Child protection, family support and social work: a critical appraisal of the Department of Health research studies in child protection

This paper provides a critical appraisal of the Department of Health Research Studies in Child Protection and their recommendations for policy and practice. It argues that there are a number of conceptual and methodological problems and a failure to thoroughly articulate and represent the tensions and complexities of child protection work, particularly at the point of allegation and initial referral. In the process it fails to fully appreciate the significance of risk in the current social and political climate, the way front-line professionals, particularly social workers, are held to account and the nature of the responsibilities they carry. As a consequence, the paper suggests that attempts to shift the balance of policy and practice from narrowly defined child protection to family support for children in need may be far more difficult than the research suggests.     

Child protection social work and men's abuse of women: an Irish study

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study of the response of social workers within a community care setting, in a large Dublin suburb, to cases involving men's abuse of women. This research aims to focus on what child protection workers do regarding this abuse, and what they say about what they do, thereby giving readers a sense of the action taking place in this social work team. The data, generated from both qualitative and quantitative methodological research, reflects this aim, as it taps into the working model of responses to men's abuse of women held by social workers, and identifies what influences that, thereby reflecting the realities and constraints of everyday work. At the time the research was carried out (2000), the results confirm that the prevalence of cases involving men's abuse of women on this team was in line with international findings. This research revealed an absence of a team policy, an agreed definition of intimate violence in this context and agency practice guidelines, and illuminated how these gaps act as a deterrent to effective intervention. This paper explores some of the ethical and practical dilemmas that may arise for child protection social workers intervening in cases where the abuse of women by men is present. Recommendations arising from this research identify a need for a clear policy and best practice guidelines for social work staff in relation to this abuse.     

Child and family social work: organizational context and identity

In the years since 1948, child and family social work has, to differing degrees at different times, sought to identify itself with a national centrally directed service, with the local service organization, with its clientele and with an independent source of professional regulation. Changes in the organizational context in which the work has been carried out over this period have affected the prospects for the development of a secure identity. The effects of the following are considered: national structures, particularly in relation to children's departments between 1948 and 1971; the corporate local authority; the managerial function in social services departments; social care; specialization; the detailed scrutiny of practice; care management and the Children Act 1989.     

Changing practice cultures in statutory child protection: Practitioners' perspectives

Many child protection systems struggle to implement effective models of frontline practice in the context of high caseloads, increasing costs, and compliance‐focused bureaucratic cultures. This article discusses changes brought about by “Practice First,” a framework for practice introduced to improve the quality and effectiveness of child protection work in New South Wales, Australia. Findings drawn from quantitative and qualitative research with practitioners show that the initiative was effective in changing cultures of practice. It enabled workers to spend more face‐to‐face time with families and build relationships and was perceived to improve the quality of decision‐making. At the same time, the article highlights difficulties in attempting to embed change in practice cultures when broader systemic challenges persist.     

Shame and guilt in child protection social work: new interpretations and opportunities for practice

Shame is an underexplored and misunderstood emotion. It can be described as an acute awareness of one's flawed and unworthy self. It is the primary social emotion and one of our most intimate feelings developed within the context of our family of origin, which can have a devastating effect on an individual and their relationships. Social workers are routinely faced with issues of shame as an intrinsic consequence of the matters with which social work deals and also as a result of how both families and workers experience the child protection process. This paper outlines the research on shame and guilt to argue for a re‐evaluation of the key challenges faced by child protection social workers. It is argued that shame experienced by parents and carers potentially plays a significant role in these challenges, while it may be argued that ‘guilt’ has had a bad press and may potentially play an important role in the successes. An argument is made for a shame‐reducing child protection social work practice with some key themes for practitioners to consider in their attempt to improve the accuracy of assessments and intervention.     

Child protection in China: threats and opportunities

Abstract

Since the inception of the Law on Protection of Minors in 1991, the Chinese government has increasingly emphasised child protection development by promulgating domestic legislation on children’s protection, and establishing policy and service delivery goals. This article critically appraises relevant academic literature, policy documents in relationship to the development of China’s child protection system. We found that although child protection policies exist, enforcement at local levels is characterised by sectorial fragmentation. There is a need to increase government-led initiatives in child protection, to strengthen the institution of family as a protective factor for children, to enhance professional competency and to develop innovative service delivery in partnership with civil society.     

Child protection and research: understanding the messages

This paper contributes to the debate which has followed publication of the recent Department of Health research in child protection. From the viewpoint of one of the researchers, it surveys the criticisms presented by Nigel Parton (Parton 19%). It suggests that the problems he identifies are not irresolvable, and that improve-ments in social work policy and practice are feasible, as long as the stance taken by the researchers is correctly understood.     

