Good Enough? : A study about social workers' relation and understanding of the concept of good enough in assessment of parenting capacity

A recurring concept for social workers to relate to in child protection investigations and assessments of parenting capacity is the concept of good enough. There is no clear definition about the concept in research or literature. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to investigate how social workers in child protection relate to the concept of good enough and how their understanding might affect the assessments and investigations. To fulfill the purpose, semi- structured interviews have been held with four social workers. The results have been analyzed while relating them to scientific research and theories about discretion in human service organizations, Banks' (2012) thoughts about values in social work and Thompson's (2016) Personal, Cultural and Structural (PCS) analysis model. The results show that social workers in Child Protection have room for discretion. This space is affected by the organization's framework. If the room for discretion is being restricted because of lacking resources, the concept of good enough may look different as it relates to the current situation of the social worker. Good enough is also affected by the social worker's subjective knowledge, intuition, and experience. Normative values on family situations may influence what is considered acceptable in parenting and children's living conditions. Factors such as culture, ethnicity, religion, disability, and gender identity could, therefore, impact on the assessments and decisions. If the social worker is not aware of these normative values and factors, they could have a discriminatory effect on the families who are being investigated.