Laying the Groundwork for a Caseworker Engagement Questionnaire: Theoretical and Practice-Oriented Reflections From a Nordic Welfare Context

Engagement—defined as the quality of the collaborative relationship between caseworkers and families and level of involvement in case work—is essential for effective intervention in statutory social work. However, it is often challenged by inherent power imbalances and the involuntary nature of the setting. Although previous research focuses on client engagement, it is important to recognize that engagement is a reciprocal construct; collaboration requires engagement from both client and caseworker. Yet the caseworker engagement remains underexplored, and no validated instrument currently exists to assess it in Nordic child and family welfare. This article presents the development of a questionnaire aimed at assessing caseworker engagement in statutory child and family welfare. The aim is, first, to introduce the theoretical framework underpinning the tool and outline the methodological design steps and, second, to explore how caseworkers perceive its potential relevance in practice. Drawing on qualitative interviews with eight caseworkers, the study provides early insights into how the tool may be used in practice, while also identifying key limitations. As this study represents preliminary, exploratory work, further development, testing and validation are necessary to ensure the questionnaire's reliability and applicability in both research and practice.