What social workers do in performing child protection work: evidence from research into face‐to‐face practice

Little research has been done into what social workers do in everyday child protection practice. This paper outlines the broad findings from an ethnographic study of face‐to‐face encounters between social workers, children and families, especially on home visits. The social work practice was found to be deeply investigative. Children's bedrooms were routinely inspected and were the most common place where they were seen alone. A high proportion of children were not seen on their own because they were too young and the majority of the time was spent working with parents and children together. Small amounts of time were spent with children on their own and some first encounters were so rushed that social workers did not even introduce themselves to the child. This arose from two key factors: firstly, organisational pressures from high workloads and the short timescales that social workers were expected to adhere to by managers and Government; secondly, practitioners had varying levels of communication skills, playfulness and comfort with getting close to children and skills at family work. Where these skills and relational capacities were present, social workers were found to have developed deep and meaningful relationships with some children and families, for whom it was apparent that therapeutic change had occurred.     

Child protection and family support: a practical approach

This paper provides a practical response to the critical appraisal provided by Nigel Parton of the Department of Health research studies in child protection. Parton argues that the research is flawed because, whilst acknowledging that abuse is socially defined, it also claims that certain types of abuse are undoubtedly serious. This is refuted. The central focus of the research is upon the child protection process. The research does not simply suggest a re-labelling of child protection work, but a more considered approach to the assessment of family circumstances. The research does not ignore the centrality of social work itself; indeed its emphasis is upon comprehensive and consistent assessment. The document provides useful practical assistance to social workers and professionals in other organizations and is a helpful framework for strategic development.     

Working with the whole family: What case files tell us about social work practices

Practice theories to support child protection social work in the United Kingdom, as in the United States and Australia, are being squeezed out by a focus on performance targets and procedural timescales. This study examines an innovative programme designed to reverse this trend initiated by an English local government authority. The programme aimed to embed systemic family practice in situations where children are deemed to be at risk of harm. The findings, derived from an analysis of a case file sample, indicate that the social worker interaction with family members is predicated on who is living with the child in conjunction with the risk status of the case file. Conversely, practitioner interactions with family members are divorced from family structure and the lived experiences of kin relationships. This study concludes by examining why, despite training in systemic family practice, it was problematic for social workers to integrate it into their encounters with families.     

On the margins of the child protection system: creating space for relational social work practice

In the UK, a threshold divides between two categories of children, child protection (CP) and child in need. Each category tends to be treated as a homogeneous entity, despite containing heterogeneous levels and forms of risk and need. CP practice, accompanied by regulation, protocols and procedures, aspires to achieve a coordinated multi‐agency response to identified concerns with available resources targeted towards this category. However, it is well known that those children assessed as falling just below the CP threshold can still have high levels of need and risk, requiring a level of social work involvement beyond the low‐resource and low‐oversight model that generally accompanies a child in need categorisation. This paper probes an approach to practice, which divides levels of risk within the child in need category enabling adequate, coordinated support and oversight to be provided for children and families with complex needs. Evidence from our study evaluating this approach suggests that a simple protocol provided a clear process within, which social workers and agency partners felt confident and safe to practice outside of the formal CP framework. The protocol prevented drift and helped to create a space within, which relational social work practice flourished.     

The continuing relevance of casework ideas to long-term child protection work

This paper is a personal reflection on how casework ideas have informed my own practice. Traditional social work is under threat. Casework, which was once a core method of working in social work, is particularly vulnerable because it has become a private, personal activity that is often misunderstood. It still has its followers but it is hard to find any modern accounts of casework practice. This paper attempts to remedy this by describing the application of casework ideas to work with families following registration of a child on the child protection register. The casework approach is described and illustrated using two case examples. This shows that casework with involuntary clients remains an important method of working but there are inherent constraints within the statutory role which limit what social workers can achieve in terms of therapy or in tackling poverty and inequality. This is followed by a discussion of contemporary social work practice and ideas for ways forward.     

Transforming family positions: a conversational analysis of a family social work case

In a discourse and conversational analysis of a Dutch family supervision order, the transformations in family positions are examined. The parents in this case consider their son's drug addiction to be an individual problem. The family guardian succeeds in convincing them that it is a problem which concerns all the family rather than merely a personal issue for their son. By combining a positive and supportive attitude towards the parents with an unrelenting emphasis on the familial character of Marco's problems, the family guardian succeeds in getting the parents to reflect on their own position in relation to their son and their share in the problems in his life.     

Making meaningful connections: using insights from social pedagogy in statutory child and family social work practice

Reports into incidents of child death and serious injury have highlighted consistently concern about the capacity of social workers to communicate skilfully with children. Drawing on data collected as part of an Economic and Social Research Council funded UK‐wide research project exploring social workers' communicative practices with children, this paper explores how approaches informed by social pedagogy can assist social workers in connecting and communicating with with children. The qualitative research included data generated from 82 observations of social workers' everyday encounters with children. Social pedagogical concepts of ‘haltung’ (attitude), ‘head, heart and hands’ and ‘the common third’ are outlined as potentially helpful approaches for facilitating the intimacies of inter‐personal connections and enhancing social workers' capacity to establish and sustain meaningful communication and relationships with children in the face of austere social, political and organisational contexts.     

