January 1, 2008

A Critical Appraisal of What Child Welfare Workers Do: Findings From a Task Analysis Study in Florida

This paper by Robin Perry and Steven Murphy presents findings generated from a study that attempts to develop a comprehensive and thorough understanding of the complexities of tasks associated with child welfare practice in mid-Florida. The study was conducted with full appreciation of the contexts in which service is provided and the perspectives of frontline child welfare workers. It involved both the analysis of existing secondary time log data from a population of workers and primary data from a stratified random sample of shadowed child welfare workers. The study's results, in turn, led to workflow analysis and recommendations for modifications in administrative and/or practice protocols. These recommendations, agency actions, and outcomes are also reviewed.