A description of the child protective services investigative decision -making context with implications for decision support system design

The outcomes of the decision-making process in Child Protective Services (CPS) have always been under scrutiny due to the pervasive belief that many child welfare workers make "poor" decisions when working with families. One response to these outcomes was the development of risk assessment instruments to help workers identify high risk factors oftentimes associated with abusive families. In recent years, many of these risk assessment instruments have become incorporated into CPS management information systems in the form of Decision Support Systems (DSS).;In an effort to determine the efficacy of risk assessment-based DSS in aiding worker decision-making, a study was conducted to evaluate its effectiveness. However, prior to the inception of the study it became obvious that much remained to be known about the actual decision-making context investigative workers operate under as they strive to assess risk.;Therefore, the purpose of the study was to describe the child protective services investigative context and use that description to inform the design of an effective decision support system that would benefit workers.;An overall qualitative case study approach was used to describe this context utilizing a general systems theory conceptual framework, specifically, system design modeling. In addition, quantitative analysis of an online worker survey data was accomplished through the use of structural equation modeling.;Findings indicated that system usefulness was a key construct compared to other system issues. Furthermore, the risk assessment instrument attenuated too much variety available to the system. Vital systems issues related to ontology and epistemology were variously supported by some aspects of the DSS; however, severely lacking was appropriate emphasis placed upon collateral contacts. Accessing existing agency information and expertise was hampered by system design problems with the agency MIS. Finally, significant concerns were raised about a lack of attention to worker decision bias and workers operating without sufficient feedback.;Recommendations were made for a Performance Support System utilizing a data warehouse located between the agency MIS and the risk assessment instrument to facilitate the acquisition of information necessary for the investigative process.