The role of workers' attitudes and parent and child wishes in child protection workers' assessments and recommendation regarding removal and reunification

Abstract

The study examines how child protection workers risk assessments and recommendations on removal and reunification of children at risk are influenced by the child and mother wishes regarding removal and associated with the workers' own attitudes towards key issues in child protection — removal, reunification, duration of alternative care, and perceived quality of out of home placements. Two hundred child protection workers in Israel completed the ‘Child Welfare Attitudes Questionnaire’ and provided their risk assessments and recommendation regarding case vignettes presented by the authors. Cluster analyses identified two groups: a ‘pro-removal’ group and a more ‘anti-removal’ group. The former made higher risk assessments and recommended removal significantly more than the latter. Removal and reunification recommendations were not associated with the child's nor the mother's wishes. Workers in both groups tended not to recommend reunification after a year in out of home care, even if they initially were against removal.