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Child Protection Decision-Making

NCJ Number
163998
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (May 1996) Pages: 91-102
Author(s)
N Kelly; J Milner
Date Published
1996
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effects of interagency collaboration on risk assessment in child protection practice regarding decisionmaking processes in child death inquiries.
Abstract
Universal features in risk assessment as identified in psychological literature were applied in this study, particularly the concepts of "groupthink," the "certainty effect," and "group polarization." The first stage of the research attempted to identify an appropriate psychological model for group decision processes, which was then applied to the decisions detailed in case conference minutes. Documentary analysis was chosen as a method of non-intrusive investigation. The authors advise that the three psychological processes outlined may not explain the entire decisionmaking sequence of case conference proceedings in child protection practice. One integrating model offers an explanation of high-risk decisionmaking and lists a sequence of stages and events that shows how decisionmaking processes unfold from the initial point of choice and commitment of resources (Whyte, 1989). How this model would have operated in a particular case is discussed. 26 references