Putting Programme into Practice: The Introduction of Concurrent Planning into Mainstream Adoption and Fostering Services

Originating in Seattle, USA, in the early 1980s, concurrentplanning aimed to speed the placement of children into permanentfamilies, either birth or substitute, and to reduce overallthe time spent in impermanent care. When the first pilot concurrentplanning project was introduced in the UK in 1998, independentevaluation was a requirement of government funding. The evaluationwas expanded to include two additional projects when the numberof initial referrals failed to meet the projected target. Thispaper looks beyond the successful outcomes of the pilot projects,focusing instead on the local authority context in order toexplore some of the difficulties in setting up such an innovativeprogramme, and to shed light on why concurrent planning appearedslow to take off. Based primarily on interviews conducted withsocial workers at different levels of responsibility, the researchersencountered a steep learning curve for all the professionals.The research findings indicated positive outcomes for the childrenplaced through concurrent planning, but limited understandingof the concept of concurrent planning, uncertainty in the divisionof responsibilities, and failure to take up preparation andtraining opportunities contributed to the initial slow progressin the incorporation of the programme.     

The Search For Stability and Permanence: Modelling the Pathways of Long-stay Looked After Children

This paper presents findings from a study of children lookedafter by 24 local authorities. It combines analysis of statisticaldata with analysis of qualitative and quantitative data froma questionnaire survey of a targeted sub-sample of childrenwho had been looked after for 4 years or more. The paper highlightsa complex picture of continuity and discontinuity in attemptsto achieve stability and permanence in a range of birth family,foster care, adoption, residential and leaving care placementsfor long-stay children. Some long-stay children are moving smoothlyand in a planned way towards a family for life, while some experiencelong periods in stable but temporary placements or have a numberof moves prior to finding stability and a sense of belonging.A further group of children experience stability or moves whilelooked after, without having a family to belong to when theymove into adult life. The paper discusses the difficulty withthe Government’s current long-stay performance measurein capturing the difference between stability in placement andplanned permanence for children and families.     

Exploring the care effects of multiple factors on the educational achievement of children looked after at home and away from home: an investigation of two Scottish local authorities

This paper reports the findings of a research project which explored the care factors that influence the educational achievement of looked‐after children. The project was innovative because it focused on children looked after at home and away from home. A mixed‐methods strategy was adopted to analyse data from two large Scottish local authorities. The project developed, what is to date, the largest dataset which includes variables for one‐fifth of children discharged from care in Scotland over a 5‐year period. The qualitative element of the project collected in‐depth data on the care and education experiences of looked‐after children and care leavers. The overall finding was that looked‐after children perform less well academically than their counterparts in the general school population. The empirical data indicated that factors such as placement type, reason for becoming looked after and age on becoming looked after were significant in determining educational achievement. Empirical results further indicated that looked‐after children suffered from discrimination and social exclusion in many areas of their lives, including school and where they lived.     

Children Starting to be Looked After by Local Authorities in England: An Analysis of Inter-authority Variation and Case-centred Decision Making

This paper presents findings from a study of children lookedafter by 24 local authorities in England. The study combinedanalysis of key statistical data with a questionnaire surveycompleted by the social workers for a sub-sample of the children.This paper focuses on children who started a period of beinglooked after in the participating authorities during the 6 monthsfrom October 2000 to March 2001. The study found considerablevariation between the authorities in their rates of childrenstarting to be looked after, and the paper explores reasonsfor these differences. It also highlights the variety of legalroutes and placement options used for children entering thelooked after system, and proposes a matrix that summarizes thevarious combinations that the authorities were found to be using.The matrix can assist social workers and their managers in identifyingthe most appropriate option for individual children.     

