Managing the process of change in residential child care: A consultancy approach

This article explores the impact of a consultancy undertaken with groups of residential child care staff within a large local authority who were experiencing considerable changes in their working environment as a result of a review of residential care structures. The authors were invited to engage directly with staff on an individual and group basis to help them work through the barriers they perceived to changing their approach to practice. The theoretical underpinning for the work was Charles Handy's [1993, Understanding Organisations (Harmondsworth, Penguin)] belief that change is more likely to have a positive outcome when staff have an investment in and contribution to the change processes. The model of change utilised within the sessions with staff was Kurt Lewin's three stages of 'unfreezing', 'change' and 'refreezing'. The consultancy raised a number of issues about the process of change and how this can be achieved within the residential child care context. In particular, it highlighted the problems of assuming that change is a linear process which can be directly controlled and managed in the flux and uncertainty which characterises this sector.     

Effective relationship-based practice: A theoretical exploration

This paper looks at the importance of a relationship-based approach within social work. It explores past writings on the social worker-client relationship, why the relationship was seen to be central to effectiveness and good practice, and why this perspective fell out of favour. It revisits the importance of a relationship-based approach, within a psychosocial perspective, in relation to eight areas of practice. These include the assessment task and process; relationship difficulties; people who are vulnerable or reliant on others for their well-being; situations that require practitioners to be able to hold and contain anxiety; the relationship as a foundation for capacity building, empowerment and developing people's potential; and in relation to disadvantaged and marginalised sectors of the population, how social workers can use the 'front-line' knowledge they have gained through the relationships they have created in political ways--to bear witness and report on 'social ills' as they impact on the lives of service users. A final section looks briefly at how the service user-social worker relationship is perceived and described in the Benchmarking Statement, National Occupational Standards and the General Social Care Council's Rules and Requirements and their implications in terms of the new social work degree.     

Developing practice learning and teaching in residential child care

The Residential Child Care Initiative was created in order to increase the numbers of qualified staff in residential children's homes in England. This paper explores some of the issues affecting practice placements for residential staff who undertook qualifying training between 1992 and 1997. Themes and issues arising from these experiences, with examples from practice, are considered in terms of their relevance to practice learning in group care situations for all social work students, highlighting the reciprocal benefits for students and residential services for children.     

In between formal and informal: Staff and youth relationships in care and after leaving care

This paper deals with the contact and relationship youth have with staff while in care and after emancipation and examines the young adults' needs in contacting staff after leaving care. The study was conducted through 60 interviews with young adults ages 21–26 who emancipated from residential settings in Israel. Results showed that most youth report having had a meaningful staff member in care and that 62% were in contact with staff after their transition to independent living for both emotional and practical needs that could not always be answered by staff. One of the study's conclusions is that despite their departure staff's relationship with these young adults continues informally years after. However, without formal recognition of the place staff have in the lives of aged-out youth, no resources are invested in training them to properly meet the young adults' needs. The discussion highlights the need for an integrative approach that sees residential settings and staff as a meaningful part in the continuity from care to independent living by supporting aged-out youth's gradual transition to adult life.     

GENDER PERFORMANCE GAPS: QUASI‐EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE ON THE ROLE OF GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SLEEP CYCLES

Sleep studies suggest that girls go to sleep earlier, are more active in the morning, and cope with sleep deprivation better than boys. We provide the first causal evidence on how gender differences in sleep cycles can help explain the gender performance gap. We exploit over 240,000 assignment‐level grades from a quasi‐experiment where students' schedules alternated between morning and afternoon start times each month. Relative to girls, we find that boys' achievement benefits from a later start time. For classes taught at the beginning of the school day, our estimates explain up to 16% of the gender performance gap. (JEL H52, I20, I21)     

The prevailing cultures and staff dynamics in children's homes: implications for training

This paper is about training, and the learning needs of residential child care staff that training should address. It takes as its starting point research that focused on what happens in children's homes, as described by residential staff themselves. It depicts the tasks which staff carry out in relation to their overall goal of benefiting the children and young people in their care, and considers the ways in which staff work to develop and maintain viable and effective teams. Distinctive cultures emerge when working in staff teams, and the paper shows how these are related to the kinds of practice that can be achieved in residential settings. The knowledge base, practice skills, and personal qualities required to work within residential child care are detailed. The paper closes by addressing the implications which this research has for training residential staff to work effectively in group settings. It argues that fundamental to training competent residential staff is a commitment to developing an ongoing culture of learning in workplace settings.     

