The impact of case factors on the initial screening decision in child welfare investigations in Norway

Abstract

BACKGROUND: When a child welfare service agency receives a report of concern, there is an initial screening to decide whether an investigation needs to be initiated. In addition to the decision maker, case factors, external factors, and organizational factors have an impact on decision making in Child Welfare Services (CWS). Few recent studies have considered the impact of case factors on the initial screening. OBJECTIVE: This study examined case factors that have an impact on the decision to investigate in the Norwegian CWS. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants included randomly drawn samples of case files from 16 agencies (N = 1365). METHODS: The study was designed as a cross-sectional case file study. Researchers coded the data on site at the agencies. To examine the association between a decision to investigate and case specific variables, multilevel logistic regression (generalized linear mixed model) analysis was conducted to account for case clustering effects within agencies. RESULTS: The rate of investigation was 82.3 %. Concerns of physical and sexual abuse (OR = 2.61***), parents' health and stressful events (OR = 2.20***), domestic violence or witnessing violence (OR = 2.52***), and concerns related to finances, housing, and employment (OR = 3.25**) lowered the threshold for investigation. Prior referrals were found to raise the threshold for investigation (OR = 0.88). (**p < .01, ***p < .001). CONCLUSION: Although large differences between agencies exist in decision-making processes in the Norwegian CWS, there are common case factors affecting the initial screening of referrals.

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