The Future of Decision Making in Child Welfare Practice: The Development of an Explicit Criteria Model for Decision Making

Barbara J. Meddin

Barbara J. Meddin holds a Bachelors in Sociology (from the University of Georgia, U.S.A.), a Masters of Social Work (from the University of Kentucky, U.S.A.) and a doctorate in Social Work (from the University of Illinois, U.S.A.). She is currently Clinical Co-ordinator of the Child Abuse Review Panel, and Facilitator, Decision Making Project, Department for Community Welfare, Western Australia. She is also a Visiting Fellow, Department of Social Work, Western Australia Institute of Technology, Western Australia. At the time the research on which the paper is based was conducted, Dr. Meddin was Project Evaluator, Peoria Intake Investigation Project, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Springfield, Illinois, U.S.A.