Civic involvement in deprived communities: A longitudinal study of England

This study aims to understand how community material deprivation is related to associational membership amongst neighbourhood residents. We posit that aside from personal characteristics and willingness to engage, experiences of neighbourhood deprivation are strongly correlated with how much people devote themselves to associational membership. We identify three mechanisms through which community deprivation can determine individual participation in political, civic, and work voluntary associations: social cohering, norms of obligation, and activated dissatisfaction. We link individual panel data from Understanding Society from 2010 to 2019 with the English Index of Multiple Deprivation at the neighbourhood level. This study finds that neighbourhood deprivation is associated with lower norms of civic obligation which, in turn, lowers a person's propensity for engagement. Individuals with low income and education are less likely to participate in voluntary associations in the first place, therefore the contextual role of neighbourhood deprivation exerts a further external negative pressure on civic participation. We find that membership in political organizations is an exception whereby it is positively associated with neighbourhood deprivation. The results imply that given the many economic and social capital benefits of associational involvement (Putnam, 2000), collective deprivation can produce an additive pattern of economic disadvantage which is reinforced through a lack of social participation.     

Transfer of learning: concept and process

This article will present findings from a doctoral study exploring the impact of 'SVQ Care: Promoting Independence (level III)' within children's homes. The study focuses on the extent to which SVQs enhance practice and their function within a 'learning society'. A total of 30 staff were selected from seven children's homes in two different local authority social work departments in Scotland. Each member of staff was interviewed on four separate occasions over a period of 9 months. Interviews were structured using a combination of repertory grids and questions. Particular focus was given to the assessment process, the extent to which SVQs enhance practice and the learning experiences of staff. The findings suggest that there are considerable deficiencies both in terms of the SVQ format and the way in which children's homes are structured for the assessment of competence. Rather than address the history of failure within residential care, it appears that SVQs have enabled the status quo to be maintained whilst creating an 'illusion' of change within a learning society.     

Therapeutic crisis intervention system in residential care for children and youth: Staff knowledge,attitudes, and coping styles

About ten years ago, several residential treatment facilities for children and youth in Israel were given approval to use the Therapeutic Crisis Intervention System (TCI, ‘holding’) technique in order to proactively restrain violent behavior. The purpose of the current study was to examine attitudes toward TCI among staff of residential facilities for children and youth and the association between staff attitudes and between their knowledge and coping strategies with stressful daily situations. A unique aspect of this study is its emphasis on the staff's coping style in stressful situations and the relationship between their coping style and their use of TCI. The research population consisted of staff members who work in residential facilities for children and youth at risk (n = 100), half of whom had been trained to perform TCI and to implement the method in their work. No differences in knowledge were found between participants who had been trained and those who had not, while the former even displayed incomplete knowledge and unwillingness to perform TCI when necessary. In addition, the more problem-oriented the coping style the less positive the attitude toward use of TCI and the less the tool was used. No relationship was found between emotion-oriented coping style and attitudes and frequency of using TCI as a means of intervention. The study shows the complexity involved in introducing the method of TCI as well as the necessary caution that must be taken before deciding to use it.     

The residential treatment of an abusing family

Abstract

This article discusses the residential treatment of an abusing family in a local authority setting, when the use of short-stay children's homes was changed to provide a preventive service for families in trouble. The Centre has room to admit a family where the child's safety cannot be guaranteed in its own home.

The structure of the treatment programme is described, the partnership of residential and field work staff, the monitoring role provided by residential staff and the importance of supervision, particularly for those closely involved with the family. The role of the NAI Conference is discussed, and the individual functions of its members in relation to the family. The varied methods of working with the family are described, and the family's emotional response is illustrated with the theme of separation.

