Critical perspectives on child welfare decisions

Various opportunities, challenges and dilemmas are linked to the role as a decision-maker in the municipal child welfare service. Within the frontline of child welfare, the most complex and intrusive decisions are made in the welfare state, often decisions that can have major consequences for vulnerable children and families.

The child welfare service's mandate, framework conditions, political guidelines and different knowledge perspectives influence the practical child welfare work. The course focuses on how the decision-maker can make good decisions through the development of competence in navigating an ethically demanding decision-making landscape.

Knowledge about:

• advanced decision-making perspectives in child welfare
• complexity associated with different types of decisions and decision contexts
• evaluation of child welfare interventions

Skills:

• can identify and critically discuss the importance of different knowledge perspectives in the field of child welfare, and deal with professional and value uncertainty in assessments of the child's best interests
• can collaborate with other agencies and apply an interdisciplinary knowledge base in the reporting, investigation and initiative work
• can analyze conditions that safeguard and prevent participation for children and parents who are in contact with the child welfare service
• can facilitate decision-making processes that promote good cooperation with children, parents and the child's network, and that take into account the family's socio-economic and cultural situation
• can evaluate the impact of child welfare interventions for vulnerable children and families

General competence:

• can identify and discuss ethical challenges that may arise between children, parents, child welfare and civil society as a result of the child welfare decision-making mandate and values
• can contribute to new thinking and innovation in decision-making in child welfare

Seminars with group work and oral presentation, lectures, digital colloquium groups, self-study.