Shards of the old looking glass: restoring the significance of identity in promoting positive outcomes for looked‐after children

There is a driving force within current UK child welfare policies which promotes a strengths led approach to both assessment and care planning for children in need. Social policy emphasizes the importance of tangible outcomes such as education achievement, which have been enshrined in statute. However, other developmental outcomes, such as identity, are subordinated. Notwithstanding the relevance of these more concrete indicators, this paper suggests that this focus has left a gap at theoretical, strategic and operational levels relating to more psychosocial aspects of human growth and development, such as identity. This paper seeks to redress that gap by considering identity as both a process and an outcome. Following a review of the literature on identity development, it presents an analysis of semi‐structured interviews with 13 young people and their social workers. The findings show how young people's identity is shaped by their relationships, can be a protective mechanism, and deferred or put on standby. In the concluding discussion the implications for social work practice are highlighted.     

Protecting children in Scotland: examining the impact of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995

This paper discusses findings from a small‐scale study of the impact on child protection practice following implementation of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. The Act introduced three new measures to allow the state to intervene in families to protect a child where there is a risk of significant harm. These include the child protection order, the child assessment order and the exclusion order. The child protection order provides for the removal of a child to (or his or her retention in) a place of safety. In the first two years of the operation of the 1995 Act fewer applications were made for this order compared with similar provisions under the previous legislation. This reduction in applications appears to be related to unfamiliarity with new legislation; greater scrutiny resulting from the more formal application to the sheriff court; and the introduction of a new legal criterion for intervention, the presence or likelihood of ‘significant harm’. The introduction of the ‘no order’ principle into Scottish child care law is also likely to be a factor.     

Tackling the problem of teenage pregnancy in looked‐after children: a peer mentoring approach

Teenage pregnancy is associated with adverse health and social outcomes, even after adjusting for prior disadvantage, and is recognized as a major public health issue. Rates of teenage pregnancy in the UK are among the highest in Europe. Interventions introduced in the past decade to address the problem, such as improved sex and relationships education in schools, have been accompanied by a fall in teenage pregnancy rates in the UK. However, this decline has not been mirrored among looked‐after children. In this paper, we discuss why this may be the case. We suggest that a system of peer mentoring, involving a young person, whose experience of life post‐care has been positive, may be an effective approach to tackling the problem of pregnancy in this group. Peer mentoring has the potential to assist young people in developing self‐esteem, confidence and in making choices regarding their education, personal development and relationships.     

Investing in children's futures: enhancing the educational arrangements of 'looked after' children and young people

This paper reports on selected findings of a small-scale study which examined the educational experiences of a group of children 'looked after' away from home in the former Lothian Regional Council. While it is claimed that the advent of a new Scottish parliament heralds an opportunity to construct a more inclusive society in Scotland, it is clear from all the research conducted to date that one excluded group, children who are in public care, experience significant educational disadvantages and that both the scale and persistence of the problem demand urgent measures. A brief review of the literature is offered and a number of explanations for the poor educational performance of this group of children are considered. It is argued that the difficulties experienced by looked after children arise from the interplay of a variety of social, structural and professional factors and that efforts to redress the disadvantages must take account of all these factors. The paper briefly considers the origins and philosophy of the Scottish Children's Hearings System and argues that it could fulfil a more proactive role in safeguarding and promoting looked after children's educational interests. Finally, the key features of a strategic approach are outlined, highlighting the need for effective collaboration in policy and 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.     

Social Work Practices: silences and elisions in the plan to 'transform' the lives of children 'looked after' in England

This paper critically examines the government's proposals for the reform of services for children in public care, or 'looked after', in England and, more specifically, the proposal to set up Social Work Practices (SWPs, see Note 1 ). These are envisaged as groups of social workers, commissioned by but independent of local authorities. The changes have been mapped out by a Green Paper Care Matters: Transforming the Lives of Children and Young People in Care published in October 2006, a subsequent working group report, and Care Matters: Time for Change , a White Paper published in June 2007. This was followed, in November, by the publication of the Children and Young Persons' Bill. It is argued that there are, at least, two issues which could be focused on by those seeking to counter moves to introduce SWPs. First, the enhanced role being given to private sector providers because, it is maintained, public services provided by local authorities are unambiguously 'failing' children. Second, the fact that the views of parents and 'looked after' children are mostly excluded from the dominant and 'official' discourse on SWPs.     

