Critical Thinking and a Few Words about Workload Reduction Toni Sebastian Children’s...
-
Upload
jeremy-sharp -
Category
Documents
-
view
224 -
download
1
Transcript of Critical Thinking and a Few Words about Workload Reduction Toni Sebastian Children’s...
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