Groupwork for Parents whose Children are in Care: Challenges and Opportunities

Until recently, the focus for child protection in NSW has been on risk assessment, supportive measures for parents, and ‘the best interests of the child’. The needs of the birth families, once their children have been removed have not received the same attention. An emerging body of research indicates a growing awareness of the importance of the link between good outcomes for children in care and positive ongoing links with their birth parents. Biological parents of children who have been removed invariably continue to have parenting relationships, if not with the removed child, then with subsequent birth children, step children and children in their extended family. Service provision for this group of parents is critical given the complexity and scale of their emotional needs, and the implications for the children they will care for. In this paper, we describe one such intervention: Kids in Care, a group program offered at Relationships Australia NSW, and consider the arising issues and dilemmas for both parents and group workers. Developed to address the particular needs of parents whose children have been taken into care, the group creates an environment of acceptance and support. This opens up possibilities for parents to consider issues of grief, stigma and trauma, as well as to develop skills in communication, assertiveness and emotional regulation.     

The role of child care social work in supporting families with children in need and providing protective services—past,present and future

This article examines the way in which child care social work with deprived families has changed and developed since the inception of Children's Departments in 1948. It is argued that between 1948 and 1970 child care social workers enjoyed a fair measure of social support. A variety of reasons are considered for explaining this—specialization, smallness of size, privacy and a consensus about the needs of children. From the early 1970s it is argued that broader societal changes, including a shift away from social solidarity towards individualism, organizational changes and the advent of child abuse as a public concern, resulted in con?icting demands on child care social workers and a subsequent loss of credibility and con?dence. The 1990s have seen a return to emphasis on family support policies which has been further accelerated in the new millennium by New Labour's stated commitment to eliminating child poverty and creating better life opportunities for all children. The implications of these new developments for child care social workers engaged in meeting the needs of children living in highly disadvantaged families are considered. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trauma-informed services for children with incarcerated parents

Children of incarcerated parents have often experienced not only the trauma of family separation, but also other forms of adverse events. Social workers can improve service delivery to this population by incorporating SAMHSA’s components of trauma-informed care (TIC). Translating TIC concepts into practice is an important but challenging goal for social work practitioners. The first half of this article reviews the literature about the effects of parental incarceration on attachment, stigma, physical and mental health, and intergenerational transmission of trauma. The latter half of the article applies principles of TIC by offering specific recommendations for conceptualizing cases through the lens of trauma and utilizing trauma-informed responses with these children.     

Fictions and Facts about Parents and Parenting Older First-Time Entrants to Foster Care

Knowledge about the parents of older first-time entrants into foster care is embedded in fictions created by media images, anecdotal stories of professionals in the child welfare system, as well as reports and observations of youths who have experienced foster care. Even though there are caring and effective nonrelatives who are foster parents, the public perception of non-relative foster parents is sometimes quite negative. In order to separate some of the facts from some of the fictions about the parents/caregivers of older first-time entrants to foster care, this article will describe the parents and relative caregivers (grandparents and others) of older first-time entrants to foster care in an urban public welfare agency by examining maltreatment data.     

Innovations in care for children separated from parents: Transitioning from residential to family models of service

Research suggests that children develop best in families, but millions currently reside in residential care centers. Many residential care centers have transitioned their programmes from a to a family care model. Using a mixed methods design, the current study examined (1) antecedents to transition, (2) key elements in the process and (3) outcomes of transitioning models of care. Participants included 39 non-government organizations that had fully or partially transitioned to family care. Programmes collectively served 12 325 children and 29 499 families in 22 countries annually. Data revealed programmes perceived the change in the model was better for the families and children served.     

