| The use of discretion in social service agencies, government, and other bureaucracies is an important source of decision making. Through the practice of using discretion, social service-agency workers refashion broad legislative mandates and voluminous policy manuals into outcomes that citizens actually encounter. Previous studies of public welfare agencies have examined the use, abuse, advantages, and disadvantages of discretion. In addition, studies have theorized how discretion is learned, and explored the similarities in understandings of discretion between frontline workers and supervisors. However, no study of public welfare agencies has attempted to empirically measure the use of discretion, test the strength of potential sources of learning discretion, and explore the similarities and differences in understandings of discretion among frontline workers and supervisors.;This study uses a multi-method approach to examine the Arkansas Department of Humans Services welfare agency. Specifically, based on a survey of welfare caseworkers and supervisors, as well as 17 in-depth face-to-face interviews, I examine if frontline workers and supervisors actually use discretion, along with assessing potential influences on the use of discretion. Results suggest that caseworkers and supervisors do use discretion, however, they stay within the boundaries of policy. I also explore which theoretical explanation for learning (and relearning) discretion is most powerful from the perspective of the frontline public welfare agency caseworkers and supervisors. My findings indicate that informal socialization from colleagues and supervisors, as opposed to formal agency training, is the most important source of learning discretion. In addition, I examine how policy changes can affect the use of discretion. Finally, in exploring the similarities and differences in understanding of discretion, I have found that differences may not be related to the different positions of authority, but to the different case management styles of frontline workers.;A key policy implication of this study is that differences in the use of discretion are not based on one's position in the workplace but in the practices in which these workers act. In addition, case management may be client driven wherein caseworkers dismiss difficult clients and focus more effort on cooperative clients. |
