Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if the social worker's personal experience in the role of parent resulted in an outcome different from those social workers who are not parents. A questionnaire was completed by each participant. There was not a statistically significant difference in the decisions made by social workers who are parents and those who are not. The role of experience as a child welfare practitioner also did not produce a statistically significant outcome. However, the role of the ethnic identity of the social worker did appear to have significance in the analysis and recommendations he made. This was an outcome the researcher did not anticipate and indicated that more study and intervention would be helpful as social workers examine the ethnic role of self in their practice. The literature review addressed the social worker's experience of cultures different than his own but only peripherally examined the influence of the social worker's ethnicity in decision-making.