Interviewing parents of children in care: Perspectives, discourses and accountability

The ‘parental perspective’ in child care work is a matter of concern and is actively solicited by practitioners, managers, policymakers and researchers for differing reasons. This paper argues that the search for such a stable “parental perspective” should be abandoned and suggest that research should embrace a social constructionist turn by concentrating on how parents' views are negotiated conversationally in discourse. Using data drawn from research interviews with parents of children in care and employing conversation and discourse analytic methods, the paper demonstrates how there are critical issues of accountability, blame, and testing at stake in the interview encounter, as interviewer and interviewee jointly produce a moral version of the client, the institution, the case and its attributes. The implications of this argument are delineated.     

Developing key capabilities in child care and protection

Over the last 20 years, research has questioned how well equipped newly qualified social workers are in relation to child care and protection. Recent inquiries have highlighted that some social workers have not recognised their responsibilities towards children and young people when they encounter them in the course of their duties. In England, Lord Laming's (2009) report The Protection of Children in England, following the death of Peter Connelly in Haringey, recommended a specialist child protection route as part of the social work degree and re‐opened the debate about the benefits of specialism versus genericism. In Scotland, when faced with similar challenges, Key Capabilities in Child Care and Protection were introduced to ensure that all social workers at the point of qualifying can evidence their knowledge and skills in relation to child care and protection. This paper describes their development. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

‘Introduced to ensure that all social workers at the point of qualifying can evidence their knowledge and skills’

Citing Literature

Number of times cited according to CrossRef: 2

• Margaret Bruce, The Voice of the Child in Child Protection: Whose Voice?, Social Sciences, 10.3390/socsci3030514, 3 , 3, (514-526), (2014). Crossref
• Jane V. Appleton, Peter Sidebotham, Child Protection and Mental Health, Child Abuse Review, 10.1002/car.2220, 21 , 3, (153-156), (2012). Wiley Online Library

Volume 21 , Issue 3 May/June 2012

Pages 190-202     

Residential care for children and young people: priority areas for change

Abuse in residential childcare has been of concern to the public and the profession for a number of years. This article highlights a Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care's (SIRCC) response to the Scottish Government which was requested following allegations of abuse in Glasgow City Council's Kerelaw residential school and secure unit. It offers priority actions to address the challenges of residential childcare and ensure the safety of children and young people as far as is practicably possible. It contextualises the residential childcare task, and explores four interrelated areas in which change is strongly recommended: (1) organisations' cultures; (2) workforce challenges including the status of the sector, staff selection standards, the role of residential childcare workers in relation to their level of autonomy and their education levels; (3) abuse allegations, in particular the sector's growing fearfulness of false allegations, support for practitioners' anonymity when accused of abuse and a reconsideration of criminal record certificate information; and (4) service delivery related to behaviour management and advocacy support. The intersection between the SIRCC and the subsequent Kerelaw Inquiry reports is outlined. Finally, it concludes with a scan of the immediate strategic policy horizon which indicates an unprecedented momentum for change. While based in the Scottish context, it reflects lessons which are applicable internationally. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Safeguarding disabled children in residential settings: what we know and what we don't know

Research in America, Canada, Australia and Britain has revealed that disabled children are particularly vulnerable to abuse. Their likelihood of attending residential institutions, their dependency on others for personal care and the lack of opportunities for them to alert others to maltreatment or comprehend the nature of abusive acts all increase levels of risk. Over the last decade, there has been increasing public and professional concern about the abuse of children in residential establishments, resulting in a number of inquiries. However, the abuse of disabled children in residential settings has received little attention. Despite residential schools, care homes and respite care being widely used by disabled children, there is a paucity of knowledge regarding the standards of child protection in these establishments. This article explores the research literature revealing the vulnerability of disabled children to abuse when living away from home, what measures can be taken to help protect them and the limitations of available data as a basis for planning child protection measures. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived social support in Chinese parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a Chinese context: Implications for social work practice

This article reports the results of a Hong Kong study (no. of parents = 121) which identified perceived social support (PSS), both overall and four types of support, of Chinese parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and examined the impact of PSS on the interrelationship between the ADHD symptoms and parenting stress. The parents perceived support of their primary social network as more satisfactory than professionals’. Parenting stress of the high PSS group was lower than the low PSS group’s. The PSS-overall, parenting role, and the ADHD symptoms explained a significant variance of parenting stress. The results pave the way to develop a complex social work model in helping.     

