This Master Thesis explores the use of the Australian childcare method, Signs of Safety, in Copenhagen Child Protective Services. In specific the thesis examines the use of the Signs of Safety Risk Assessment Formula, which is used to assess the well being of vulnerable and high risk children. The thesis was completed via an ethnographic study; the study includes six individual interviews, one focus group interview and supplementary ethnographic field studies and observations in Copenhagen Child Protective Services. Furthermore the collected data was analysed on the basis on Grounded Theory data processing method. Therefor the focus of the study was based on the empirical data, allowing the social workers to introduce their subject of interest.

The study showed how the risk assessment scale was used as a way of conveying the risk assessment within the different teams of Child Protective Services. Furthermore it showed how the organization and the different teams were influenced by how the risk assessment scale was used and that this could affect the actual assessment of the child. Therefor the use for the risk assessment scale was not used for its original purpose, as a communicating tool with families, but as a way of conveying the child assessment and as a toll to communicate within the organization and teams.

On the basis of Grounded Theory I therefor introduced and created the term Strategic Scaling, this term is introduced to describe the exact use of the Risk Assessment Scale in Copenhagen Child Protective Services. The term is inspired by Michael Lipskys theory of the Street Level-bureaucrat. Lipsky describes how there are discrepancies between the needs of the citizen and the actual capability of the Street Level-Bureaucrat; this, Lipssky says, creates cooping-strategies.
In addition to Lipsky I also introduce the use of Pär Nygrens theoretical perspectives to show how social work is based on both the interpersonal skills and the sociocultural environment. Both Lipsky and Nygren is supplied by basic theoretical perspectives of organization theory.