Ethical challenges in conducting research with hard to reach families

This paper reflects on some of the ethical challenges encountered by the authors whilst undertaking sensitive qualitative research with parents and children who are traditionally hard to reach. The research aimed to provide more holistic and in‐depth accounts of parenting on a low income in diverse social circumstances than already exist. The nature of the sample and the subject matter that was covered inevitably raised many familiar ethical dilemmas and some that are less often encountered in practice, particularly in relation to child protection. In this article we discuss our approach to ethics, some of the ethical challenges we encountered undertaking work with families and discuss the complexity of decision‐making around risk of harm to children. We conclude that a clear framework to avoid harm should be developed at the outset and a transparent approach to child protection issues should be used. Additional time and resources need to be incorporated at the planning stage of similar projects in order to develop appropriate methods, ensure effective decision‐making and support researchers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A culturally responsive practice model for urban Indian child welfare services

This article describes collaboration among a university, a state child welfare agency, and a Native American community organization to develop a culturally driven practice model for urban, Native American child welfare. The approach includes a strategy to build resources to serve Native American clients, a training program for child welfare and court personnel using a culturally responsive curriculum, and an advocacy program that monitors for Indian Child Welfare Act compliance and provides assistance to child welfare workers and the court. The discussion identifies challenges and opportunities in addressing the needs of urban Native American communities. The article concludes with principles for culturally responsive practice for urban Native American child welfare practice.     

Family support in Romania and the UK: different circumstances,similar challenges

This paper offers reflections on the challenges of refocusing child and family social work services towards family support in Romania and the UK. It analyses the major reforms to Romania's child care legislation introduced in 1997, identifying political, economic and social factors which create both opportunities and obstacles for changing policy and practice in that country. Ways in which intercountry adoption undermines the development of family support services are given particular attention. The insights generated by the discussion are doubled back to shed new light on the continuing difficulties of refocusing services from child protection to family support in the UK. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What's in a name? named doctor in child protection—interpretation and implementation of the role

Child protection issues are reported in the media with uncomfortable regularity, highlighting that all paediatricians need to be competent in dealing with cases of child abuse. The named doctor in child protection was introduced to improve this, but implementation of the role has varied widely. This paper describes how the role of the named doctor in child protection has been put into practice in Nottingham City Hospital and discusses some of the challenges that can arise. The importance of training and audit in maintaining the quality of service for the trust is emphasized and developments for the future and important avenues for research are suggested. We have shown that with three designated sessions in a large district general hospital (without an accident and emergency department), the named doctor can combine with the named nurse to increase the awareness and effectiveness of child protection in all parts of the hospital. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Child Sexual Abuse in Zimbabwe

Although child sexual abuse is a significant public health problem globally, its incidence, prevention, and management is less well described in resource-poor settings. In poorer settings prevention initiatives assume even more importance since resources for managing abused children are severely limited. This article examines the current status of policy and practice related to the prevention of child sexual abuse in Zimbabwe. It identifies implementation challenges and highlights opportunities that could be embraced to reduce CSA in Zimbabwe, based on evidence synthesized from recent work. Although Zimbabwe has a well-established legal and regulatory framework to protect children from child sexual abuse, implementation of existing policies is weak. Financial, human, and material resource constraints are frequently cited to explain limited prevention activity. Effective strategies for the prevention of child sexual abuse should focus on implementing existing legislation, targeting schoolchildren, and getting community involvement. A dedicated budget would help entrench these strategies, but gains can be achieved even in the absence of this.     

Child-centered approach in the context of the assessment of children in need: Reflections of child protection workers in Estonia

Objective

This article describes empirical results on how practitioners understand the concept of child-centered approach and how it is applied in practice, extending knowledge of the unresearched phenomena in Estonian child protection practice.

Method

A small-scale study included twenty child protection workers from different regions in Estonia, exploring the child-centered approach in assessment practices through in-depth semi-structured interviews.

Results

Results indicate that child-centered approach in the child protection workers' practice is characterized, firstly, by doing work for the child, and less by working with the child, including the fact that some practitioners are somewhat unclear about the meaning of child-centered principle. Majority of the participants underscored the importance of child involvement and partnership in the decision-making process, nevertheless, their case reflections showed that most of them did not include the child in the assessment.

Conclusions and implication for practice

Findings highlight several challenges in Estonian child protection system and suggest a need to find ways to support child protection workers' competence and confidence to conduct comprehensive assessments based on the child-centered approach, including the child in the assessment process.     