Insights and recommendations for recruitment and retention of low socio-economic parents with overweight children

Low socio-economic groups are typically difficult to recruit and retain in health research, which makes it difficult to investigate their health-related beliefs and behaviours. Low socio-economic parents with overweight or obese children took part in a longitudinal qualitative child obesity study over 12?months. These parents’ views of and recommendations for appropriate recruitment and retention strategies are reported. Their interpretations and suggestions are considered in the light of the difficulties that were experienced in designing the study to meet their needs and the approaches that were found to be more effective in achieving and maintaining a viable study cohort. Relevant aspects of recruitment included remuneration, recruitment locations and the use of appropriate weight-related terminology. Retention factors included protocol flexibility, ongoing remuneration and learning opportunities. Barriers to ongoing participation are also discussed. Suggestions are provided for future qualitative research with low socio-economic families.     

Parenting Success and Challenges for Families of Children with Disabilities: An Ecological Systems Analysis

This article examines factors that are associated with parenting success for caregivers of children with disabilities using Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems framework. Although numerous studies have investigated risk factors for negative parenting among caregivers of children with disabilities, there are relatively few research findings on parenting success. More specifically, we examine factors for parenting success within the context of micro- (parenting practices, parent-child relations), meso- (caregivers' marital relations, religious social support), and macro-systems (cultural variations, racial and ethnic disparities, health care delivery system), which is then followed by implications for social work practice.     

Triangulating perspectives to inform the development of a smartphone application for foster,kinship, and adoptive parents

Abstract

This article describes the initial phase of a user-centered, inductive process for informing the development of a smartphone application (app) to complement an in-person trauma-focused knowledge and skills training class for child welfare resource parents (i.e. foster, kinship, and adoptive parents). Based on the participatory design approach for technology development, a qualitative study was designed to capture and triangulate relevant knowledge and opinions from resource parents, training instructors, and parenting education experts. The most prevalent themes emerging among these stakeholder groups included the need for a simple app interface and the potential for the app to (1) cultivate connection, affirmation, and combat resource parent feelings of isolation; (2) reinforce in-class knowledge and support skill practice at home; and (3) monitor resource parent, child, and family progress over time. Detailed findings are presented, including direct quotes from focus group and interview participants and elaboration on the prevalent themes, which may benefit others in the early stages of human services app design and contribute to the creation of guidelines for the development of technology-based human services interventions.     

Interprofessional collaboration between residential child care and mental care practitioners: a cross-country study in six European countries

ABSTRACT

The severe mental health problems of many of the young people living in residential settings pose a great challenge and demand on child protection and mental care (MC) services. Drawing on comparative research and debates from six European countries, this study examines demands for integrated care and interprofessional collaboration practices between residential child care (RCC) and MC. In this article, research data will be brought together from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, the UK (Scotland) and Spain. In total, 61 practitioners from RCC and MC were interviewed. Given the complexity of the residential care service context and service system differences across national contexts, the original hypothesis was that this would differentiate the collaboration practices. However, the similarity between the countries is greater than anticipated. The concluding findings are organised by matrix technique into a content-analytic summary table. The main finding was that in spite of encouragement for integrated RCC, obstacles for collaboration and lack of coordination between systems remain, often related to understanding the professional role and tasks, lack of shared knowledge, attitudes and ways of communication. One significant finding in the cross-country comparison was the evident and unrealistic expectations for the ‘other’ provider to help and care.     

Exploring emotional aspects of care and control in social work with children and families - a single case analysis of conversation

ABSTRACT

In this article, I explore how emotions are displayed and dealt with on a communicative level in face-to-face encounters between social workers and parents in a child welfare setting. The analysis draws upon detailed analysis of a whole encounter between a social worker and a parental couple who have recently had their new-born daughter placed in foster care. By examining the way emotional stances are expressed and responded to I discuss how orientations toward institutional tasks and goals create constraints for the display, recognition and validation of clients’ emotion displays. I consider the communicative challenges this poses for the parents and the social worker and the implications these may have for the client–worker relationship.     

