The use of discretion in decision-making by social workers at child protection services in Italy

Child protection social workers in Italy operate within a context apparently lacking reference laws on procedures to be implemented in selecting the most appropriate intervention measures for a child’s welfare. The result is a situation leaving significant operational discretion up to each professional who, although able to choose the best possible intervention based on each specific case and on local resources, also risks creating profound inequalities. The objective of this research was to identify the criteria according to which decisions are taken by child protection services social workers in Italy. Three focus groups were formed of 22 social workers operating in protection services in three cities of the Veneto region, in north-eastern Italy. The results highlight certain significant convergences on the social worker’s decision-making criteria, together with the lack of both shared practices, also within individual services, and the use of standardised methods. Moreover, there is a strong shift of decision-making toward the individual rather than the institution and based on experiential-intuitive methods, rather than scientific-analytical ones.