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BJSW Advance Access published online on January 18, 2009
British Journal of Social Work, doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcn162
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved

Performing ‘Initial Assessment’: Identifying the Latent Conditions for Error at the Front-Door of Local Authority Children's Services

K. Broadhurst, D. Wastell, S. White, C. Hall, S. Peckover, K. Thompson, A. Pithouse and D. Davey

Dr Karen Broadhurst is a lecturer in Applied Social Science in the Department of Applied Social Science, Lancaster University. Her research interests centre on the organization and delivery of child welfare services. She has a particular interest in the use of ethnographic methods to examine the ‘local’ enactment of law and social policy. Recent publications include ‘Parental help-seeking and the moral order: Notes for policy makers and parenting practitioners on "the first port of call" and "no one to turn to"’, Sociological Research Online (2007), vol. 12(6).

Correspondence to Dr Karen Broadhurst, Department of Applied Social Science, Bowland North, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YN, UK. E-mail: k.broadhurst{at}lancaster.ac.uk


  Abstract

This article draws attention to the faulty design elements at the front-door of children's local authority services, arguing that current attempts to increase safety, through the formalization of organizational procedures and their enactment by IT systems, may have had the contrary effect. We argue that the analysis of errors in organizational settings should focus on immanent systemic weaknesses, particularly the ‘latent conditions’ for error that generally increase the risk of failure. Reporting the findings from a two-year ESRC-funded ethnographic study, and examining the local adaptations of practice arising in the performance context of the ‘modernized’ front-door of children's services, we draw attention to the short-cuts that the current configuration of the initial assessment system appears to necessitate, given the immutable timescales and excessive audit requirements. New modes of governance can clearly play a central role in error management, but the design of an effective system needs to be based on the needs of users and on a thorough understanding of their working practices.

Keywords: Initial assessment, child welfare, error, latent conditions, performance management


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