Identifying Bias in Caseworker Assessments

Linda Wininger of DCFS presented a short Ignite talk at the Court Improvement Summit on the implementation of the Structured Decision Making (SDM) Program recently adopted by DCFS.  You can find a full set of the slides she used HERE.

One of the effects of SDM is that decisions will be more uniform as workers adhere to the SDM practices.  The goal of SDM is to have similar outcomes among cases with similar facts, but with different CPS workers.

There are a number of factors that a case worker considers when determining whether children should be removed from a home.  Some of these factors influence the case outcome even if they are unrelated to the case.

The first set of factors described by Ms. Wininger were Case Factors.  These include the type of maltreatment experienced by the child, whether there is a pattern of maltreatment, the risk of continued harm, the safety of the child, as well as, the specific characteristics of the child and the family.

The next set of factors that can impact a case is Organization Factors.  These factors are centered on DCFS administration: the resources available, the size of the caseload of the worker, the support a caseworker might get from a supervisor or from a work team, the Policy and Practice expectations, as well as, Bureaucratic distractions.

The third set of factors that can influence decision making and thus outcomes are centered on the person making the decision, a.k.a. the caseworker.  These are Decision Maker Factors and can include past experiences, skills, values, how comfortable they are with casework and their predilection towards protection children or preserving families. 

The final set of factors that affect the outcomes of cases are External Factors.  These can be the law and the courts, perhaps even the judge, the engagement of the community, the resources available, as well as, critical events and funding.

In deciding whether to remove a child from the home, the caseworker will complete the SDM Assessments.  An Assessment will fall somewhere on the spectrum between a high and a low level of concern.

In addition to the Assessment, each caseworker will have a Threshold of what they think is appropriate or what they can tolerate in a given situation.  This Threshold will also fall on the spectrum between a low and a high level of concern.

If the Assessment indicates a higher level of concern than a caseworker’s threshold, then the child will be removed.  If the Assessment is below the caseworker’s level of concern then removal will not take place.  Differences in outcomes can result when caseworkers have different thresholds.

It is important to recognize which factors influence the Assessment and which influence the Threshold.  Only the Case Factors will influence the Assessment.  All other factors—the Organization Factors, the Decision Maker Factors, and the External Factors—affect the Threshold.  Even when the Case Factors are identical and result in identical Assessments, the factors influencing a caseworkers threshold can produce different outcomes.

Ms. Wininger acknowledged that workers don’t share the same values and depending on personal biases, in cases that are factually similar, one worker might remove when another might not.  It is important to acknowledge and consider the biases that might affect case outcomes.

MsWininger spoke to the attendants at the conference which included DCFS workers and encouraged them before making a final decision on removal to consider what factors are affecting their decision and consider alternative perspectives on the facts.