Investing in the relationship: practitioners’ relationships with looked‐after children and care leavers in Social Work Practices

Providing more consistent and continuous relationships for looked‐after children and care leavers is a current preoccupation in social work in light of many criticisms of the quality of such relationships. Recommendations for more direct work have spurred new models of service delivery in children's services aimed at improving individual outcomes. Independent Social Work Practices (SWPs), a new organizational model piloted in some areas of England between 2009 and 2012, were established to enable social workers and other practitioners to spend more time in direct work and thus to improve the practitioner/child/young person relationship. This paper uses findings from interviews with 169 children and young people across 11 local authorities and 5 SWPs, undertaken as part of a 3‐year national matched control evaluation of pilot SWPs, to identify key elements of good quality practitioner relationships with children or young people. Focusing on children's and young people's perspectives and experiences, the study demonstrates that more direct work and consistent relationships are valued. The paper deploys Recognition Theory to further understanding of effective practice as defined by children and young people.     

‘It's about changing services and building relationships’: evaluating the development of Children in Care Councils

The introduction of Children in Care Councils under the Care Matters reforms in England set a challenge for local authorities to find effective ways by which children in care could contribute their views to the planning and provision of services. This paper discusses a review of progress across London which combined a survey of boroughs with focus group discussions with young people, local authority staff and elected members. The research found that considerable progress had been made in that virtually all boroughs had some mechanism for representing children in care, and that staff and young people were proud of their achievements. However, major challenges remain – to embed a culture of participation in services, to ensure continuity, to reach all children including the many placed ‘out of borough’ and to defend what has been achieved in the face of severe cuts in public spending. The paper highlights a tension between empowering young people and meeting targets as corporate parents. The results support other research pointing to the need for a better understanding of the relationship between participation in governance and participation grounded in ordinary life.     

Foster carer perceptions of support and training in the context of high burden of care

The challenges of providing sensitive and structured care for children in foster care go well beyond normative experiences of parenting. The present paper describes a mixed‐methods study of foster carers' perceived need for support and training, referenced to estimates of their burden of care. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 17 foster carers in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Carers' perceived need for support and training were identified through qualitative analysis of interviews using domain analysis method. Carers' burden of care was estimated from the Parenting Stress Index and from a measure of carers' encounters with children's emotional, behavioural and relationship difficulties that was designed for the present study (the Caregiver Behavioural Encounters Index). Foster carers reported substantive, unmet needs for support and training. Foster carers also reported high parenting stress and encounters with a wide range of children's mental health difficulties, including both uncommon and severe difficulties, which together represent an exceptional burden of care. Carers' highest priority need was for training and support on managing and responding to children's mental health difficulties, while their greatest existing support came from Caregiver Liaison Social Workers and other carers. The findings suggest a number of critical implications for practice.     

Navigations between regulations and gut instinct: the unveiling of collective memory in decision‐making processes where teenagers are placed in residential care

The decision to take a young person away from his or her family into out‐of‐home care and treatment is the most drastic intervention within the statutory powers bestowed upon social services. The results of reports on the quality of residential treatment reveal that state supervision has not proven to be a good substitute for parental care. In this paper we analyse the decision‐making process when young persons are placed in residential care. Focus groups and individual interviews with different stakeholders were conducted. The results show that the placements are a collective process involving negotiations between the different parties with a coordinating social worker in the middle, with the aim to bring something to build hope on in often desperate situations, regardless of the specific treatment method used. To inform the process, the social workers draw on a ‘collective memory’ shared among colleagues in the department. Important signs of quality of a residential unit were the relational and collaborative competence from the staff. The inclination to use soft, diffuse information in decision‐making shows a striking lack of evidence upon which social workers can build well‐informed and knowledge‐based decisions.     

Linking children's social care data to information about their care proceedings to understand the use of care proceedings and their effects on parents,children and local authorities.

