Decisions on placement and family preservation - Agreement and targeting

Vignettes presented to experts and workers in the child welfare field were used to explore the degree of agreement on decisions to place children in s ubstitute care or to refer them to family preservation services. The design allowed for investigation of the problem of targeting in family preservati on programs. Findings indicate considerable inconsistency in decisions amon g experts and workers, particularly in decisions to refer to family preserv ation and other in-home services. Contrary to the stated intentions of fami ly preservation services, a majority of the referrals to these programs do not invoice children who would have been placed in the absence of these pro grams.