Negotiating 'Professional Agency': Social Work and Decision-Making within the Ontario Child Welfare System

Authors

Henry Parada, Ryerson University
Lisa Barnoff, Ryerson University
Brienne Coleman, Ryerson University

Keywords

Child protection, social work, decision-making, institutional ethnography

Abstract

This article explores how social work as a discipline has helped to negotiate professional agency in decision-making within the restructured child protection system. The narratives of child protection workers affirm that a restrictive climate does exist in child protection agencies and that it indeed shapes the way they make their decisions. This study uses institutional ethnography as the methodology for exploring the decision-making practices of child protection workers. Three forms of data collection were used: experience as data, documentation reviews and in-depth interviews.

Recommended Citation

Parada, Henry; Barnoff, Lisa; and Coleman, Brienne (2007) "Negotiating 'Professional Agency': Social Work and Decision-Making within the Ontario Child Welfare System," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 34: Iss. 4, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.3293
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol34/iss4/3