Care proceedings are the most powerful child protection intervention; local authorities make applications for over 20,000 children each year in England and Wales. The Department for Education holds two administrative databases of children who receive services, for children looked after and children in need. These databases do not record the use of care proceedings. Data linkage is a powerful tool for revealing patterns not visible from a single data set; the Outcomes for children before and after care proceedings reform study linked these administrative records with a research database of care proceedings to examine children's care and service journeys associated with care proceedings. The researchers also devised a simplified method for use by local authorities with their own records and tested this with North Yorkshire County Council. Analysis of the linked data reveals how care proceedings are used and the impact of care proceedings on care demand. It provides the basis for analysis of cohorts of children subject to proceedings and feedback to social workers, children's guardians, and the judges and lawyers on their decisions and children's outcomes.     

The impact of parental incarceration on children's care: identifying good practice principles from the perspective of imprisoned primary carer parents

Parental incarceration has wide‐ranging impacts on families. One key effect may be disruption to the care and legal custody of children, yet few studies have examined processes and outcomes relating to care planning for children of prisoners. This paper presents findings of interviews with 151 primary carer prisoners in two Australian states which aimed to address this research gap. The study examined care planning for children upon parental arrest, sentencing and imprisonment, stability of care arrangements and primary carer prisoners' involvement and satisfaction with care planning. Around one third of prisoners had discussions regarding children's care arrangements at arrest and imprisonment, although the issue was more commonly raised at sentencing. While there was much variation in the stability of care arrangements, children placed in out‐of‐home care experienced the most instability. A minority of prisoners reported being involved in care planning and decision‐making for children upon imprisonment, and around one third rated care planning process poorly. Prisoners were more satisfied with care planning when there were fewer movements of children, where prisoners felt involved with decision‐making, and when police officers, lawyers and corrections staff inquired about the welfare of their children. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

The role of manager in children's homes: the process of managing and leading a well-functioning staff team

This paper is based on qualitative findings from a mixed methods project which investigated the roles of managers of children's homes and the relationship of these to their use of resources and the outcomes for young people in their care. The research formed part of the Costs and Effectiveness of Services to Children in Need research initiative, originally funded by the Department of Health. Main findings from the project overall and in particular from the multi-level modelling analysis indicated that the influence which the process of providing care has on the kind of outcomes experienced by young people is of paramount importance. This paper provides a brief overview of the project and its aims. Drawing on the qualitative strand of the project and overall project findings, the paper investigates three aspects of managing children's homes: establishing working relationships with staff teams, the role of managers and bringing about working with the young people in their care. It situates the role of manager within the wider context of literature on leadership and investigates what leadership in children's homes entails. Finally, the paper highlights the importance of the role of manager in relationship to the development of good practice in children's homes.     

‘It's so much better than contact’: A qualitative study exploring children and young people's experiences of a sibling camp in the United Kingdom

This article explores children and young people's experiences of a sibling camp based in the United Kingdom. Sibling camps are an intervention based on children's activity holidays that aim to promote meaningful contact for siblings separated in public care. This study adopted a qualitative approach using semi‐structured interviews with 11 children and young people; this included one sibling group of three and four sibling groups of two. The children's ages ranged from 8 to 17 years old, and they had all attended at least one camp with their sibling. Findings highlighted how the children valued the extended time they could spend with their siblings at camp, and how they felt this enabled them to better understand their siblings and improve their relationships. Findings also showed how the children developed close supportive relationships with the staff at the camps, who ensured they were cared for, and they also supported them with managing their relationships, which some participants acknowledged at times could be challenging. The participants also valued spending time with other sibling groups who also experienced separation. The study found camps provided a space for these children to maintain links with their siblings and to strengthen their sibling bonds.     

Including the Socially Excluded: The Impact of Government Policy on Vulnerable Families and Children in Need

This paper is based on a literature review undertaken for theOffice of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2004 (Buchanan et al., 2004)on the impact of government policy in England and Wales forchildren aged from birth to thirteen at high risk of socialexclusion as recorded up until May 2004. It describes the conceptof ‘social exclusion’; its meaning for children;the aims of government policy; the specific impact of governmentpolicy on vulnerable families and children in need (includingchildren needing child protection and all ‘looked after’children) as defined by the 1989 Children Act. The paper demonstratesthat although progress has been made, there are still majorareas of concern. The more discursive parts at the end of thepaper reflect the views of the author and later thinking, andwere not part of the original submission to the Social ExclusionUnit.