Critical Thinking and a Few Words about Workload Reduction Toni Sebastian Children’s Administration Supervisors Conference 2015

Critical Thinking Disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.

Bias Ability to manage bias = ability to think critically Acknowledgement and exploration of biases Create non-judgmental environment so that staff can discuss bias Observant of biases: opinion, feelings, labeling, dismissive Confirmatory bias

Qualities of a Critical Thinker Curious Problem-solver Uses data, objective information to guide decision- making Can identify gaps in information Asks for help Has some comfort with uncertainty, can say “I don’t know”.

Using Checklists Use as an aid to ensure that required steps are taken Valuable for consistency Safety Threats Helpful for documentation Do not substitute for critical thinking Challenging to discern thinking behind checklist The Checklist Manifesto – Atul Gawande

Hiring Use questions that should elicit evidence of critical thinking: Tell me about a time you were wrong and had to change your mind. What caused you to change your mind? What do you normally do when faced with a situation you don’t understand? How do you resolve conflicting information? The work of child welfare relies on the ability to assess child safety. Tell me what information you think is necessary to assess child safety.

Working with Children Interviewing children Expectation that children talk about being abused and neglected Belief that they have a “great rapport” with children, good interviewer Child doesn’t report abuse or neglect No abuse or neglect occurred Question: What are the reasons that children wouldn’t talk about abuse or neglect? What did the referrer know about the abuse or neglect? What information do you need to rule in or out abuse or neglect?

Working with Children Health and safety visits Expectation that child would say if there was something wrong Child didn’t say anything wrong, child is safe Because conversation was away from the caregiver, child would talk about anything concerning in the home Question: What is your relationship with the child? How does the child know that they should tell you if there is anything wrong? Describe the relationship between the caregiver and the child.

Working with Parents Investigating allegations of abuse and neglect Parent loves child Parent said that boyfriend/girlfriend does not babysit child, babysitting provided by relative Bruise not as serious as referrer reported. Parent explained how child was injured. Dad said that mother was mentally ill Question: What type of parents abuse their children? What does the relative say about babysitting? What did the pediatrician say about the bruise? What does father mean by “mentally ill”?

Working with Parents Parent(s) not following court-ordered service plan Parent doesn’t care, doesn’t want child back Parent is being uncooperative, attorney is getting involved Parent started services and then stopped, isn’t going to follow-through Question: What does the parent need to comply with plan? How was the plan developed? How do you know the services are the right fit for the barriers they are facing? What are some reasons the parent would retreat and not follow a plan?

Workload Reduction Team convened in April % field staff and 20% headquarters/program staff Leveraged prior efforts to avoid duplication of completed work A3 event in identified quick wins, complex challenges, work timeline Combination of A3 and workgroups moving forward Create efficient casework process, eliminating duplication and redundancies Integrate efforts with work in policy, training, changes in FamLink