Making Threshold Decisions in Child Protection: A Conceptual Analysis

Abstract

The threshold at which state social work services respond to children who may have been maltreated has been the subject of debate in the UK and elsewhere over a number of years. This paper presents a conceptual model that helps to explain how threshold decisions are made, based on a review of research in the UK and elsewhere. A range of factors were found to affect thresholds, including the nature of the welfare concerns for the child, the policy and organisational circumstances, the role of collaborative practice amongst a range of professionals, and the decision making of front line social workers, teams and managers. A central argument is that the technical–rational model of thresholds, which is commonplace in the UK, is insufficient and the concept of ‘thresholds’ too limiting. In their place, we adopt a naturalistic decision-making approach, arguing that ‘threshold decisions’ are mediated through various sense-making strategies at local level. These strategies may appear as shortcuts to thinking, arising from a pressurised working environment. We argue, however, that they are consequential features of the context within which children’s social work services operate and that taking them into account allows for a more nuanced understanding of how thresholds are managed.