Ethnic biases and risk for discrimination in child welfare investigations in Sweden: Caseworkers perceptions on assessment variability and participatory conditions for client families

• Ethnicity bias may influence caseworker judgments in child welfare investigations. • Theory of discrimination and participation supports analysis of decision variability. • Risk assessment tools should be adapted to make issues related to ethnicity visible. • Access to competent interpreters must be increased. • Individuals involved in CWS should be supported to have real influence over decisions. Drawing on 14 in-depth interviews, the current study examines CWS caseworkers’ perceptions of factors that may influence assessments and decisions in CWS investigations involving ethnic minority families. By applying theoretical perspectives for analyzing the occurrence of discriminatory practices and conditions of participation, a further aim was to explore whether assessment and decision variability in CWS involving ethnic minority families may involve discrimination. The Decision-making Ecology (DME) framework incorporating external, organizational, individual decision-maker and case factors, was applied for organizing the range of influences on child welfare assessment and decision-making by conceptualizing decision outcomes as the result of interrelationships between external, organizational, individual decision-maker and case factors. Further, Arnstein’s ladder was applied for analyzing the distribution of power in decision-making processes. The results showed that caseworkers’ assessments were influenced by a number of factors, including their own attitudes and expertise, the socioeconomic situation of client families, organizational culture, local policies and resources, and external factors such as socio-political governance and legal frameworks. Major challenges were identified across these dimensions, highlighting marginalization among client families, biased attitudes and limited expertise among professionals, and lack of commitment and resources at the organizational and systems levels. These challenges curtail client families’ influence over decisions and their overall situation, highlighting the importance of working proactively to empower and engage CWS-involved individuals in their own investigative processes and in decisions that affect them.