The complexities of decision making
Learning Objectives
After considering this resource, you should have an awareness of the complexities of decision making in social work.
Making decisions is a core element of social work. You will often be expected to make significant decisions based on partial pieces of information, within tight timeframes and under competing pressures.
In this audio case study, Ken, a duty social worker, discusses a recent case which required him and his colleague Laura, to make a decision, one which highlights some of the complexities of decision making in social work.
Audio file
- What do you think are the key factors that Ken and Laura should take into account in deciding what to do next?
- There are a number of stakeholders in this decision beyond Ken and Laura, and the child's mother. Consider who the other potential stakeholders are. What decisions and input might they have to make at various points in time?
- If you were Ken or Laura, what would you be inclined to do next and why? What formal and informal theoretical knowledge would you apply to this case to reach your decision?
- Ken mentions the risk of leaving the child in an abusive home versus the risk of intervening in a family where the referral is unfounded. How can effective decision making minimise risk?