Decision cases are a particular type of case that provide detailed accounts of social work practice situations, and are especially designed for use with the case method of teaching. The case method of teaching typically involves in-depth class discussions based on open-ended situations involving one or more dilemmas. These accounts require students to first formulate the problem and then decide on a course of action. The discussions help students learn to apply theory to practice and to develop important problem solving and critical-thinking skills.

Decision cases differ from most other cases in several ways.

First, perhaps most significantly, decision cases depict situations involving a dilemma of some sort for the protagonist and end before the situation is resolved. As a result, decision cases stimulate readers to analyze information and define problems, and then to recommend ways to intervene in the situations.

Second, decision cases often include more detail than traditional cases, including information about the time period, social service and other organizations, organizational and social policies, and community setting. From a system’s perspective, such information often plays an essential role in the situations and possible solutions. But some of it is also extraneous, requiring readers to sort through the data, as they must do in practice.

Third, decision cases typically include more information about the protagonists than traditional social work cases, because this information is also an essential part of the situations. Where social work cases often invite readers to identify with a generic social worker in the case (i.e., “Ms. Green”), decision cases provide details about the social worker that may be relevant for case dynamics. Putting this information on the page helps readers to consider how it and their own characteristics may influence problems and their resolution.

Fourth, as depictions of practice situations, decision cases usually do not include much theoretical content, except when explicitly mentioned by the case reporter. The limited theoretical content requires that readers supply theory for understanding the situations, and helps them understand the need to do so. It also allows instructors considerable latitude in discussing cases from different theoretical perspectives.

The decision cases developed by NACSW and posted on this website reflect the multiple ways that religion, spirituality, and faith may intersect with professional social work practice, whether in ostensibly religious or secular settings. The issues raised in these decision cases may relate to several dimensions such as client values and ethics, values and ethics of social workers and other stakeholders, organizational auspice and policies, or public policies. In addition, these cases suggest that matters of personal integrity may be especially acute for Christians in social work.

The decision cases available from NACSW can be read on several levels. On one level, they simply depict a variety of settings that employ Christians in social work and the types of situations that occasionally crop up in both faith-based and public organizations.

On a second level, the cases depict specific challenges that individual social workers encountered in particular settings and at particular points in time. From a systems perspective, the multiple and overlapping factors will be quite evident, though the specifics vary from case to case. In various combinations, these include client needs and values; social worker needs, values and skills; needs and values of other individuals related to the client(s); organizational philosophies, policies and procedures; professional social work values and ethics; government policies and laws; and Biblical and theological perspectives. These multiple factors create the complex and particular environments in which social workers must function, and which they must carefully consider when attempting to resolve the dilemmas.

More specifically, these cases each include a unique set of overlapping issues related to spirituality, religion, or faith on the part of clients, social workers, organizations, or communities. Go looking for that, and you will see it in many ways. Those matters of spirituality, religion, or faith seldom “trump” other issues in the cases, and do not lead to simple resolution of case dilemmas. On the contrary, considering these issues will often make situations more complex and difficult. But including these issues, where appropriate, may lead to better integration of faith and practice. In sum, efforts to honor both faith-related and professional values may create certain challenges but may also yield more competent practice.

But on a third, more abstract level, the cases also reflect common challenges of social work practice across settings (and, we might add, of human experience). These include, for example, balancing client and organizational needs, resolving contradictory policy requirements, making decisions with incomplete information, identifying appropriate limits of professional intervention, anticipating unintended consequences of decisions, and resolving value or ethical dilemmas.

 [GO BACK]