements: 1) individual and holistic assessments, 2) changing structures, 3) conflicting or shared understandings, and 4) unclear legal guidance. The assessment process is case-related and situational, such that tailoring also contains elements that combine decision-maker, organisational, and external factors, leaving significant space for professional discretion. Such an assessment practice represents a contextually crafted practice.