The child in family services: expanding child abuse prevention

Child welfare concerns have drifted to an inappropriate focus on crisis intervention and a punitive approach to child protection intervention at the expense of community-based preventive child welfare programs. Recent attempts to divert cases from the child protection system through differentiated response mechanisms have been criticised for failing to provide access to relevant services or preventing vulnerable families from re-entering the child protection process. A tension inherent in providing both child protection and family support within the one agency is also identified as a barrier to effective service delivery. This paper discusses the value of the UK Children in Need approach as a model for enhancing support to children and families outside the statutory child protection system. Information from an evaluation of a trial implementation of the UK Children in Need approach in Victoria is used to discuss the implications for policy and practice of placing responsibility for coordinating a response based on the needs of children and their families within family support services.     

Empowerment in Child Protection Work: Values,Practice and Caveats

The purpose of this paper is to examine the employment of an empowerment framework in the context of child protection work. In order to explore this we offer a definition of empowerment that is based on its three key essential values: self-determination, collaboration and democratic participation, and distributive justice. Following an explanation of these values we identify possibilities and limitations for applying these principles in child protection practice. The discussion centres around necessary and sufficient conditions for the employment of empowerment guidelines, and dilemmas associated with their implementation. Finally, we reflect on the challenges of advancing an empowering agenda in child protection.     

‘Building Bridges’

Abstract

‘Building bridges’ is a metaphor we have used to describe a collaborative research process involving social work academic and senior practitioners from government and non-government child protection and family service organizations in Victoria, Australia. The purpose of the research was to develop a ‘practice-generated approach to policy implementation’ in child protection practice. The research sought to explore the appropriateness of social constructionist approaches for child protection practice that might enhance the existing risk paradigm. This article aims to critically evaluate the process of ‘building bridges’ and its outcomes, by focusing on how potential and actual differences between organizational contexts, namely universities and various service-providing organizations, may influence relationships between theory and practice. We critically reflect on our research process comparing it with idealized forms of collaborative research discussed in the literature.     

Continuity,Engagement and Integration: Early Intervention in Remote Australian Aboriginal Communities

Over the last decade there has been at best limited implementation of preventive interventions for vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families in remote communities of northern Australia despite growing involvement in the child protection system. This paper describes challenges for services seeking to engage parents who are subject to child protection measures. Brief case studies from an early intervention program in a remote community illustrate that responsiveness and continuity of engagement of parents over time is a necessary basis for an integrated approach to meeting the needs of vulnerable children and families in very remote settings.     

Aspiring to Partnership. The Signs of Safety approach to child protection

There is a worldwide trend towards increased collaboration in child protection practice which is primarily driven by researchers and policy makers. This sees child protection workers with the task of finding ways to implement the policy and build partnerships with the families they work with. The Signs of Safety approach to child protection casework, which was developed by the authors in conjunction with child protection workers in Western Australia, is designed as a practical method to foster a cooperative relationship between workers and families. This approach draws extensively on the ideas and experience of ‘brief therapy’ and is designed to be used in child protection practice from the intake and investigation stages through to case closure. This paper presents the different practice elements of the approach, the thinking that informs it as well as its application to assessment and case planning. Some case material describing the application of the approach is also presented. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maintaining a focus on the child? First impressions of the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families in cases of child neglect

The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families is guidance introduced by the Department of Health in England to improve assessment practice and promote better outcomes for children and their families. This paper considers ways in which the Assessment Framework can improve assessment practice in cases of child neglect. However, as with any national guidance, its effectiveness is dependent on local approaches to implementation. The author has undertaken practice development work around implementation with senior managers and frontline staff in area child protection committees (ACPCs) and social services departments. These experiences are used to explore the local issues and tensions encountered by both practitioners and managers responsible for implementing the Assessment Framework. An argument is made that these issues and tensions if not addressed can result in distorted assessments that lose the focus on the child. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Learning about child protection

Where do social workers acquire the knowledge they use in child protection work? What opportunities exist for them to access and use research? Should they bother? This paper addresses these questions using information provided by twelve local authority social workers involved in child protection work and findings from relevant research.

In a learning and work climate which appears not to encourage interest in research findings or knowledge from books generally, the paper considers both how knowledge from research might best be brought to the attention of busy workers and what are the necessary conditions for workers to develop and use knowledge in child care and protection practice.     

Exploring the new child protection system in Mainland China: How does it work?