Explorative study into support needs of caregivers in short-term foster care regarding problem behaviour and dealing with biological parents

Family supporting foster care (FSFC) is a directly accessible, short-term and preventive form of foster care for children under the age of 12. Caregivers in this type of foster care need comprehensive support to deal with their complex tasks. In this contribution, the support needs arising from the behaviour of the foster child as well as concerning dealing with the biological parents of 85 Flemish FSFC-parents are examined, as these are areas FSFC-parents specifically ask support for. These support needs are evaluated for possible links with child and foster parent characteristics. More experienced foster parents and foster parents with a foster child showing more externalising problem behaviour ask for more support in managing the child's behaviour.     

The Role of Parenting and Family Factors in the Developmental Catch-Up for Children Adopted Internationally

Internationally adopted children are at greater risk for cognitive difficulties. While age at adoption is an established significant predictor of cognitive outcomes, considerable variation persists. The present study focused on whether parenting and family factors explain additional variance in cognitive and linguistic catch-up in this group of children. In total, 46 children were examined at two time points, approximately 12 months apart. Cognitive and linguistic abilities were measured at both time points, with parenting and family factors examined at follow-up, using hierarchical linear regression. Age at adoption and baseline cognitive abilities were the best predictors of cognitive and linguistic catch-up; parenting and family factors generally did not account for a significant increase in explained variance.     

No sign of harm: issues for disabled children communicating about abuse

While all children may be the victims of abuse, disabled children are particularly vulnerable. This paper explores the views of professionals working with children using alternative/augmented communication systems on the issues relating to communication about abuse. Interviews were carried out with 20 staff from eight establishments for disabled children across Scotland. It describes the range of alternative/augmented communication systems used and the barriers to communication about abuse. Staff generally accepted the importance of providing the appropriate vocabulary in augmented communication systems, but systems that provide such vocabulary were not widely used. Staff considered that a major difficulty concerned the level of understanding disabled children might have about concepts of abuse. They were unsure how the appropriate vocabulary could be introduced in a natural way and how links could be made between the signs and their meanings. Staff saw themselves as those most able to protect the children, but it was felt that discovery of abuse was more likely to come from them noticing physical signs, behaviour or mood changes than from the child communicating explicitly about abuse. The need for appropriate training and increased coordination between social work, health and education is highlighted. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrative Family Therapy for Child Behavioural Problems in a Parenting Support Agency

This paper describes family therapy for behavioural problems in a parenting support agency. It discusses the literature on the effectiveness of family therapy with child behaviour problems within a community support environment. The paper presents a detailed family case study, which is discussed from an integrative family therapy framework. Narrative therapy is used as an overarching framework for integrating systemic therapy and parenting skills to help a family with a mixed cultural Aboriginal and Australian background. This allows sessions that are meaningful for the family and encourages a connection to their own resources and to their community, besides creating a safe space for a dialogue that hears and values all voices.     

Beyond talking – children's participation in Norwegian care and protection cases

The attempt to give children an effective voice in social work processes which can have substantial impact on their lives takes different forms in countries with varying professional cultures and legal frameworks. This paper reports on a study of children's participation in decision-making in care and protection services in Norway, which was carried out in conjunction with a project to support social work teams in enabling children to participate, using materials borrowed from England and Wales. The results showed that (a) taking an active part in decision-making did not correlate perfectly with (b) having an influence on the outcome. Cases were therefore classified as ‘participation’ or ‘non-participation’ using a combination of both the above criteria. Statistical analysis of the factors influencing children's participation enabled the proposition of a model which appeared to explain much of the variance. The results point to the inadequacy of equating social work conversation with children with effective participation in decision-making.