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

HiringUse 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 2015 80% 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