68 ● Emily Keddell and tony Stanley
sociological insights into power and the social construction of knowledge;
human service work extends these theoretical concepts in order to respond
pragmatically to struggling families.
While “risk” can be understood most simply as an estimate of likely future
harm, how the label of “risky” is attached to certain factors, behaviors, or
events is often influenced by a process of social interpretation with signifi-
cant consequences in the child welfare social work arena (Solomon 2002).
Having a label of “risky” or “at risk” can justify considerable intrusive statutory
intervention or can establish that a child or family meets criteria for access
to scarce resources. It is therefore important to understand how human
service workers conceptualize risk and use the concept in practice, because
this impacts both immediate responses and longer-term intervention aims.
Multiple discourses converge in practice settings and significantly influence
thinking about risk; these discourses include the overwhelmingly negative per-
ception of risk, the use of risk factor science (evaluating risk based on statistical
factors associated with abuse substantiation), the national orientations to child
welfare, and the particular tools that are used for risk assessment (Beck 1992;
Fargion 2014; Gillingham 2006). It is helpful then, for the human service
worker to regularly pause and ask, “How do we know what we think we
know? What influences the ways we define and explain risk, need, abuse, and
safety?” As we evaluate these interpretive possibilities, a reflective practitioner
must ask him or herself, “What ways of framing or constructing risk are most
likely to meet social work’s espoused aim of delivering empowering practice?
Is this possible, when the rights of children and adults may compete when
working with families?” We begin this chapter with an exploration of risk
and the tendency for risk to saturate practice. We show what can happen
when a deficit approach dominates our work. We then explore the potential
of strengths perspectives and safety-oriented practice to provide some answers
to these questions. We draw on our practice experiences to illustrate the gains
for families when we take a safety-focused approach to practice.
A Sociology of RiskAn approach to understanding risk can spring from an exploration of the
sociological imagination. Having a sociological imagination means we can
locate ourselves within our own particular social context and start to make
some links between our daily life and the social influences that are shaping
us. To illustrate this point, consider the relationships between an economic
downturn, rising unemployment, and the way people feel when they are
struggling to find work. Our lives are certainly influenced by what is going on
around us. Sociologists know this as the sociological imagination (Mills 1959).