Between professional norms and professionalism: Risk assessment and decision-making of Arab social workers regarding children at risk

Purpose: Four factors might bias child risk assessment and recommendation of treatment for children at high risk among Arab social workers in Israel: collaboration of parents and social workers; improvement in child conditions; and child’s gender; as well as the social worker’s personal, cultural, and professional characteristics. Methods: An experimental survey design, using case descriptions manipulating cooperation, improvement and child’s gender, in addition to a questionnaire regarding the social workers’ personal and professional characteristics. The case descriptions were drawn from actual welfare files and adapted. Data were collected from 130 Arab social workers. Results: Risk assessment and recommendation were not influenced by child’s gender and social workers’ personal, cultural, or professional characteristics. Cooperative families and child’s improvement increased chances for recommending continuation in current treatment. Cooperation influenced only choice of community treatments and not out-of-home placements. Improvement influenced all options. Conclusions: Personal, cultural, and professional-training differences did not affect workers’ recommendations. The role of professional socialization, professional norms, and professionalism seems to outweigh all other factors.