Child protection has become an increasingly important issue in China. Notably however, few studies have explored the Chinese child protection system itself. The purpose of this study is to explore the basic elements of China's child protection system, which was initiated as a pilot program in May 2013, in order to find out how this child protection program works. A content analysis approach was used for this study. A total of 97 related public documents and 11 supplemented interviews were analyzed. We report on the five major categories of basic elements of China's child protection, accompanied by a detailed analysis. Findings show that: (1) The child protection pilot program aims to serve more vulnerable and disadvantaged children rather than abused and neglected children; (2) Although Minors' Protection Office was established to specialize in improving child protection mechanisms and services, a number of agencies bear the primary responsibilities of children protection in practice; (3) A reporting system for reporting suspected child abuse has been advocated in the practice of child protection for the first time; (4) Domestic child protection organizations and institutions play important roles in providing alternative care services. The findings presented in this paper also indicate that although a basic framework for child protection has formed in pilot areas, there are significant barriers to developing and implementing such a system.     

Supporting families with a mentally ill parent: European perspectives on interagency cooperation

This paper reports on the findings of a cross-country comparison of cooperation between services for community mental health and child protection in 11 states. The authors consider the implications of the findings for English practice. When children have a parent with mental health problems, they have needs over and above those of other children. Often these needs are met by the family, but this is not always possible. There are increasing numbers of these children, and they feature disproportionately in the case loads of child welfare professionals, health visitors and social workers. The cross-country comparisons demonstrate the ways in which differences in structures, resources, expectations and attitudes affect professional responses and the experiences of families. The findings provide information on several levels. A comparison of commonalities and differences highlights the problems that are shared across countries, and alternative ways of responding to them at ground level are discussed. The factors that facilitate a good outcome are analysed in relation to English practice and service structures. The research findings are relevant for British social welfare strategies, and the paper highlights the implications of the findings for policy and practice. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

当前中阿合作面临的机遇与挑战

中阿合作既面临机遇也不乏挑战.总体来看,机遇大于挑战,目前中阿合作已进入历史发展的最好时期.本文还就推动中阿关系持续和深入发展提出了若干建议.     

Evidence-based practice in real-world services for young people with complex needs: New opportunities suggested by recent implementation science

There is growing agreement that child and youth services have been slow to implement evidence-based practice (EBP). A variety of interrelated barriers and facilitators of EBP implementation have been recognized and investigated. Key categories include the attitudes of providers, the characteristics of client populations, the characteristics of usual practice, organizational factors, and resource availability. Implementation scientists are investigating these factors, seeking to bridge the gap between clinical science and practice. Much of this work has been conducted in the context of behavioral health services for children and young people. This paper provides a purposeful review of this research from the perspective of decision-makers in agencies serving young people with multiple and complex psychosocial needs. It is argued that major barriers to EBP may be mitigated if ways can be found to transcend the oppositional construction that has characterized the discourses of EBP versus practice wisdom. A conceptual approach to such integration is offered. New lines of implementation research are offering opportunities for practical action by decision-makers consistent with this integrative approach.     

Serious business or ‘any other business’? Safeguarding and child protection policy in british rugby league

State‐funded national governing bodies of sports in the UK now have a mandate to produce, disseminate and embed child protection policies. This warrants an analysis of the impact of such policies, particularly in the context of reaching their target audience and having some early influence on the practice of sports clubs' members in their dealings with children. The authors are undertaking a large research project, which aims to fully evaluate the UK Rugby League's child protection policy. This paper reports findings from an evaluation of the initial implementation of the policy and explores its presentation, delivery and impact within UK rugby league clubs. We argue that the Rugby League should be commended for its initial approach to child protection policy and make specific recommendations to enhance this long‐term project. We conclude that if a broader community of interest concerns itself with the safeguarding of children there is likely to be a greater impact on a social problem of this kind. Sport can have a key role to play in this community because it reaches so many people.     

Does family support ensure the protection of children? Messages from child protection research

The history of child protection is, in many ways, a catalogue of changes arising from the political/professional interface tensions relating to a highly contentious area of public and professional policy. The latest contribution to this process is the Department of Health's 1995 publication Child Protection: Messages from Research. The overview of the studies recommends that there be a shift in resources and attitudes from an investigative approach to a family support perspective. Many local authorities have subsequently produced policies which will lead to referrals being recorded as ‘children in need’ rather than child protection. The ramifications of this change in approach are examined from the dual perspectives of policy and practice. The article suggests that while much of the change in emphasis is to be welcomed, the needs of the most severely abused children may be compromised by the new orthodoxy, as it is not based on the reality of the many problems encountered by children and professionals in child protection work. It is argued that a focus on practice issues needs to permeate all such documents. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.