The article concludes that the family did respond to treatment, and that we have further to go in developing residential work with abusing families at our Centre.     

Initial reflections and learning from the development and delivery of staff consultations in an innovative residential childcare pathway

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the development of staff consultation in the context of an innovative residential childcare pathway within a local authority in the United Kingdom. A preceding attempt to develop group consultations in residential homes has been expanded upon and enhanced as part of implementing a broader therapeutic residential service model. A wide-ranging training programme and consultations have been developed for residential childcare workers to introduce and embed therapeutic ideas. Systemic therapy and attachment theory ideas have been used explicitly through exploring with staff how these approaches can inform practice, and implicitly by providing a framework of consultation to inform and expand individual and team thinking. Promoting reflective practice through group consultations has highlighted complex challenges, stimulating opportunities as well as a need to consider multiple levels of context. Recommendations from this learning are discussed to help inform practice in new and existing residential services.     

Parents' Involvement in Adolescents' Peer Relationships: A Comparison of Mothers' and Fathers' Roles

The goals of this study were to compare mothers' and fathers' direct involvement in adolescent girls' versus boys' peer relationships and to examine the links between parents' involvement and the qualities of adolescents' friendship and peer experiences. Participants were mothers, fathers, and firstborn adolescents (mean age = 15 years) in 187 working‐ and middle‐class families. Data were collected during home visits and a series of seven nightly telephone interviews. Parents' direct involvement was measured by parents' reports of their peer‐oriented activities, parents' knowledge about adolescents' peer experiences, and parents' time spent with adolescents and their peers. Findings revealed that mothers were more knowledgeable about adolescents' peer relationships than were fathers, that mothers with daughters reported the most peer‐oriented activities, and that both mothers and fathers spent more time with same‐sex adolescents and their peers. Parents' direct involvement was differentially related to girls' versus boys' peer experiences. Discussion highlights the role of parents' and adolescents' gender in shaping this dimension of family life in adolescence.     

Expressive Vocabulary in Language Learners From Two Ecological Settings in Three Language Communities

This study compared multiple characteristics of girls' and boys' vocabulary in 6 different linguistic communities—1 urban and 1 rural setting in each of 3 countries. Two hundred fifty‐two mothers in Argentina, Italy, and the United States completed vocabulary checklists for their 20‐month‐old children. Individual variability was substantial within each linguistic community. Minimal cross‐linguistic differences were found in children's vocabulary size; however, differences among languages in the composition of children's vocabularies appeared possibly related to cultural valuing of different categories of words. Ecological setting differences within cultures appeared in children's vocabulary size, even when the composition of children's vocabularies was examined: Children living in urban areas were reported by their mothers to say significantly more words than children living in rural areas, particularly for Argentine and U.S. children. Girls had consistently larger vocabularies than boys. These findings are discussed in terms of contextual and child factors that together influence first language learning.     

Surprise in Social Work Education

Training is commonly seen as the most viable way of ensuring good quality care in residential homes for elderly people. The literature on training has focused on a shift in emphasis from traditional 'professional' social work training for staff at a senior level to training which is to be provided for junior level staff. To this end, Scottish/National Vocational Qualifications have been introduced which, through workplace assessment of competence, have been proclaimed to be the means by which to raise the status and career prospects of a social care workforce. This article argues that task-based competence is increasingly being seen as relevant for a 'para-professional' social care workforce such as that found in the residential care sector. In the light of this, research was undertaken to establish whether residents preferred 'trained' staff, holding formal qualifications and/or NVQs, to 'untrained' staff with no recognised qualifications. The research concluded that residents want kind, understanding and experienced staff, and when length of time in post was taken into account, the effect of training was negligible. The study concluded that homes need to select staff for their good personal qualities and encourage them to stay. Staff need training that integrates skill with understanding and above all, assessment should reflect this perspective. Moreover, residents need to be involved in the assessment process.     

