Child Well-Being Scales as a Predictor of Casework Activity and Services in Child Protection

Abstract

This study examined the use of the Child Well-Being Scales (CWBS) as an aid to structured decision making in a child protection agency in Ontario, Canada. A total of 337 closed case records from a large multi-service agency in Ontario, Canada, were reviewed and abstracted by trained coders in order to determine whether or not the scales, completed by intake workers, were predictive of the subsequent decisions and activities of family service workers. Using regression models to control for demographic, case, family, community, and organizational variables results indicated that lower CWBS scores, implying increased threats to well being, were associated with greater activity and more services.