Changing expectations: the impact of ‘child protection’ on Irish social work

In this paper, the author (who has worked as a social worker in both Ireland and the UK) contends that there has been an uncritical importation of expectations and responsibilities from the British system into Irish state social work. In the area of child and family social work this has been most marked by the introduction and construction of ‘child protection’ as the dominant discourse. Yet fundamental differences exist between Irish and British social policy, differences that are reflected in the structure, nature and culture of social work services. Some of the historical differences between the two welfare systems are explored and three core features of modern Irish social work with children and families are identified. Possibilities for recreating Irish social work in discourse and in practice are suggested, particularly around the notions of certainty/uncertainty and the potential for linguistically based frameworks for practice.     

A divergence of opinion: how those involved in child and family social work are responding to the challenges of the Internet and social media

This discussion paper suggests that there is possibly a divergence of opinion taking place within the field of child and family social work and that the stated positions are influencing how practitioners identify and deal with risks and opportunities afforded by the Internet and social media. The suggested divergence is examined and the conclusion drawn is that what is taking place mirrors the fact that the introduction of any new technology inevitably brings with it division and debate. In seeking to understand the reaction to digital technology, consideration is given to a series of wider social discourses on childhood and risk, which includes the controversial notion that the profession is a harbinger of moral panic and that the management of risk has been broadened from child protection to child safety. The discussion paper concludes by calling for child and family social work practitioners to have a balanced debate that needs to be informed not only by current research but also by an open and honest discussion about personal use and an acknowledgement that there will be difficult moral and ethical questions to work through.     

Historical development and characteristics of social work in today's China

Social work education has experienced three stages since its introduction to China in the 1920s: introduction, abolishment and reinstatement. Theoretically, there are four types of social work in China: official–educational, official–practical, voluntary–educational and voluntary–practical. In practice, all four types of social work have not necessarily been embodied in each developmental stage, and the order of their historical development is not the same as the order of their logical development; i.e. some types are lacking in some of the stages. Each type of social work has its own characteristics, which are integrated into each development stage. Today, Chinese social work faces two major interrelated tasks: the professionalisation and the institutionalisation of social work. The former refers to the development of standardisation in Chinese social work; the latter has to do with the development of the social welfare institution in general and the development of institutional welfare in particular. In general, the dramatic development in Chinese social work largely depends on the accomplishment of the two tasks.     

Child protection social workers in Italy and the Covid-19 challenges: Redefining services to support children and their families

During the Covid-19 pandemic, social workers played an essential role in helping people understand what was happening and cope with new unforeseen difficulties, even carrying out new tasks and activities. Social workers were asked to redefine their work methods to maintain aid relationships with families. This reorganization was complex and challenging for child protection services. The paper will discuss the results of a qualitative research project aimed to describe the Italian child protection social workers' functions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Three online focus groups were conducted with child protection social workers. These focus groups helped researchers explore the new organization of social workers' work in child protection services, which was aimed at maintaining their role and performing the new tasks they need to carry out to support families and children. Three main areas of discussion emerged from the qualitative analysis: (1) postponed and maintained activities; (2) remote work advantages and challenges; and (3) new professional learning.     

Social work in the making: The state and social work development in China

The instrumental role of government in the development of social work in China has led to questions about its political function. So far, little has been reported on how the government has “made” social work in China. To fill this gap, we first provide a brief chronological review of major policies and activities of the Chinese government in its making of social work in China. The state's intervention has indeed been massive and crucial although, politically, it may limit the mandate of social work in China. Yet, we argue that the development of the social work profession in China is generating institutional space for the emerging civil society to take a more active role in welfare service delivery. Situated and mediating between the state and the emerging civil society, the social work profession in China will need to constantly negotiate its mandate to meet the needs of both sides.     

Troubled families: vulnerable families' experiences of multiple service use

This paper draws on a small‐scale study examining the experiences of highly vulnerable families with complex and enduring needs. The previous UK government and the current government have sought to develop policy and service initiatives that target families who present high levels of need and require high cost services. However, to date remarkably little is known about family perspectives and experiences. In this paper, family accounts of their experiences are presented and it is suggested that from these come some difficult practice questions. The family data reveal evident gaps in existing practice and challenges social work to ‘think family’ in new ways. The paper explores how families understand they are understood at the point of engagement, the assumptions that are made about family knowledge, and how families share and withhold information about their needs and experiences. In the discussion, the argument is made for the development of nuanced practice capable of recognizing and working with the ways highly vulnerable families ‘do family’, and the processes that support and inhibit professional interventions.