Attitudes of special foster parents and residential staff towards children

This paper compares the attitudes of special foster parents and residential staff towards children in their care. The exercise was carried out as part of a comparative study of care practice in ‘special’ foster homes (accommodating children traditionally considered too old or difficult for fostering) and ordinary community or children's homes. Overall, care practice in the foster homes was significantly more child oriented than in the children's homes. This finding cannot, however, be explained in terms of attitudinal differences between foster parents and staff. Staff attitudes generally appeared more conducive to the provision of child oriented care than those of the foster parents.     

Peer violence in adolescent residential care: A qualitative examination of contextual and peer factors

This research examined the way contextual and peer factors influence peer violence in adolescent residential care. One hundred and twenty residents aged 11–21 from 20 residential care facilities participated in 20 focus groups about peer violence in care. The results demonstrated that four, mutually interrelated themes, contributed to explanations of violence amongst residents: 1) residential peer culture; 2) vulnerability at the beginning of institutionalization; 3) deprivation, stigmatization and frustration; and 4) poor relationship with staff. The results are discussed with reference to the existing residential care and prison-based research on bullying and peer violence and a number of research and policy recommendations are provided.     

Creating a Space for Reflection on Teaching: The 1997-99 Department of Human Relations work discussion groups

This article presents an overview of three staff development projects whose aim was to provide university staff with a reflective space in which to share their experiences of teaching psychosocial studies and social work to a large, heterogeneous body of students. Aspects of the staff-student relationship are discussed. The author aims to show how staff and students could have similar expectations and experiences in these subject areas in a 'new' university; but also widely divergent ones. It is argued that 'quality' resides in the staff-student relationship, and in the goodwill and commitment of each to articulate together their understanding of the material to be learnt. On the basis of the success of the projects, a case is made for the value of a self-reflexive 'work discussion' space for teaching practitioners.     

A Quick Guide to Research Methods

In a hurry to understand that piece of research? Can't remember your undergraduate statistics lectures? Don't worry! Refer to this handy‐dandy quick reference for making sense of research design! Seriously. Too often when I am reading a research paper, terms are used which are either unfamiliar or ring only faint bells of recognition. I would like to have the capacity to remember everything I was taught, but apart from having a very bad memory, I am also beginning to suspect that it is actually better practice to check terms out even if I think that I remember what they mean.     

The safety of children and the parent‐worker relationship in cases of child abuse and neglect

Child protection work is complex and demanding and presents both parents and workers with a number of emotional and relationship demands. Although it is recognised that a good working alliance between child protection workers and parents is associated with therapeutic success and service user satisfaction, some current developments, including the growth of an audit culture with its attendant emphasis on targets and performance, appear to undermine the worker's ability to establish good relationships and working alliances. To the extent that poor‐quality working relationships and increased emotional distance reduce the worker's capacity to be empathic, levels of stress for both parents and workers are likely to remain high. Heightened stress reduces the capacity of parents and workers to keep at‐risk children in mind and in focus. This reduces their safety. The paper revisits the value of containment as a way of processing and managing difficult feelings which, along with more recent therapeutic concepts such as mentalisation, encourages workers to keep the parents' feelings in mind as well as hold the child in mind for the parent as a psychological, meaningful and mentalising being. Helping parents think about their feelings and understand, indeed celebrate, their children as burgeoning, independent psychological entities increases understanding, reduces stress and plays a part in helping keep children safe. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leadership,Through Loss and Change: Management of Change Viewed as Challenges within a Couple Relationship*

This paper emanated from a Doctoral Thesis, which was an in-depth single case study of a frontline social work team based in the third sector. The research took place over a period of five months and included weekly visits to observe the day-to-day operations of the team, attending special events such as the Teams Away Day, Team Meetings and undertaking management consultation sessions with the Project and Deputy Managers. The thesis concludes that just as frontline staff require effective support, frontline managers also need space to effectively reflect on their experiences in role. The focus of this paper is the relationship dynamic between the managers, the team, senior management and the wider organisation as they dealt with the sudden announcement of the project’s closure. The paper makes use of ethnographic and psychoanalytically informed observations of the team’s ordinary day to day work processes, in addition, use was made of consultative interviews (MCI’s) with the managers of this service who were afforded space to think about their management roles. Aspects of thematic analysis informed by psychoanalytic theory were used to analyse the material.